How do you Research Franchise Competition?

Everyone who owns or operates a franchise business wants to know how the competition is doing. You as a franchise owner can find out in a number of ways. Depending on the route you want to take, you can either have the research done by a professional franchise research company or can do it or have it done on your own.

This article includes information on professional franchise research companies as well as some ideas for "checking out the competition" that you might wish to employ.

• Use a Franchise Research company
  Enter "research a franchise" into your search engine, and choose one that can get the information you are looking for. They may have access to information that you don't, including financial and other business records. In addition, they can advise you on how best to use the information they gathered in order to improve your franchise's business, if need be, or stay on top if your franchise is currently outperforming the competition.
  
  
• Use "Mystery Shopper" tactics
  Have someone who is not associated or whose association with you is unknown to the competition visit the competitor's locations. Make sure, however, they use legal, ethical methods of obtaining pricing and other information, and that you use that information in the same legal, ethical manner.
  
  
• Do your own "physical" research.
  It may not tell you much about the competition's official financial or operating status, but you may be surprised at what you can learn.
  Drive by, or have someone do it for you, at different times each day. At opening time, go by a few minutes before opening and see if people are waiting to get in. then go back an hour later, and see if customer traffic has increased at all.
  At closing time, go by at different time increments prior to and just after closing time. Check to see if business has already ceased operation or selling as early as 30 minutes before closing and 15 minutes before closing. Then go back right at closing time, and see if the lights are still on, and/or if customers are still present. Then, go back 10 to 15 minutes after closing, and see if they actually have to let customers out after allowing them to complete their transaction.
  
  Keep a check to see if their "closing time" appears to be getting earlier and earlier. This can be a sign of either not enough business or the owner/proprietor not caring about serving late customers. Either way, it may give your franchise an advantage.
  
  Go to where people congregate, or have someone who is not associated or whose association with you is unknown to the competition go to such a place, and be prepared to stay a while. You or your representative are listening to see if any comments, favorable or otherwise, are being made about the competition.
  
  If it's possible to do so without drawing suspicion, the "listener" might steer the conversation in that direction.
  

Again, use the information obtained in this manner legally and ethically. It does you no good to find out the competition's status if it means you broke the law or acted in an unethical manner once you got the information.

A knowledgeable franchise consultant can also be a resource that can provide additional insights to franchise competition.