SOFTWARE MANAGEMENT FEATURE
Software will save you money, increase sales and improve your franchise
For years, franchised businesses have lived by their systems and processes to ensure the whole operation runs smoothly and that franchisees conform to the standards required of them. Prior to the electronic age, this meant living and abiding by the franchisor’s printed operations manual. In recent years, however, software has come to the franchisors’ aid. It is enabling them to equip their franchisees with the just-in-time information, resources, materials and help they need.
And now there’s a new kid on the block in the franchise software management market. The XEUS management platform utilises cloud technology in order to share with smaller franchise networks the impressive features and benefits of the larger bespoke franchise management systems. No longer will sophisticated franchise management systems be exclusive to the larger franchise brands. Cloud technology, with its affordable annual licensing subscriptions, enables the smaller and
mid-tier networks to also build a slick and efficient operation – one that isn’t restricted by geographic territory or IT network capabilities. Software can’t prevent franchise management challenges occurring, but it is helping franchisors to solve them quickly and effectively. This article looks at the common franchise headaches and how software is being used to overcome them.
Diminishing control Talk to any franchisor and one of their common concerns is the control they have over their franchisee network. Having built a strong brand, service or product offer, as well as a loyal customer following, they really can’t afford any element of the network to undermine all that good work.
As a successful franchise network expands, some franchisors complain about feeling more distant and disconnected from their franchises, outlets, staff and customers. This is often brought into sharp focus when things start to go wrong (when they’re chasing information they should have to hand, for instance, or suspect someone is working outside of their prescribed operating methods).
Many franchisors desperately need insight and data on how their franchisees are running the business on a daily basis. They want to know what they are doing, how they are representing the brand and product/service offer, how they are handling certain issues and
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also how effective they are at developing new business.
In many cases, franchise networks have got
around these issues with regular franchisee meetings, or by instigating a data flow of key information at regular intervals. These both come with sizeable time commitments and costs. Franchisors often end up paying other people to check in on their franchisees more regularly than is necessary, or the data they receive is subject to manipulation by a franchisee – either way it costs money. Franchise management software, such as XEUS, is paying for itself by eliminating costs like these whilst also helping franchisors stay in the driving seat of their business. This one system holds all the franchisee data and gives instant visibility on their performance, deals, billing and issue handling. From viewing top-level information on sales, margins and customers of the whole network to reviewing the detailed management information of an individual franchisee, the software enables
franchisors to see who is selling what, how and when they are taking payment. It also helps ensure that franchisees are following the latest version of the operations manual, systems and processes.
Lack of real-time information Delays do indeed cost businesses money, and the more efficiently a franchisor and their franchisees can access the information and resources they need, the better the business will perform.
Franchise networks often suffer from not having access to real-time data. Whatever the franchise operation’s metrics, or however it monitors franchise performance, there are huge amounts of time and money to be saved by implementing a franchise management system that reports on the key performance indicators in real time. Such software reassures franchisees by providing a slick ‘back-office’ system that gives them all the resources and information they need right when they need it.
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