5 Traits of Established Franchise Brands That Young Brands Should Emulate

Emerging brands are the lifeblood of the franchising industry. They allow the industry to keep up with the times and flourish as it takes on new and improved shapes and sizes. Still, for those growing franchise brands, the real goal is to drop the “emerging” tag and begin to develop more of an “established” presence. Here are some characteristics that emerging franchise brands would be wise to take as an example from their established counterparts. 

Differentiated and Innovative Concepts

From the full-service sector to the fitness sector, franchise brands need to focus on what advantages make them stand out from their competitors if they want to grow. Once an emerging brand finds out what makes it special and plants its roots, it should prioritize listening to feedback and honing in on what customers want. Brands have to be willing to innovate and adapt in order to meet their customers’ and the team’s needs over time.

To do this, emerging brands should keep an eye on current events and trends throughout their industry and prioritize the traits that make them relevant and unique. As branded content and social media continue to expand their reach, anything that establishes an emerging brand as differentiated within a crowded market will position it for success and growth. 

Streamlined Operations

Truly established franchise brands tend to have a turnkey approach to operations, allowing new owners to start-up as quickly and efficiently as possible. In order for an emerging brand to find success through expansion, its operational systems must be able to be easily and consistently replicated across all units or territories.

Smaller franchise brands should avoid overly-complicated operational systems as they can be difficult for new franchisees to manage, especially franchisees who are not used to the industry or business ownership. Whether it be mobile-based or brick-and-mortar, the more streamlined the operations, the more consistent and reliable the unit-level economics will be. This creates an attractive business opportunity for franchisees with a clear path to profitability.

Advanced and Up-to-Date Marketing Techniques

Nowadays, the most successful franchise brands are using more and more digital and content marketing, online storytelling and data-driven, persona- and geo-targeted campaigns to recruit top-level franchisees. Considering validation and testimonials are so much more powerful than just leads in a pipeline, utilizing today’s technology is a necessary way to increase a brand’s affirmation and therefore their development efforts.

Some high-tech marketing techniques include email campaigns, blog posts, video content, social media partnerships and SEO tactics. 

Strong Support Infrastructure

Before implementing a strategy to expand a brand’s footprint, franchisors must first focus on creating a system of happy franchisees. Whether it be recruitment, onboarding or on-site training, the support of the corporate team is essential to the success of the franchisee. Plus, many franchisees explain that their reasoning behind buying a brand in the first place is the immediate support they saw within the system.

Franchisors need to be able to provide their franchise candidates with industry-leading, hands-on assistance if they hope to stand out. By positioning franchisees for success, franchisors cultivate stronger brand awareness, streamlined operations and the opportunity for scalability.

Targeted Growth

It is crucial that an emerging brand truly understands the markets they wish to expand in, whether big or small. A large portion of targeting the right development markets is looking into their demographics, like median age and income. This will not only allow the brand to see if the concept will flourish in certain areas but is also a good indication of whether or not they can recruit franchisees there. Lastly, brands need to research the competition within their target markets.

In addition to in-depth analysis and research, brand representatives should travel to target markets for an even deeper look. That first-hand experience provides an invaluable understanding of demographics, real estate selection and market saturation.