Learn how to fill in the real-world gaps that franchise operations manuals often miss.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Providing continuous support to franchisees is critical for the growth and success of a franchise brand.
- Utilizing learning management systems can ensure that franchisees have constant access to the training materials they need to thrive.
- By scheduling regular check-ins and monitoring local marketing spending and outcomes, franchisors can help franchisees optimize their efforts and avoid wasting money.
Building a thriving franchise system takes more than just documenting your brand’s standards and operations.
Instead, it requires the implementation of smart strategies to avoid getting stuck in the franchise growth gap. By moving beyond the franchise operations manual and focusing on building real-world systems of support for franchisees that include training, performance monitoring, and ongoing coaching and engagement, you can build validation, optimize your brand’s long-term potential and avoid common pitfalls that can negatively impact growth.
In this article, we’ll explore the gaps that franchise operations manuals often overlook and discuss implementation strategies for growing your brand the right way.
Common Gaps That Impact Franchise Growth
As a new or emerging franchisor, it’s important to address gaps in your franchise operations manual as your business evolves. It’s also critical to implement your brand’s systems and standards effectively. During each phase of your brand’s development, remember to evaluate its systems and processes and make the appropriate adjustments to support future growth.
1. Systems of Support for Franchisees
Although your operations manual can be useful for educating franchisees about your brand’s standards, policies and procedures, it’s not uncommon for franchisees to not use it, skip over important parts of the document or not fully understand its contents.
To move beyond the operations manual and ensure franchisees are supported in their roles as business owners early on, consider implementing the following strategies:
- Avoid making assumptions. Nobody knows your business like you do – because you’re the one who created it. Since franchisees might not have the same knowledge or business acumen as you, take time to answer their questions and offer training or coaching to support their development as entrepreneurs.
- Make resources accessible. Implementing a digital search feature can improve your franchise operations manual and help franchisees quickly find the answers they’re looking for. Digital platforms and video modules can also be useful to visual learners.
- Embrace technology. Developing a digital learning management system (LMS) can help keep your franchise operations manual up-to-date and accessible systemwide while ensuring franchisees have everything they need, when they need it, in one location.
Developing systems of support for franchisees is critical for building validation early on. By avoiding delays and providing franchisees with the tools and resources they need to build their businesses, you can position your brand for long-term success.
2. Engagement and Relationship-Building
When you’re just getting started as a franchisor, it can be tempting to focus exclusively on franchise sales – even to the detriment of your existing franchisees. However, building validation and positive relationships with your initial franchisees is critical for your brand’s future growth. Because of that, it’s important to support existing franchisees before focusing on sales.
To build validation with franchisees, consider implementing the following strategies:
- Prioritize support over sales. Because validation is necessary for growth, perfecting your business model and supporting your existing franchisees in their success as business owners should always come before landing new deals.
- Build a growth-oriented team. Hiring the right people can help you avoid franchise sales chaos. In the beginning, your most important hires are the people who can help you continue to identify and build your brand.
- Create a culture of learning. Because continuous learning is important for the long-term success of your business, baking education into your internal culture is critical. To do this, consider implementing an LMS, like LearningZen, with a required curriculum while looking for ways to recognize top performers
- Schedule regular check-ins. Engaging with franchisees consistently can help you identify the challenges they’re facing and collaborate on solutions. It can also enable you to monitor their progress and pain points, and keep them plan for Item 19 submissions and other important documentation.
Because validation is critical for growth, building positive and supportive relationships with your initial franchisees is important. By prioritizing your existing franchisees’ success over landing new deals, you can lay a sturdy foundation for your business – and ideally make your brand more appealing to future buyers.
3. Tracking Progress and Spending
Having knowledgeable franchisees who are up to date about your brand’s systems, standards, policies and procedures is important for providing consistent products and services. Because of that, tracking franchisees’ training and knowledge about specific subjects can be useful for identifying strengths, weaknesses and pain points in your franchise system.
To make sure your franchisees’ knowledge and skills are always up to par, consider implementing the following strategies:
- Measure knowledge. Use an LMS to assign required courses or certification tests to keep franchisees up to date about your brand’s systems, processes and standards. Consider adding some fun to the process by using a competitive ranking system or rewards to acknowledge top performers.
- Monitor marketing spending. Check in with franchisees monthly to evaluate their local marketing efforts, track the outcome of campaigns, discuss unique challenges in their market while limiting unnecessary spending.
- Provide ongoing support. Whether it’s provided by you or a fractional coach, ongoing field coaching and training can help franchisees build confidence and develop the skills they need to thrive as business owners.
By setting expectations with franchisees and defining your requirements for coursework and certifications early on, you can position your brand – and your franchisees – for success early on. Offering franchisees ongoing support and monitoring their local marketing efforts can also help them avoid wasting money while developing important business skills.
Closing Thoughts
As an emerging franchisor, creating a franchise operations manual is only the first step toward building a thriving franchise system. To continue scaling your business, you must also support franchisees by implementing strong systems of support that include field coaching, relationship-building and ongoing education.
When developing your brand, it’s also important to monitor franchisee spending and use an LMS to track franchisees’ training, ongoing coursework and certifications. By setting expectations with franchisees early on, you can identify bottlenecks in your franchise system and fill in gaps that your operations manual might have missed.
By adopting the right growth mindset and implementing real-world support systems for your franchisees, you can lay a strong foundation for your brand while competitively positioning your business for future growth.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Challenges franchisee often face that can stall growth include undercapitalization, overspending on local marketing, a lack of confidence and underinvestment in staffing. These challenges can create a snowball effect that negatively affects finances and limits growth.
New franchisors can benefit from taking a hybrid approach to franchise development and fractional coaching. Although it’s critical for founders to be involved directly in the franchise sales and onboarding processes, hiring a brand evangelist to coach franchisees as they develop their businesses can sometimes be helpful.
Interactive training materials and videos can boost engagement and make important information easier for franchisees to understand, especially those who learn visually. Interactive LMS modules can also help franchisors track and measure franchisees’ knowledge about important topics related to their business.
