According to the International Franchise Association (IFA), the economic impact of franchise businesses is expected to grow by 4.1% in 2024, reaching $893.9 billion.
This translates to a substantial increase from $858.5 billion in 2023.
However, as your franchise expands, the problems pile up. One of them is choosing franchise management software that makes sense for you.
If you’re like most franchisers, you fear that the wrong technology will turn into a double-edged sword for your day-to-day operations.
And the truth is, it does. Because it cripples your ability to scale while simultaneously eroding your brand and operational control.
Imagine struggling to onboard new franchisees efficiently due to clunky software. Envision frustrated customers encountering inconsistencies in bookings, pricing, or service delivery across locations.
Such oversights frustrate and disappoint clients. Often to the point of no return.
The dream of a thriving franchise becomes a constant battle against technological limitations.
So, what can you do?
There are many management software options on the market. Too many.
And most of them are limited to just appointment scheduling. But what about marketing, POS, reports, and inventory?
Should you have separate tools to manage every aspect of your franchise?
There is a lot to consider.
Growth is what happens when more customers start trusting and choosing your business. When they choose you over your competitors.
What are some common challenges for growing service-based franchises? How to overcome them with the right technology for your business?
Franchise Quality Control
Regardless of which franchise location they visit, customers expect the same experience. They want the same level of quality. Whether it’s stellar or inadequate, the service they receive automatically reflects their opinion of your brand.
How can you retain high standards for a business that different people around the nation now manage?
Start with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). This document should cover all the important aspects of your operations. It is a blueprint for your business that helps the franchisees standardize your day-to-day procedures — from booking to marketing practices.
Then, set up quality control systems.
For example, that could mean:
- Defining KPIs that are related to quality — such as customer satisfaction scores
- Analyzing feedback from employees, franchisees, and clients
- Introducing training programs for franchisees and their staff
- Retaining strict control over the supply chain
- Doing regular evaluations
How can you continually track progress? See which locations are doing exceptionally well or which locations are struggling to meet their KPIs?
MyTime software gives you data-based insight into how multiple franchisees apply practices detailed in your SOPs.
Since it’s fully customizable, MyTime’s reports give you all the information you need to make informed decisions about your unique business. It helps you know whether the brand is consistent as well as prevent any site from going rogue.
Also, you can use it to set up different access controls based on the user’s role. For instance, you can allow location managers and franchisees to see royalty reporting and KPIs from a single platform. Show franchise owners where they stand.
Scaling Franchise Marketing Efforts
How can you reach more customers as you franchise the company? Effective marketing is one of the key factors that will bring more customers to your location and build a base of loyal customers.
But how do you scale your marketing across different locations?
Choose a business management tool that’s more than appointment scheduling.
For example, MyTime is a one-stop software for booking, payments, customer relationship management, and marketing. As a result, it provides you with all the tools and data you need to meet the ambitious goals of your business.
MyTime’s growth marketing tools are designed to:
- Create, schedule, and manage marketing campaigns
- Reach customers that are coming from different channels — from social media to your email
- Reward customers with loyalty programs
- Offer you detailed analytics about campaign outcomes based on the behavior of your customers
- Automate marketing efforts
As a result, a marketing team can easily create and set up marketing campaigns, keep track of what works for your target audience, and use these insights to better the results.
Managing Staff Schedules and Bookings at the Site Level
Scheduling conflicts, double bookings, lack of information, or limited options all sour the customer experience. How can you align the client demand and schedules of your staff?
An accurate and convenient booking experience for clients and customers starts with real-time updates of staff availability. Then, it’s synced with client bookings.
For example, MyTime helps you manage staff schedules and client booking on the site level. They can see all the set availability and bookings in one place.
For franchise owners, this means they can manage staff schedules based on preset parameters and guidelines — all from a single intuitive platform. Appointments are color-coded and easy to manage if you need to make any sudden changes.
How does that work, exactly?
The staff can easily set their schedules on the back end, which automatically updates the appointment availability for customers. This not only reduces the workload for office managers but also empowers service providers.
For clients, this means that they can see when which locations are available. All they need to do is book a slot at the time that suits them best.
Missing Out on Possible Bookings
According to our research, 43% of bookings come from outside of regular business hours, and 20% of online bookings are via Facebook, Instagram, Bing, and Google.
Can your business afford to miss out on these bookings?
Some clients prefer to book via Instagram or Facebook, while others prefer Google or making an appointment in person. They also might look into booking availability outside your business hours. How can you motivate clients to book an appointment in one of your locations?
Meet your clients where they are.
MyTime’s omnichannel booking makes sure customers can book anywhere at any time. With booking available 24/7 on social media, Google, Bing, and your website, your customers can book from anywhere anytime.
As a result, the booking is more efficient and convenient for both customers and franchisees. And you have one less administrative burden.
Worried about those inconvenient and costly no-shows?
To make sure that the clients don’t forget about the spa or hair appointment, MyTime also sends them reminders. From our user’s experience, this feature results in 85% fewer no-shows.
There is also integrated messaging for direct communication with the clients. They can let you know if they’re running late or need to reschedule.
Simplifying Transactions By Automating POS and Inventory
A major perk of having software management that is more than just a scheduler is having the functionality of multiple different software working as one. For example, MyTime integrates POS and inventory management.
Let’s break them down.
The Point of Sale system takes care of transactions, sales taxes, and generates detailed reports for all locations. Upon checkout it automatically counts any tips, discounts, commissions, or taxes.
MyTime’s omni-channel POS makes the payments flexible.
Credit cards, gift cards, or cash? Staff can accept the payments anywhere, regardless of what clients prefer.
The inventory management system tracks inventory levels and automatically reorders items. It makes sure your bestsellers are never out of stock. When a company runs out of inventory, it can mean lost sales, lower productivity, or cause frustration for customers.
Working seamlessly together, POS and automated inventory enable you to accept payments anywhere and how your clients prefer while keeping your shelves stocked at all times.
Imagine not having to worry about inventory again, and instead focus on other aspects of your business.
Data-Driven Growth Strategies for Franchises
As you scale, every solution, location, and employee added to your business arsenal makes your operations more nuanced and complex. Therefore, the management software you have should simplify your day-to-day — not add to that complexity.
This is especially important for analytics and reports. You need the right data to decide how to optimize your business.
How can we prevent franchise owners from getting tangled in too much data?
MyTime offers more than just scaling marketing and booking for your business; it can also grow with you in many other ways. Need to process a lot of data? MyTime is designed to provide you with detailed insights to confidently manage your operations.
How does it work? MyTime gathers key data about your sales and customers, allowing you to make informed decisions that align with your specific goals and KPIs.
With real-time detailed analytics, MyTime connects the dots for you. This means you can track progress and performance on enterprise or corporate levels.
For instance, decision-makers within your company can easily access the most important metrics at any time. This enables you to quickly identify areas of success and areas that need improvement.
Retaining Visibility of Operations in Franchises
When your business is run by different franchisees in multiple locations, it’s a matter of time before something goes wrong. But with the right technology, you can track and address the issues early.
Think potential legislative problems, financial fraud attempts, or one of the locations getting consistently poor reviews. Issues in one location damage the reputation of the entire brand, regardless of how well other locations are doing.
MyTime’s software combines automated marketing, Point of Sale systems, training and support inventory management as well as scheduling and appointments all in one platform.
What this means is that you get a bird’s eye view of the entire operation. You can manage the franchise from a single integrated platform and stop the foul play early.
This solution is specifically designed for multi-site and franchise service-based businesses.
Whether you run a pet salon, barber shop, beauty salon, a med spa, or hair salon business, MyTime provides you with more than smooth booking services. You get the whole picture of your business.
Covering the High Cost of Franchising Your Business
On average, it takes around $18,500 to $84,500 to franchise a company. That initial cost depends on the legal, bank, and advertising fees. And it doesn’t cover other costs that come up as you run and grow a business — such as management tools.
True. Once you get everything up and running, you eventually get a return on your investment. As a franchise business, you diversify your revenue streams and generate more income from fees, royalties, and other systems.
Even if you’re faced with economic downturns and fluctuations, your business is resilient and more stable because it’s not putting all of its eggs in one basket.
One of the investments that multi-location service business owners need to make is technology that will help them manage versatile aspects of business in one place.
The truth is, that most of such tools are only focused on managing appointment scheduling. And they offer a couple of fixed packages that you overgrow quickly.
MyTime provides a more tailored approach. You can choose the functionalities you need to build your own custom version of the software.
From POS, booking, marketing, and communicating with franchisees to analytics and reports, you get to choose what you need as you grow a business.
The bottom line is, that you don’t have to worry about outgrowing your management solution because it scales with your business. With MyTime’s fully integrated platform, you can streamline your operations by utilizing our all-in-one solution and/or seamlessly integrating it with your other favorite tech stack.
One-Stop Franchise Management Software
Ultimately, the clients and customers who enter any of your business locations need to be happy with the service provided. To achieve that, they want to feel heard, book and pay with ease, and know what they’re getting from your brand is something they can’t get anywhere else.
With scaling business operations that are scattered in multiple locations, it can be difficult to keep standards high. MyTime was designed specifically to help you grow and manage your services-based business from one platform.
As a franchisor, you want to know you can run a smooth and operationally efficient operation.
With the right technology, that is possible.
Want to manage your business from a single platform?
MyTime is the one-stop franchise managing service for:
- Appointment scheduling
- Marketing and promotion
- POS systems
- Inventory management
- Customer relationships management
- Detailed business reports and analytics
Book a free demo to get started.
