WaBa CEO: 3 ways to build franchisee trust, loyalty

As the saying goes, "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts." At WaBa Grill, we know firsthand our company is only as strong as our franchisees. It was with this mindset that, five years ago, we reevaluated our development plan and prioritized the building of brand trust among our franchisees.

WaBa Grill grew from 52 units to 174 units between 2014 and 2017. During this three-year span, we focused on company-run development and growth, but we realized that our short-term goal of immediate growth did not set the company up for long-term success. We simply were not adequately prepared to maintain operational standards, which was a problem we needed to rectify. In evaluating the company's forward path, we understood the need for an organizational restructuring that pivoted away from a company-run strategy and instead focused primarily on franchisee support. We knew that by deploying a fresh business model focused on franchisees, which included nurturing the relationships, the entire WaBa Grill system would benefit more and be much more successful long term. This key moment in the company history is what put us on a path toward investing in trust-building with franchise partners.

Now, several years later, we've seen a significant return on that investment. Five major development deals are currently in place with existing franchisees, totaling 61 new units, all because franchisees have experienced WaBa Grill's viable business model and see the brand as a trustworthy long-term partner.

While fostering brand loyalty was not a small undertaking, it has proven to be well worth it, resulting in greater development and brand consistency. For those looking to chart a similar course, I have identified three keys to start building trust and developing brand loyalty within your organization.

1. Support fosters trust
Above all else, franchisees are looking for the support and guidance they need to compete and succeed. Having a strong infrastructure in place is key to ensuring the franchisees feel supported and allows trust to form and flourish. This starts with having a leadership team that is fully aligned to the commitment on franchisee support, understanding that the system will only grow as our franchisees grow. We focused on reevaluating our existing franchisee support programs and made appropriate adjustments to make them more efficient. We also offered new support initiatives that positively impacted on how our franchisees operate their stores. It was equally important that we continue to make the effort to keep our franchisees informed throughout the process and to encourage them to take advantages of the support programs.

Greater trust yields better working relationships, and we have seen this hold true when the franchisees see and understand that our efforts are focused on supporting them and to making the brand become more competitive. Once this trust is restored, franchisees are more than willing to work with us in supporting various brand and system initiatives, including new product tests, menu launches and digital system or technology upgrades.

2. Embrace feedback
At the end of the day, the hospitality industry is a relationship business. As a franchisor, we need to listen and be responsive to our franchisees, ensuring they understand that franchisors are committed to supporting them and to making critical decisions from the customer side of the restaurant counter instead of behind a desk.

For WaBa Grill, this most recently meant investing in new hires to maintain the initiatives and functions of the Support Center, including training, marketing, product and menu development, data analysis, IT, and franchise development. This allowed the Support Center team to build action plans designed to improve overall operations, especially for low-performing locations. Among an array of items, the action plans included comprehensive operations training, a strategic assessment of each restaurant's interior design, and hands-on local store marketing assistance.

3. Trust the process
When evaluating how to best support your franchisees, it can be tempting to look for an easy, short-term solution. The real objective should be moving the needle in the long term and seeing each initiative to completion, while also being nimble and adjusting as necessary. The reality is that adding platforms to your system may require more work, maintenance, and management. As such, it's important to be mindful and cautious when it comes to cutting corners, especially if presented with a sales pitch that promises to simplify operations or add more sales/transactions.

It took time following our shift to the new business model in 2018 for franchisees to start seeing results from various initiatives. Once they did, we started to see trust grow within our franchisee community. The franchisee perception of the franchisor also shifted away from something resembling a distant and clinical corporate office role, and what emerged was a true Support Center working with sincerity, authenticity and in partnership with franchisees.

The trust we established deepened during the pandemic. The Support Center communicated frequently with franchisees, offering local, state and federal guidance, including the most up-to-date regulations. It also delivered assistance, advice and comfort as the pandemic raged.

WaBa provided materials and webinars to franchisees about available financial aid, including the CARES Act (PPP loans), Family First Act, and SBA EIDL Loan (grant funds per employee). WaBa Grill Franchise Corporation also offered an interest-free microloan to franchisees and provided one-on-one lease assistance and advice for franchisees seeking a lease modification.

The post-pandemic results? WaBa Grill set sales records two years in a row. Now, we are in a much-improved rhythm and harmony with our franchisees and have seen our investment into these relationships reciprocated — with every single one of our multi-unit development deals currently in progress having resulted from a franchisee reinvesting in our brand. We will continue to endeavor to better understand and appreciate the challenges that our franchisees face every day so that we can find better and improved ways to support our franchisees to compete and succeed in this tough environment.