The famous five

The Franchisor Of The Year Awards, sponsored by Express Newspapers and HSBC Bank, seek out the top performing franchisors in the UK, rewarding individual excellence and highlighting the increasing influence of a market sector now worth more than £10 billion a year.

The theme for this year's Awards was 'Customer Focus', with contenders having to demonstrate how franchising has made them more effective in the marketplace, enabling them to track consumer needs and respond more effectively with systems, products and services that meet customer demand...

Molly Maid

Molly Maid, the home cleaning franchise launched in 1984, has taken the Bronze Award in the British Franchise Association's 2007 Franchisor of the Year Awards.

The first Molly Maid UK franchise was sold in 1985 and the network expanded steadily. Over the last two years, the business has introduced a number of customer-focused initiatives designed to further secure the position of Molly Maid as the UK's leading home cleaning service.

A study in 2005 identified the potential size and key components of the industry and last year saw a series of projects geared to growth. At the same time, Molly Maid redesigned its training programmes, offering more up-to-date and practical customer service advice for new franchise owners, supported by an intensive marketing campaign based on their consumer research.

Throughout the year a series of national promotions linked to other high-profile brands boosted brand exposure across a broad customer audience.

All these centrally generated initiatives were supported by effective internal network communication, through Franchise Advisory Committee meetings, regular Regional meetings and at the annual Molly Maid convention, where the focus was on the vital links connecting franchise owners to their customers.

Speaking at the presentations, bfa director general Brian Smart said: 'The standard of entries this year was so high that, for the first time, we have given Gold, Silver and Bronze awards.

'The three top candidates presented extremely powerful cases, and we felt that Molly Maid met the criteria of the judging panel very effectively. We were particularly impressed with their ability to identify customers' demand for a service that was personal as well as reliable and to respond with innovative and effective strategies to meet that demand.

'This company deserves recognition for its outstanding achievements and demonstrates how the franchising model can be used effectively to overcome the challenges of a very competitive market.'

Domino's Pizza

The Silver Award went to Domino's Pizza, as head of franchise sales Andy Hirst received the trophy.

When it comes to pizzas, speed counts, and Domino's has been doing everything possible to help its franchisees meet customers' demands for the fastest possible deliveries. With superwide broadband connections introduced last year, ordering times have been reduced considerably, with the average phone order taking only two minutes. Customers can now also text their choices or call a national hotline that connects to their nearest store.

With a relentless focus on customer service, more innovations were introduced in 2006 to make sure pizzas were out of the door in the shortest possible time. Fast bake ovens cut cooking times and delivery areas were re-defined to create opportunities for franchisees to open more stores and get more pizzas to more customers more quickly than ever.

'Real-time' technology monitoring productivity built a competitive spirit between stores and orders leaving stores in under 15 minutes increased by more than a third.

In terms of quality, a menu development committee of foodies and franchisees came up with six new pizzas last year, recommended removing hydrogenated fats and introduced a low fat mozzarella cheese.

Their efforts produced record-breaking results in 2006, with network turnover exceeding £240 million. But while national expansion continues apace, the Domino's ethos ensures that local people run their stores, keeping communities and customers at the heart of the business.

'We felt that Domino's Pizzas met the criteria of the judging panel very effectively,' said Brian Smart. 'We were particularly impressed with their ability to identify customers' demand for faster delivery times and to respond with such innovative and effective strategies to meet that demand.'

HSBC's head of franchising, Cathryn Hayes, commented on the way Domino's has maintained its firm grip on the pizza delivery market, expanding on a global scale since launching in 1985. 'Domino's has consistently updated their product and developed services to meet new customers' needs.'

Snap-on Tools

Snap-on Tools, a company specialising in the manufacture and distribution of complex automotive diagnostic equipment, has taken the Gold Award in the British Franchise Association's 2007 Franchisor of the Year Awards, accepted by managing director Terry Barcham.

Snap-on Tools has invested £1 million training customers as well as franchisees in the use of complex automotive diagnostic equipment, helping them establish a clear lead in the market that has changed dramatically since Snap-on launched in 1965, manufacturing and distributing tools and equipment for after-sales maintenance and repairs.

New cars are so complex that when they go wrong they need technicians, linked to the manufacturers' sophisticated diagnostic equipment, rather than mechanics with spanners.

Snap-on has responded with products and services that allow its franchisees to keep pace with the changes, primarily in diagnostics. But they found that just providing these things was not enough. They also needed to offer training courses, not just for franchisees but for customers as well.

A significant investment backed the launch of TechEd, which involved, firstly, training 415 franchisees across the country, then running seminars designed to help customers build up their knowledge and establish profitable businesses in vehicle diagnostics.

A new course, 'Advanced Engine On-Board Diagnostics', is being launched this year, with two more to follow.

The initiative has helped Snap-on establish a huge market lead over its nearest competitor and sales of diagnostic products have risen by £2 million in just one year.

'We felt that Snap-on Tools met the criteria of the judging panel just a little more effectively than the others,' said Brian Smart. 'We were particularly impressed with their ability to identify and respond to the need to educate both customers and franchisees in the complexities of their product.'

Threshers

Threshers, the off-licence group and leading independent wine retailer, was named Express Newspapers Brand Builder of the Year.

Last year, Threshers decided to franchise 600 of its 2000 outlets over the next three to four years.

The challenge was to convey the concept of Thresher Group Franchise accurately and effectively, while the aim was to create a new brand - TGF - that would contribute to the overall growth of the core business.

A major advertising campaign was launched in regional, national and trade press as well as online. PR initiatives ensured the concept was well understood and reinforced the uniqueness of the offer, encouraging 'people like us' to consider the business opportunity of a franchise. High visibility at franchise exhibitions was another element of the programme.

During the first six months following the launch, TGF attracted more than 2000 registrations and 1000 applications. The apparently ambitious target of 100 sign-ups in the first year was obviously achievable and, by Christmas 2006, the magic number was virtually reached.

With a projected increase in network turnover of £17 million this year, the group's expansion plans seem to be on track. And Threshers is in the enviable position of seeing its new franchise business and its core brand supporting mutual growth.

Brian Smart commented that Threshers' achievement reinforced the message that franchising makes good business sense. 'Making a successful business more successful is always a challenge and the success of Threshers' move into the franchising sphere demonstrates all the benefits of the system.

'By utilising tried-and-tested methods of network management, they have been able to effectively create a new business that both supports and is supported by the core brand. This is franchising at its best.'

Clive's Easylearn

HSBC has been supporting the franchise industry for 20 years and the bank's head of franchising, Cathryn Hayes, added her congratulations to the Brand Builder winners - Clive's Easylearn Rock and Pop Schools, a network of innovative music classes for young people.

Founder and managing director Clive Brooks' dream was to give young music lovers a better choice - something between air guitar in the bedroom and the traditional teaching methods of music board lessons. He aimed to give young people between the ages of seven and 16 the chance to get involved in the exciting world of rock music, delivering structured courses to a brand standard but without spending hours concentrating on 'dots and squiggles'.

The pioneering concept was launched when Clive started teaching in a back bedroom in 1981. Having developed the 'Easylearn' method, which gets children playing right from day one, he wrote hundreds of structured lessons, for guitar, bass, drums and keyboard, before exploring the possibilities of franchising.

His first franchise sold in 2002 and, since then, he has built a network with more than 60 outlets throughout the UK and Ireland. With 10 more forecast to start up this year, a steady expansion programme is under way and network turnover for 2007 should exceed £600,000.

The franchising concept has been key to the rapid growth of the business. The advantages of franchisees' local knowledge combined with the business systems established by Clive and his small family-based team creates a partnership that benefits all concerned.

The system relies heavily on technology that is used to deliver staff training programmes and an administration system that is easily managed by franchisees, while providing valuable feedback to head office.

Internet links and space on selected websites also helps promote the business within the target market. Clive Brooks' rock-and-roll dream is now an exciting reality that creates an enjoyable career for franchisees, hundreds of jobs for young musicians, a unique learning experience for children and a profitable and rewarding lifestyle for Clive and his family.