The gusto and excitement of opening a new business is quite a common phenomenon for a new entrepreneur. And so it would happen with a franchise initiator too. But to continue business, with cadence and candour in the sands of time is arduous and demanding. The setting up of a franchise and spearheading it in the legacy of the brand requires a lot of hard work. Read on, to get some tips for the successful conduct of franchise business:
Investment: ‘Money makes the mare go’ depicts the importance of finance in any business. The entrepreneur needs to invest a considerable amount of money in the beginning to dream of reaping profits at the later stages. The franchisee can contact the banks or the finance companies for loan. He should consider both, the start up and the running cost of the business, before finalising the franchise deal for the proper running of the outlet.
Location: Many franchisors assist their franchisees in the site selection process. An F&B outlet franchise would require shopping malls, high streets and high footfall areas as its location. The points to be considered are how much footfall the area gets regularly? What is the catchment area? Does the area fall in the vicinity of any complimentary businesses or it lies directly across a competing business? Is any construction planned near the site? The answers to these questions should be taken care of before choosing a location.
Training: A comprehensive training programme is an important part of the development of a franchise concept, and is likely to evolve as lessons are learned. Earlier, franchisee training used to be delivered by the franchisor who originally developed the business concept, and who was well-versed in the operation of the business, but now, establishment of training wings is required due to the increase in number of franchisees in every business. In the food franchise business proper training to the cooks should be given so that the delicacies are as good as of the original restaurant. Same goes for other franchise units as well.
Staff recruitment: For the successful running of any outlet skilled staff should be selected. The employees should be well qualified and trained to run the outlet. Of course, in the start-up days, the franchisor himself sends some of his qualified staff to properly run the outlet.
Procuring logistics: Usually, the franchisor suggests the franchisee the vendors’ names from whom the logistics is to be procured to maintain a uniform standard in all his outlets. The franchisee needs to have a back up plan, if the nominated vendor suddenly goes out of business for any unpredictable reasons. Therefore, a list of alternates should be available in the file of the franchisee.
Marketing techniques: Being part of a franchise system offers tremendous advantages, such as instant brand recognition, but still the franchisee himself has to work on his outlet. Advertising campaigns, public and media relations efforts, TV and radio commercials, internet advertising and direct mail initiatives can be used to promote the products and services. Many franchisors have public relations representatives who provide guidance on publicity of products and conduct campaigns at corporate level. To make his outlet popular the franchisee can offer schemes which may attract customers, in addition to the schemes of the company.
Franchising is joining a band wagon of proven business enterprise and brand name. When an entrepreneur becomes a franchisee he would be given everything that is needed to keep the business running successfully. This includes training, customer leads, research information, logistics and marketing tools. In addition, he has the license to use the business name, patents, brandings and trademarks that the brand has. The franchisee needs to devote time and work hard on his outlet to make it a success.
