ADVERTORIAL
Ensuring successful territories
As Overview Mapping celebrates 15 years of working with the franchise industry, Jon Newsum-Smith looks into how recent map-related developments can massively benefit franchisors
T
he success of a franchise is first and foremost down to having a viable, profitable business concept. A close second is most likely recruiting the right franchisees to grow your
franchise network. Bearing in mind the importance of getting the right franchisees, it is imperative that they each have an equal opportunity to succeed and develop their operation. Why is it, then, that some franchisors decide not to define the territories that these franchisees will operate in before recruiting? Maybe it is due to the fact that they are not familiar with the idea of having restrictive geography, or perhaps it is down to the preconceived cost of undertaking a territory mapping project. There is no denying the fact that launching a franchise can be expensive; invariably you will have consultancy and legal fees as well as advertising and recruitment costs. This can lead to territory mapping being pushed down the pecking order. Historically, this can partly be put down to the cost of undertaking such a project, but this is, thankfully, now a thing of the past. The development of technologies over the past 5 to 10 years, and the improved availability of data, have led to the considerable lowering in cost of a territory mapping project. Companies looking to launch a franchise, therefore, should define their territory mapping policy as early as possible to avoid the mistake of allocating
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Overview have embraced positive changes for franchisors – but also know that each and every client requires a bespoke solution
poorly-sized territories. The benefits of taking such action are by no means restricted to newly launched, or soon to launch, franchise brands. Well-established franchisors can benefit, too. By migrating to cost-effective web solutions, franchisors can gain control of their territory network and make necessary changes as the business develops. Online tools provide benefits by offering a dynamic solution, rather than static, off-the-shelf products, which tend to come with standardised underlying data. Even if these off-the-shelf solutions have the ability to be updated, this can be expensive to do, and generally requires the user to update the material themselves. A web system eradicates this step and ensures that system users have the most current data available at all times. This may prove beneficial to franchisors by allowing them to see the level of demographic data or business figure change within the territory boundaries of their network. Significant
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changes in these figures could justify the realignment of unsold or resale territory boundaries, thus making them more attractive. Functionality-wise, the capabilities and
user-friendliness of these web systems have vastly improved in recent times. Ultimately, these improvements lead to more meaningful analytical outputs that can be customised to the user’s needs. There is also much better integration with standardised software packages and improved options for bringing in live data from a variety of sources.
Overview have embraced these positive changes for franchisors, but also know – thanks to the expertise gained from the experience of working with the franchise industry for over 15 years – that each and every client requires a bespoke solution. Franchisors can be at different stages of their franchise development so there is not a single system that works for everyone. Overview continue to be at the forefront of mapping development with their market-leading web-based territory mapping technology. And with all system development kept in-house, system users are able to benefit from continual updates and enhancements made. n
Jon Newsum-Smith is GIS Project Manager at VeriLocation/Overview Mapping. For a demonstration, or to discuss your mapping requirements, call 01604 859854 or email: franchise@
overmap.co.uk
Franchisor News | 35
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