How “Essential Business” Franchises Can Continue to Grow After COVID-19

As businesses across the country were forced closed in compliance with state-issued social-distancing orders in March, a new classification of business was introduced and quickly became a household term describing the select businesses allowed to stay open while others were closed. The “essential business” designation is largely associated with grocery stores, gas stations and pharmacies, but there has been a wide range of businesses from virtually every sector given essential status during the coronavirus outbreak. Moving companies, tree-removal services, pet supply stores, flooring companies and a variety of other businesses were all deemed essential, making the designation a coveted lifeline for businesses in virtually every industry. 

Now, as states across the U.S. begin to relax social-distancing orders and non-essential businesses are allowed to re-open, essential status is becoming less, well, essential, at the store level. Still, for franchisors who know how to leverage the designation, it can be a major boon for development.

Unemployment has skyrocketed since March, reaching levels not seen since the Great Depression. Many laid-off workers are going to be looking for a new path forward — one that offers more control over their own career — and that means a massive new class of franchisees. For the majority of new prospective franchisees, the current economic crisis is the second financial meltdown they’ve had to endure in their adult lives. They are under no illusion that the economy will remain stable even if it rebounds, and they are looking for a professional opportunity that will provide stability even in a tumultuous economic climate.

Businesses that were deemed essential during the coronavirus crisis are uniquely well-equipped to assure nervous prospects of their long-term viability, “but they need to start telling that story now,” says Mainland* CEO and 1851 Franchise publisher Nick Powills. It’s not enough to tell your franchisee prospects that, because you were an essential business, your stores were allowed to stay open throughout the coronavirus pandemic. “You’ve got to show your leads what that means for franchisees,” Powills continued. “How were sales? How was staffing? What kind of issues did franchisees run into and how did your team help them overcome those issues?”

Beyond the financial viability of the opportunity, prospective franchisees are looking for an opportunity to play an active role in their community. Franchisors should highlight how their brands were able to leverage the essential business designation to support communities throughout the crisis.

Shirley Duehring has been a franchisee with Batteries Plus for 25 years. The franchise was deemed essential during the coronavirus, but Duehring says it’s far from the first crisis her store has survived. 

“One thing we have noted over time is that every experience with a disaster situation informs the public that we are not just a battery store,” Duehring said. “We are always here in times of crisis, working with organizations like FEMA during events like a hurricane. After the decline of this pandemic, people will realize we are a partner both in crisis and in normal life. It’s something we have tried to drive home for 25 years, and hopefully that message will come across that we are in a position to help.”

The support and infrastructure of a multi-unit system has allowed franchise businesses to weather a crisis that many independent businesses were unable to survive. As the remaining businesses begin to reopen, franchising may very well emerge as the dominant business model of the new landscape. Some brands are going to make better use of that positioning than others, and it’s those that were deemed essential that have an immediate head start. That’s an opportunity that should be leveraged strategically and aggressively, and essential-business franchisors should do everything they can to start telling that story in a way that will resonate with new franchisee prospects.