Do you want more? Are you happy where you are? What’s available for your market? By weighing these factors, you can create the best plan of action for your franchise location.
How to Get Out of Your Franchising Lull
If your franchising company is in a lull – a stagnant course you can’t seem to get out of – then it’s time to put your next steps into action.
Start by creating a list of goals. Where do you want your brand to be vs. where do you want it to go? Write down your goals in order to create a clear path to help get there. After all, without writing it all down, you won’t be able to show actual, tangible growth.
Next, talk with your franchising brand. Or, review any documents and training they might have given you. Are you following the model? In what areas have you potentially ventured? Did it help or hurt your bottom line? What else does the company recommend that you might not have tried? Even though you’ve seen all their paperwork, it’s best to revisit; you never know what you could be overlooking. There are likely steps you wanted to take “someday” but then forgot to actually move them forward. Re-read whatever they’ve sent and see if there are any pointed tips for your particular franchise model.
If not, consider reaching out to them and telling them what’s going on. They might have advice or be able to get you in touch with others who went through a similar lull.
The tricky part about franchising is that every location is nuanced. What works for one market might not work for the next. You will know your customers best, and therefore you’ll know how to attack each change as it comes to your location. However, that also means that just because something worked for the next guy, doesn’t mean it will work for you. Take each idea with a grain of salt. Don’t be afraid to try, but it might not be your cure-all either.
Next Steps in Franchise Growth
Now, it’s time to consider ideas like spreading the word and marketing your brand. What marketing ideas have you tried? What have offered the best results? Repeat those, then try something new to attract more customers. Consider advertising on social media, through emails, or by asking for customer referrals. With the latter, customers can earn a free product or a discount by bringing in a new customer. Meanwhile, your franchise grows in the process.
Get feedback from your employees. Ask them what you can do in order to become more efficient and grow your brand. They’re the ones working with your brand every day, and they are bound to have some input on how things could be working better than they are now.
Finally, sit down and crunch the numbers in order to learn what is or isn’t working. Sometimes you can only get the root of a problem by seeing the numbers on paper. If you don’t keep detailed records, it’s a great time to start. And if you have them in place, crunch data points in every category you can think of in order to find a common low area for your brand. Once you pinpoint your weak spot, you can work to fix the problem. (You’ll also have data to compare new rounds against.)
There are many ways in which you can help get out of a franchising lull. Look at these steps in finding and reversing the issue in order to boost growth for your business location.