Join the trap, you are too talented

Zhao Benshan sold "Kai" to normal people at a high price, Zhao Lirong turned into an international superstar, and the "Hainan Island" and "Turpan" families are always ready to transfer - don't think that the sketches that will make a billion viewers laugh are there does not exist in reality.

In today's rapid development of the franchise chain industry, the unreasonable or even illegal behavior of some enterprises can be called "too talented".

Selling abduct - value, or value!

Does Fan Wei need abduction? Or, is kidnapping worthwhile for people who are not lame?

At first he was convinced by this common-sense question. But Zhao Benshan's flickering made him lose his basic position. For the final consumers and franchisees, some franchise projects are actually bought by Fan Wei.

Whether it's a crutch, a meal or a pillow, consumers don't care whether the product or service comes from a franchised store, they only care whether it can meet their needs and create value.

It is undeniable that some of the current franchise projects lack the core competitiveness to continuously drive consumption. For example, bubble tea franchise chains have closed their doors after being all the rage. Although its brand, raw materials and other aspects can gain scale effect due to chain, the most fundamental thing is taste. Once the freshness is over, this product is also quickly copied by fickle consumers into the cold palace. Affiliate programs such as these are not the "abductions" that consumers really need.

The final consumer's approval is only the first step. In a certain sense, the franchisee is also a consumer, and it is necessary to consider whether it is worth joining.

Cooperation in terms of brand, resources, market, technology, training, etc. is the foundation of the franchise chain format. For this reason, some people are willing to pay high prices for their own entrepreneurial road. However, if the "leader" has no brand, no standardized management, and no core competitiveness, will it still be abducted? Such as the franchise chain of small commodities such as hair accessories, brooches, etc., there are no well-known brands in the country, and the sources of goods are all over the wholesale market. Instead of paying a lot of franchise fees, it's better to throw away the "snatch" to buy goods and set up a stall.

Compared with Zhao Benshan, the "amazing market gap" and "a millionaire in one year" claimed in the franchise advertisement are obviously more deceiving. Therefore, before you get excited, ask yourself: As a consumer, will I be enthusiastic? As an operator, can I do it without kidnapping?

So packaged - seeing is not necessarily true

For the sake of the international stage, Mrs. Zhao was renamed "Spicy Chicken Silk" and sang the storytelling as RAP. In contrast, the self-packages of some "alliance leaders" are bolder and harder to see through.

The names like "Universe Brand Cigarettes" for no reason are only elementary school level, high-end office buildings, a complete VI system, plus popular model stores, high returns promised in the contract - all kinds of "flickering" "It has already surpassed Zhao Benshan's mouth.

Invisible are the franchise stores that are said to be all over the country, because most of them only exist in the exquisite picture albums for investment promotion. What can be seen is the smile of the owner of the model store, because his income comes from the promotion fee divided by the "leader", not the consumption of repeat customers. As a result, model stores are often crowded with franchisees from all over the world, but there are very few real customers.

This is not alarmist. Certain "leaders" obviously "understand" packaging better than Gong Hanlin. They are not only stylists, but also screenwriters and directors. From the advertisements and contracts on paper, to the model store and the headquarters, which are full of traffic, those who would like to join can't help but believe this opportunity to get rich.

However, it is not difficult to crack, just bypass the good show deliberately arranged by the "leader" to see how the business of stores other than the model store is going, or use Baidu and Google to search for all news and comments about the franchise project. If you see ads but no comments on the Internet, you need to think more carefully about this untested project.

Supernatural guerrillas -- beware of "illegal fundraising"

Zhao Benshan's flickering, Gong Hanlin's packaging, there may be exaggeration or even fraud, but it's not the worst, although these are probably the prelude to the worst ending.

Yes, the worst thing is that the "leader" learns guerrilla warfare from Huang Hong and Song Dandan. The day before, it was the franchise headquarters where merchants gathered, but the next day it was empty.

After the overnight transfer, all the many franchise stores of "Chaosheng" in the rapid expansion can do is to look for people everywhere. Tens of thousands of franchise fees are naturally wasted, and there are wasteful investments in unified decoration, renting and hiring employees. What's more, they deceive suppliers and franchisees, and take away not only the franchise fee, but also the unpaid goods.

Equally enticing publicity and ridiculously high rates of return, such affiliations might be more aptly called "illegal fundraising." Two years ago, the "Kaiyiguan" coffee chain, which was said to be from Taiwan, swept away nearly 100 million in franchise fees. Although there are reports that it is not a "malicious fraud", it is only debt-ridden due to rapid expansion, but the outcome is the same for franchisees.

For those who are interested in joining, if a franchise brand that has never been heard of is flooded with publicity for a while, and the promised rate of return is amazing, it must be a question mark in their minds: Is it a guerrilla?

The author is an associate editor of the CEConline website.