Where having more than one franchise of a particular brand portrays a big picture of its higher rate of profit, doesn’t always indicate the same. The matter of concern for having an additional franchise can be because of three reasons- generation of money, man and time.
What is a Restaurant Franchise?
Once restaurant owners accomplish success on one by following the business models they resort to franchising i.e. to expand their businesses. This needs a lot of investment initially, which can be slightly risky. So to eliminate the factor of risk, the franchisor (the owner of the parent company) grants third party operators (franchisee) to use the intellectual property held by the brand, its patents, trademarks, and marketing plans in the exact same order as the parent brand.
This not only comes with perplexing operational protocols and mixed challenges but also gives a sense of business ownership to the franchisees.
Tips on expanding restaurant business into a franchise.
Managing all branches all on their own becomes a tedious task, therefore, owners share their business plan, Trademark and brand name with independent owners aka franchisees. The following are the cues that one should follow before indulging as a franchisee.
Evaluate your franchise model: The first and foremost step is to evaluate your current business model end-to-end to avoid any discrepancies later on. Your concept must be standardized and scalable. Your model must be profitable and you must also take care of your brand values.
Make sure that the same model is transferred to the franchisee. As after franchising, there is always a risk of dilution of brand value due to underperformance. Plan elements that make your restaurant a renowned brand - the secret recipe, your theme, decor everything that defines your brand.
Cost Structure: Look into your cost structure and find out the initial setting cost, infrastructure development, technology, and human resources and pass onto the new franchisees.
This will help them to avoid the same mistakes you did and help them manage trends effectively and efficiently. The execution will automatically be accelerated and will become smooth. In no time you will see a completely new establishment identical to the parent brand.
Trademark and Logo Registration: When you franchise your restaurant, you give someone the right to use the “Your” logo and trademark i.e. parent brand holding. Hence and foremost, registering your Brand’s logo and acquiring a trademark is the most important chore, yet this is the often most ignored step before franchising your restaurant. After doing it will also increase your reach to the franchise and expand more easily, justifying your authenticity.
Brand Profile: Make sure to convey the vision of your brand before getting into franchising your brand. As your brand will be competing in the ivy leagues, ensure to express and communicate your brand possessions to your franchisee holders. This will help you to gain quick brand recognition and acquire the trust of customers in this quick turnaround time.
This can include in-depth training of all- a worthwhile manager that will help franchisees incur effective management in peak hours and high profitability with those other human resources who will involve themselves in the daily operation, contributing to maintaining that same legacy of your restaurant brand.
Franchise Agreement: Due to the lack of laws regarding franchising make sure to have a legal agreement before starting up to clarify the tenure, payments, and royalty.
“There is no law in favor of a franchisor. Even if you get a registered agreement, it can still be tough to get hold of the franchise because there is no law for this”. Therefore it is a significant part to work on to avoid later disputes.
Marketing and Advertising: Marketing makes sure to reach out to your existing customers regarding your new outlets opening up. Franchising is a great effort to reach out to your customers wherever they are to make sure to communicate well. Make the best utilization of the location of your newly created franchise.
Try and grab all the customers but make sure to deliver the same quality as of the parent brand and avoid disparity in it. This will maintain continual visits from your customers. Also if marketing and advertising are decisive and make a strong presence in the market, it will help customers immediately connect to the famous cuisine and dishes with your brand name.
Before expanding make sure you provide full support in expanding dealings and customer satisfaction and provide full support to your franchisers. It is important to have a clear Brand Guideline for the Franchisees to adhere to. Clearly outline what all tasks the individual Franchise Outlets are responsible for, such as having a Social Media presence, listing on Restaurant Review Sites, etc. Remember to provide templates, logos, and other Brand-specific items such as menu design to ensure consistency across all outlets. However, if a restaurant fails, the franchisor won’t be responsible for picking the owner up; the loss of profits is the owner’s responsibility.