Taking the Next Steps as an Emerging Brand

When it comes to franchising, the old adage “go big, or go home” definitely applies.

That’s not to undermine opening a single unit, of course. Doing so is a big endeavor in itself, and sprouting up location after location may seem like a giant leap into the great unknown. But as your franchise brand grows, and it’s clear that success is just on the horizon, opening multiple units is often the key to taking your brand to the next level.

So how does a brand grow from one to 10—or even 50—units?

Keith Gerson, the president of FranConnect, a company that has helped more than 400 brands establish, grow and manage their franchise operations, has been a part of the industry for nearly 40 years—more than enough time to see what works and what doesn’t work. Here are a few of his important “to-do’s” that every burgeoning brand needs to add to their list.

Build a Strong Foundation

According to Gerson, growing your franchise starts with a strong economic foundation. Put simply, your emerging company needs to have the ability to make money before you can take another step forward. And it’s not just sales that Gerson is referring to as the bottom line—a company’s unit-level economics have to work first.

“Make sure you put all of your effort into recognizing that the purpose of your business is the getting and keeping of customers—bar none. Making money will follow,” Gerson said. “To do this, you need to hire franchisees that can represent you on your behalf—the kind of people who are more focused on being entrepreneurs rather than managers. They need to live and breathe the brand.”

Be the Best at What You Do

No matter what line of work you’re in, there’s a lot of competition out there. Before considering an expansion, make sure you’re better at what you do than anyone else out there. Until you truly have a breakout concept that doesn’t exist anywhere else, you’re competing in a crowded territory.

“This is an opportunity to get leads flowing in your direction that might be going to other brands,” Gerson said. “In one situation, I remember asking franchisors how well their franchisees execute in comparison to other similar brands. Sixty-percent said their franchisees can only execute equal to the competition or less than. You want to make sure you’re always executing at the highest level possible. Never settle.”

Be Passionate

Make sure that franchisees believe that what they’re doing is making a difference. When a brand exudes that type of passion, just about anyone will want to do business with you.

“Your franchise and the people in it have to be electric. If a prospect is talking to a franchisee and all they’re focused on is money and metrics, that’s not what really puts people over the top,” Gerson said. “They need to feel a connection.”

Erik Premont, senior director of market development for Hooters in Latin America, the Caribbean and Canada, agrees.

“I believe that a franchise relationship is the same as a marriage relationship. Business relationships can be hard, and a passion for the brand needs to be there. That part is absolutely undeniable,” Premont said. “You’re trying to succeed in a business driven by people, and what drives people? A lot of the time, it’s emotion. Make sure that connection is there.”

Make Sure You Have Social Media Validation

A whopping 78% of all purchase decisions are made before someone even talks to a franchisor on the phone. Today, people are getting the information they need to know from various social media sources. Yelp, for example, will tell a prospective franchisee how customers feel about a brand.

“I have seen and know of brands that have lost customers because they had poor validations at the consumer level, or too few stars,” Gerson said. “I remember working with Mrs. Fields Cookies years ago, and the owner told me she knew she had a winning brand from the beginning because her regular customers used to call in sick, just so she wasn’t alarmed when one of them didn’t show up that week. That’s a sign that you’ve really connected with your customer, and that’s something they’ll relay back to the rest of the world through websites like Yelp.”

Nail Down Your Sales Process

According to Gerson, it’s also important to have the right process and tools in place to make sure you’re the first to the lead.

“You need systems, triggers and tools to make sure you can get to that prospect within minutes of their inquiry. You need to stay on top of whether or not leads are getting responded to on a timely basis and whether or not they’re getting communicated with in a relevant way,” Gerson said. “When you don’t have all of these things in place, chances are a potential lead will lose interest and seek business elsewhere.”

Premont echoes Gerson’s advice.

“At the end of the day, you have to have the right infrastructure in place to make sure you can support potential franchisees and current franchisees to the best of your abilities—whether you’re five miles away or 50 miles away,” Premont said.