When your business is doing well and you’re looking to expand, you’ve got a few different options. You could design new product lines to make more sales to existing customers or you could try a new marketing strategy to reach new market segments. You may also decide to open more locations or increase your manufacturing output. But one thing that people often forget about is franchising, but it can be a very effective way to expand your business. The benefit of franchising is that you still get the increased revenue from the franchising fees but you don’t need to deal with the day to day running of the new locations. If you think that franchising might be the right choice for your business, here are a few tips to help make sure that you get it right.
Seek Advice Before Doing Anything
Some businesses are ideal for franchising and it’s the best choice for expansion, but certain businesses don’t do well as a franchise and it might not be a sensible choice for you. There are a lot of things to consider when franchising a business and if you jump straight into it without seeking advice beforehand, you could go very wrong and do a lot of damage to the original business. If you think that franchising might be for you, the first step is to speak to some franchise consultants and get their opinion on it. They will be able to tell you whether franchising is viable for you and tell you what your next steps should be. If you try to franchise a business without expert help, it’s likely that you’re going to fail.
Solidify Your Brand
A strong brand is essential if you’re going to find success with franchising. Mcdonald’s franchises work because as soon as people see those golden arches, they know exactly what to expect when they get inside. The franchises will always get customers because the brand is so strong. The brand does a lot of the marketing legwork for you but if your brand is weak, the franchises will really struggle. That’s why you need to put significant investment into increasing your brand awareness before you start franchising. Only once your brand is recognizable should you start selling franchises.
Pick The Right Franchisees
When you sell a franchise, you give control of your brand over to somebody else. Even though they’re a franchise, they’re still a representative of your company and anything that they do reflects back on you. That’s great news if they run the franchise well, but if they do it badly, it has a negative impact on your business, which is why choosing the right people is so important. You shouldn’t just sell a franchise to anybody that wants to buy one, you need to vet candidates thoroughly and ensure that they good enough experience to run a business well. You also need to ensure that they understand the need for consistency so customers continue to get the same level of service across all locations.
A lot of people think that franchising is an easy way to expand your business but that isn’t always the case, it can easily go wrong if you don’t know what you’re doing. But if you follow these tips, you have a much higher chance of success.