MARKETING SUPPORT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT AREA OF FRANCHISOR ASSISTANCE, ACCORDING TO GLOBAL SURVEY

43 per cent of prospective franchisees surveyed by FranchiseSales.com would prefer a franchisor to do all their marketing,with a further 48 per cent wanting some assistance and only nine per cent wanting complete control.

Other highlights of the survey include:

• 29 per cent of would-be franchisees ideally wanted a franchisor to take care of strategic planning and the same proportion preferred it to perform the sales function.

• 38 per cent of respondents looking to invest in a franchise were willing to buy in any sector, as long as the concept worked.

• Fast food is the most popular sector, with 26 per cent considering franchises in this industry, followed by working from home (24 per cent), general food (22 per cent) and distribution (20 per cent).

• LinkedIn was deemed the most effective site for researching franchise opportunities, with 26 per cent finding it useful for finding information, 13 per cent for contacting franchisors and 17 per cent for networking with franchisees.

The survey also found 43 per cent of franchisors said finding high quality franchisees was the biggest obstacle to expansion.

19 per cent cited challenging trading conditions and a further 19 per cent uncertainty about the sustainability of the economic recovery as barriers to growing their businesses.