Marketing orientation of franchisors

Franchisees often complain that franchisors do not meet their needs, generally causing franchisors to be seen as non-marketing-oriented. A census survey was conducted in association with 75 (51%) of the 145 franchisees of a selected franchise whose postal addresses are available on the Internet. Aspects such as the needs of franchisees with regard to products, services, prices, promotions, distribution, people and processes were investigated. Data was collected by means of a self-administrated questionnaire that was sent to the selected population. The results indicate that the franchisor met the franchiseesʹ needs with regard to products and services as provided or prescribed by the franchisor. Franchisees joined the franchise because of the brand name of the franchise and the professional services offered by the franchisor. Franchisees were satisfied with the current franchise fees. In general, the franchisor had a high level of marketing orientation with the exception of identified opportunities that could be developed in order to increase the franchisorsʹ level of marketing orientation. Further research is needed to ensure that the franchisors current product ranges will be more competitive compared to other franchise concepts. The franchisor should attend to the improvement of product research, new product development, pricing strategies, packaging and product planning.