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Your franchise business is growing! Now, what should you worry about?

By Zaneb Iqbal

A well-expanding franchise business is always a good omen especially when you have a well-placed business model with each and every process set. However, as your business grows, you’ll encounter challenges that weren’t on your radar before. How you respond to them will create the foundation for ongoing change and growth as you continue to expand your brand. 

Henceforth, a fulfilling franchise business shouldn’t divert your focus from the key areas that will always be needing your attention. 

4 things to be taken care of while your franchise business expands 

The decisions you make in the early stages of your franchise business are critical to its future. The brand you want to see in the next five years would be the outcome of how you lay the foundation of your brand now. 

Here are the four things that franchisors need to take care of while expanding their business franchises. 

  1. Quality speaks volumes 

Quality

As a business owner, your top priority must be providing quality products and services. You need to provide easily accessible and reliable training to your employees and franchisees on anything you want them to understand and deliver in your uniquely branded way. Procedures need to be followed and brand standards need to be put in place to provide a uniform experience simple and clear to all.  

Implementing the proper field auditing solution for your organization also will help in that effort. Standard training on standard practices means customers will have a consistent experience, no matter which location they visit. 

 

     2. Consistency should be the key 

 Consistency

You are a growing organization. Chances are that your team is pretty small when compared to most brands we encounter daily. However, though you may still be growing, it’s important to provide your franchisees the kind of support that comes from a large franchise. This will build a foundation of trust and encourage the franchisees. Consistent systems are even more crucial at this time, because you do not have a large team to regularly monitor operations across locations. 

 

   3. Communication should be a priority 

Communication

Your early franchisees will be most important in establishing your brand. They will be the first faces of your franchise business, and keeping those faces smiling is a must. These first franchisees will be the people your interested buyers will go to for questions, concerns and encouragement regarding your brand. 

You want to be certain that they will provide positive and accurate information to those potential customers. Building an efficient way of communicating with franchisees so they become your champions will help your long-term growth. 

Any growing brand will face a time when it lacks the resources or manpower to run processes with consistency. You need a good system to manage practices so you can spend more time growing your franchise business than managing it.  

 

    4. Shaky business grounds never last long 

Business grounds

It’s a common trend that successful entrepreneurs often run into this mistake of giving away franchises too soon as they see growth in their sales. However, if you setup your franchising business on shaky grounds, there’s a very likely chance of it falling apart. 

Opting for franchising, when your business processes aren’t stable would put your entire business at risk. No franchisee would purchase a franchise to lose money, hence, if you’ve failed to establish a strong brand presence and streamlined communication between your business locations, there’d be a viable chance of collapsing business. 

Thus, franchisors must have established systems and processes that are easily understandable by individuals with backgrounds and skill sets different than the original founder. 

 

Quick Takeaway

Everybody loves an expanding franchise business. However, there are some things that franchisors should keep in mind while going for franchising.  

  • Set the foundation of your business expansion on firm grounds.
  • Don’t forget to ensure brand consistency across your business locations with friendly field audit software. 
  • Focus on delivering quality services and products across every location. 
  • Streamline your business communication to keep all your franchisees on the same page via a centralized communication platform. 

Last, but not the least don’t forget to opt for a one-stop, scalable franchise management software which lets you effortlessly handle all your franchise operations. 

 

Tags: franchise growth