Businesses that turn to franchising as a way to expand their brand into new markets generally have a significant learning curve they must overcome as they learn how to manage the responsibilities of franchising and franchise expansion. A new franchisor is like a new business owner who is learning the ways, processes and steps they must take to deal with customers, overcome obstacles and effectively grow the business. What’s new about franchising to most business owners is the responsibility that comes with scaled growth and opening new locations in new markets with the addition of Franchisees in the fold. With the never-ending expansion of technology in all aspects of business and life, franchising certainly has seen it’s reliance on technology and systems increase exponentially as well. Perhaps in franchising more than most businesses, technology has taken on a new meaning as to how critical good tech is to the successful growth of a franchise.
Technology is a broad term, it could mean mobile technology, web marketing, operating systems, sales management systems or financial management systems, so where does it fit into franchising? The truth is everywhere, but there are some key categories that every franchise system should be acutely aware of in order to best take advantage and scale more efficiently.
- Sales and marketing technology – every good franchise system needs to have a solid franchise sales CRM in order to manage the large influx of leads and effectively oversee the development of these leads into franchise sales. Typical franchise sales take in excess of 150 leads to convert, a good technology platform is critical to the success of this model. We like Leadmaster, which Franchise Marketing Systems worked together to create a franchise specific CRM (http://www.franchisemarketingsystems.com/services/franchise-crm/).
- Loyalty marketing and franchisee lead management systems – every good franchisor has a lead development and loyalty marketing platform that is inherent to the franchise brand. This should be leveraged and provided to franchisees in order to help them grow and develop their customer base. We like Scorpion’s franchise platform (https://www.scorpion.co/franchise-marketing/)
- Operations and logistics management software – a good system needs a management tool to operate the day to day business efficiently. A technology platform that allows franchisees to manage the day to day schedule, oversee territory management and facilitate the logistics of inventory and supply management. Different systems work for different industry segments, but Franchise Marketing Systems likes ServiceCEO for service platforms (www.ServiceCEO.com) and for retail operations, Revel (www.RevelSystems.com)
For more information on how to incorporate technology into your franchise model and more effectively franchise your business, contact us:
Christopher Conner
Chris.Conner@FMSFranchise.com
Franchise Marketing Systems 