franchisereview
women infranchisingdiscussing issues facingwomen in business
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w w w . f r a n c h i s e . o r g . a u s u p p l e m e n t
Julia Camm Whirlwind Womenin FranchisingNetwork Update
Kara WiseA few reasons why youcan’t ignore women
A word on attractingwomen as Franchisees
Opinion:What attracted meto Franchising
SupplementOverviewWelcome to the Whirlwind Women in Franchising network
supplement for May 2007. Taking inspiration from the events held
around the country in April, this supplement’s theme is ‘attracting
women to your brand’.
More and more women solely or jointly own businesses. In the
franchise sector, the Griffith University Franchising Australia 2006
survey indicated that 10.9% of franchised units are solely owned by
a female and 9.3% are owned with a partner and are predominately
operated by the woman. Compare this with the ABS Labour Force
Survey results from April 2005 on characteristics of Small Business
Operators there were 529,000 (31.9%) female small business
operators (which has remained relatively unchanged since 1995)
and we can see the potential our sector has for attracting
women to franchising.
In this supplement, you will find some comments on attracting
women to your brand from a marketing perspective and how that
may impact franchisee recruitment. We also asked some women
from around the country “What attracted you to franchising?”
and you will find their stories on pages 22 and 23.
For the next supplement, planned for October 2007, we will address
the issue of leadership for women in today’s franchise and business
environment. We welcome your ideas and contributions around this
issue and invite you to contact Julia Camm on email:
Whirlwind Women in FranchisingNetwork Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
A few reasons why you can’tignore women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
A word on attracting womenas franchisees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Opinion: What attracted meto Franchising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-23
Contents
18 / T h e F r a n c h i s e R e v i e w M a y 2 0 0 7
update
Whirlwind womenin franchising network
At the International Franchise Association’sannual convention in Las Vegas in Februarythis year, I had the opportunity to commencebuilding a relationship and open dialogue withour USA and Canadian women in franchisingnetwork counterparts.
From our discussions, it was apparent that there are somecommon global issues facing women in franchising, such asattracting women as franchisees and employees, financingwomen into business and the need for women to networkand engage in formal mentoring relationships. This wascertainly reflected in the survey we conducted in Februarythis year.
However the major difference between the Australian,American and Canadian networks concerned the issueof exclusivity. The American and Canadian networks areexclusively for women with some events open to all andsundry. This is where we are aiming to be significantlydifferent. Our intent, which has been overwhelminglysupported by the survey we conducted, is that our networkshould include both men and women inside and outsidethe franchise community.
For the Whirlwind Women in Franchising networkto effectively achieve its vision of providing genuineprofessional development opportunities and promotethe successes and opportunities women can gain fromfranchising, inclusiveness has to be one of our defining factors.
I was recently asked if the notion of having a ‘women’snetwork’ was in itself exclusionary and sexist – that weactually create sexism simply because we exist. The aimof the network is to identify, highlight and address issuesrelating to women in business in our sector. As Eleanor Falafrom Whirlwind Print and I recently discussed, it’s notbecause women are different, it’s because we are the same.We share the same issues and the same challenges. It’s justthe fact that ‘franchising’ is our area of commonality thatmakes us different.
We would be sexist if we encouraged exclusivityof membership or event attendance.
We would be irresponsible if we didn’t encourage opendiscourse on issues impacting the entire sector, such asfinancing women into business, creating workplaces wherewomen want to work and highlighting successes andopportunities that the sector provides.
And finally, we would be naïve to believe that we couldeducate and engage the sector without some sort oforganised effort.
Julia is a Director of Franchise Careers, aMelbourne based human resource consultancyfirm specialising in executive recruitment andtraining in the franchise sector. She can becontacted on (03) 9533 7600,email: [email protected] or visitFranchise Careers’ website at<www.franchisecareers.com.au>
The Franchise Rev iew May 2007 / 19
JULIA CAMM
“To better educateand engage thesector on issuesimpacting onwomen inbusiness weneed to includeeveryone”
20 / The Franch ise Rev iew May 2007
The Double Punch: Purchasing Power& Decision Making AuthorityWomen’s massive buying power and influence over purchasedecisions demand you understand them, and if at allpossible actually attempt to predict their requirementsbefore they realise they have the need.
■ Women make about 80% of all buying decisions.
■ Women influence 65% of car purchasing decisions.
■ Roy Morgan reports women make up 56% of the workforce.
■ The Employment Policy Foundation says the number ofwomen earning $100,000 or more has tripled in the last10 years.
■ The 2006 Australian Census of Women in Leadershipreport indicated that women account for 44.2% ofmanagerial and professional positions.
■ Women are more independent: the average age at whichwomen marry has risen from 22 to 27 in 20 years, and13% of women are living alone, which means there aremany young women in Australia with a significantdisposable income to spend on themselves.
■ The fastest growing wealth demographic in Australiais women 25 – 40 years.
■ In 1970, it wasn’t her money, it was his money. In the 80s,it was our money. Today her power has dramaticallyincreased because it’s now all her money.
How are women’s media habits and decisionmaking different?It is a well-documented fact women process messages andmedia different to men. Published research, texts and mediafrom around the world have highlighted many differences thatneed to be taken into account. Some of these are that women…
■ Say they learn the most about new products from otherwomen (70%). When making a product purchasedecision, women aged 25 – 54 trust experts (27%),family and friends (26%) and media reports (23%) mostin deciding about purchases.
■ Spend more time thinking about other’s needs thantheir own. (You need to show them how your productsand services can help them take even better care ofothers, and themselves.)
■ Have little time for commercial messages, with womenbeing more likely than men having to read or hearsomething more than once because they’re oftendistracted or interrupted.
■ Respect the media (i.e. news and editorial) as a crediblesource of information; they don’t have a lot of time toabsorb the information. (So offering more frequent andshorter chunks of information for women to digest willassist to cut through the clutter.)
■ Are less likely than men to read a newspaper frombeginning to end – a high percentage of women would“rarely” or “never” read a complete paper.
■ Rarely or never read a magazine from cover to cover.(Surprisingly, this is similar to their male counterparts.)
■ Are less likely than men to listen to the radio for more than30 minutes straight or watch a whole television program.
Quick tips when marketing to women...■ Use humour in advertising but make sure it is funny
and not at the expense of others.
■ Give her exceptional service.
■ Use realistic female models and spokespersons that shecan relate to – not all desperate housewives look like that!
■ Consider your whole strategy through. (Bunningsadvertised “women’s handyman classes” in its stores –at 11am on weekdays when women were at work!)
■ Old in-your-face image advertising is dead as far aswomen are concerned.
■ Understand there is more to marketing to women thanadding the colour pink.
When developing women as a core target market thinkabout product design and functionality, choose appropriatemedia and consider the accessibility of information. Usea credible spokesperson, connect with and understand her,and appreciate what it is that your product or service isactually doing for her – then make it convenientlyaccessible, of highest quality and at a value for money price– all while understanding that she might change her mind!
Kara consults in service, community and franchiseindustries in Asia and Australia. She is responsiblefor Australia Post’s Innovation Centre. She hasdeveloped the One-Call Customer Mail system forfranchisors and has recently written “11 Local AreaMarketing fundamentals for franchisors”. Kara isthe Whirlwind Women in Franchising network’sVictorian representative and can be contacted on<[email protected]>
here are many reasons why over the last five years or so organisationshave turned their focus to woman as a core target market. Here a few ofmy favourites…
T
A few reasons why you can’t ignore women...
Kara Wise • Victorian representative – Whirlwind Women in Franchising Network
Are women more risk adverse than men?Information from the USA claims, 21% of womenindicated that they would be willing to take substantialfinancial risks expecting substantial returns, while 45%were willing to take above average financial risks expectingabove average returns (source: Centre for Women’s BusinessResearch (2005) Women Entrepreneurs Savvy About Risk).
The report shows that women are prepared to take afinancial risk and this is consistent across all women,independent of size of investment, age of the businessand personal characteristics.
Women are prepared to take the risk if other factors areevident and aligned with their reasons for getting intobusiness.
What are women looking forin a franchisor? In most regards, women are seeking thesame things from a franchisor as men –a sound, robust business system that willallow them to achieve their goals for gettinginto business in the first place, coupled withsupport and quality products and services.
However, there may be some factors thatthe franchise is able to provide that appealto women, such as the franchise’s ability toprovide a positive personal financial future; that thefranchise network and franchisor will nurture and developpassion and enthusiasm in the brand; the ability tocontribute to the community and the chance to regularlynetwork with the other franchisees within their system.
Acquisition strategies If your female franchisees love your system, products andservices, they will talk about it to others. If they hate it,they will still talk about it. Franchisors should explorereferral and incentive systems for current franchiseeswith the aim of women attracting other women.
Your website should include information that appeals towomen, including how the franchisee recruitment processworks, typical day in the life of a franchisee, resourcesavailable to franchisees – such as support services andnetworking opportunities and success stories of currentfemale franchisees.
As well, consider ‘free press’ stories that will attract or be ofinterest to women, such as personal success stories, how thefranchise has supported causes or community impact. Pressreleases and speaking engagements for your champions willgenerate interest.
Impact on the recruitment processThe decision to explore franchising opportunities – likebuying a house and a car – is an emotional buy. Even if thewoman is considering franchising for herself or is part ofan emotional or business partnership, do not underestimateher impact on the decision to move ahead. If she doesn’tlike the individual managing the recruitment process orintuitively doesn’t feel comfortable about the franchise orthe people involved, then be open to the idea that they willwithdraw themselves from the process.
Also, be prepared that women discuss theirpersonal life and business issues all in the samebreath – it is rare that a woman doesn’t (evenif she just shares with you all she’s prepared toat the point in time).
The franchisee recruitment process doesnot need to change for women, but therecruitment process may take longer thanusual, as she will be doing exceptional duediligence before moving onto the next stage.Discuss with her ‘what’s the worst thing that
could happen if they entered into the franchise?’ Thisquestion is about risk management and identifying hercommercial concerns and how the franchise may be ableto address them.
Treat her as an individual and never assume because she isyoung she wants to start a family, because she is a womanshe has a husband and children and she doesn’t have thedollars to invest. She has sense and will use it to pursue theopportunity that is right for her.
This piece was a created from a series of conversations andpanel comments made during the April Whirlwind Womenin Franchising events.
The Franch ise Rev iew May 2007 / 21
A word on attractingwomen as franchisees
She has senseand will use itto pursue the
opportunity thatis right for her.
22 / The Franch ise Rev iew May 2007
We asked some women from around thecountry what attracted them to franchising…
LEANNE FULLERClark Rubber – Franchise Support Manager (Queensland)“I have been in the franchising industry for 20 years thisyear and it has been an interesting journey. For the pastseven years, I have been with reigning Franchise of theYear, Clark Rubber. On reflection as to what attracted meto franchising, I guess I could say my husband’s desire to gointo business initially, but really the attraction to STAY infranchising came from the interesting people that I metalong the way, the challenges I was able to address and theopportunities that franchising offered to people wanting“to go into business for themselves but not by themselves.”
DIANA WILLIAMSFernwood Fitness Centres – Founder & Executive ChairFCA’s National Woman in Franchising Awardwinner for 2006“Being in a business that relies heavily on a high levelof interaction with customers, the main attraction tofranchising for me was to have the opportunity of owneroperators running the branches as their own individualbusinesses rather than trying to manage employeesremotely if we had expanded corporately.”
KAREN GARNER Aussie Pooch Mobile – Franchisee (Victoria) “While I wanted to be able to run my own business I hadno idea where to start. The whole concept of what AussiePooch Mobile offered to their customers appealed to meand the fact that it was all set out in the operations manual.I could see the success of other women in the system thatwere in the similar circumstances of running a businesswhile raising young children. Because they had proven itcould be done, made it an easy decision to enter thefranchising sector.”
LOUISE BERNAYSFranchEyes – Marketing and PR – Director“I kind of fell into franchising and discovered it was a goodfit for me. What attracts me to stay in it is the uniquecommunity spirit, where so much is shared and everyone isso open to assisting and learning from each other. I like theway franchising assists people and families to achieve theirgoals.”
KATE JOHNSON Whirlwind Women in Franchising network – Queensland& Northern Territory Representative “I have always worked in well organised small businessesand I think franchising initially found me, but now I’mhooked. It’s a giddy combination working from theFranchisor’s perspective, incorporating all markets andlocations while trying to maintain the individual perspectiveof each franchisee. After 10 years, I wouldn’t have it anyother way!”
KIRSTY DUNPHEYHarcourts Tasmania – Franchisee (Tasmania)“Franchising is one of the premier methods of taking a lotof the mystery and risk out of business. In my opinion themost ideal franchises and the type of organisations I’vealways strived to create are those that support theirfranchisees with amazing systems, quality support and animpeccable brand. When you combine these elements,franchising is one of the most attractive options around.”
LINDA STEELE Chooks Fresh & Tasty – General Manager (Western Australia)Whirlwind Women in Franchising network – WesternAustralian RepresentativeFCA’s Woman in Franchising Award winner forWestern Australia 2006“Franchising in Australia is an excellent way of doingbusiness for the consumer, supplier and business owner.It allows business owners to work with proven workablesystems that they would otherwise be unable to access.Franchising allows women to play a significant role inbusiness no matter their position. I believe that the onlybarriers there are for women are the ones they put therethemselves.”
KARA WISE Australia Post’s Innovation Centre Whirlwind Women in Franchising network – VictorianRepresentative“The rapid evolution and expansion of the franchise sector,dynamic business structures and passionate operators werethe key driving forces behind what attracted me to franchising.The requirement to understand and balance franchisors’needs with franchisee reality in an ever-changingmarketplace, provides the unique opportunity andcontinual challenge to develop innovative and relevantmarketing solutions.”
Opinion:What attracted me to franchising?
The Franch ise Rev iew May 2007 / 23
LEANNE DIANA KAREN LOUISE
KATE KIRSTY LINDA KARA
