Proving that success is no coincidence, Expense Reduction Analysts (ERA) have been crowned winners in one, and shortlisted in a further two, of the franchise industry’s most prestigious awards this month.

No stranger to the podium, in the last five years alone, ERA have been finalists in NINE award categories from these two professional bodies and scooped two awards. The British Franchise Association’s ‘Franchisor of the Year Award’, Franchise Marketing Award’s ‘Best Franchisee Marketing Support’ and ‘Best Overall Marketing Campaign’ complete this year’s impressive line-up. Celebrations are already underway as ERA were crowned ‘Best Overall Marketing Campaign’ winners at the Franchise Marketing Awards. Winners were announced at The British and International Franchise Show in London.

ERA is the UK and Ireland’s leading procurement franchise. Franchisees are expertly trained to enable organisations to save money and boost business performance through effective procurement, improved supplier management and smarter spending habits. Boasting the highest consulting revenue of any UK procurement franchise, ERA franchisees have enjoyed an impressive 64% increase in sales over the past five years.

Over the past 11 years, the Franchise Marketing Awards (FMAs) have become one of the industry’s most highly-coveted accolades. They are renowned for celebrating innovative marketing campaigns and effective marketing support offered by franchisors to their franchisees.

“We’re delighted with our win. The FMAs are a great endorsement of the hard work my team put into helping our franchisees to market their businesses. It highlights the great collaboration that we have with our network. Our franchisees know what they need and want and we have the skills, structure and communication lines to interpret and provide the tools they need to help them win more business. We are constantly turning franchisees’ needs and wants into tangible, tactical delivery systems. This openness and co operation across the entire business allows us to allocate spend where it’s likely to be most effective, and have highly focused initiatives that have a real impact,” adds Chris.

The British Franchise Association’s (bfa) Franchisor of the Year Award is the highest accolade any franchisor can achieve. A panel of specialist judges oversee hundreds of entries from businesses spanning all industries and sectors. Only those franchisors who demonstrate a passion for and commitment to ethical franchising, and can evidence a strong infrastructure and support for their franchisees, are put forward as finalists.

Finalists in this category are the very crème of the crop. Christopher Aston, Marketing Director at ERA, explains the significance of being named one of only seven finalists this year: “It’s such an honour to once again be a finalist for Franchisor of the Year. It’s a great accolade to the fabulous people we have in the business who enable us to do what we do, from my team here at head office to the franchisees themselves. The communication, openness and interdependency within the network is really where our success lies. I truly believe that our success is not down to any one individual, but down to us all working as one.” As demonstrated by their impressive collection of awards and finalist nominations, ERA’s programme of training and support is designed to equip you with all the knowledge and confidence you need to successfully launch and run your business, whatever your skills or background. New franchisees undertake a tailored five-week course consisting of classroom and hands-on learning at the ERA Academy.

The bfa awards ceremony forms the glittering finale to the franchise industry’s annual conference in June. Come what may, ERA are already celebrating yet another year of unquestionable triumph.