The biggest advantage of opening a chain franchise store is that you can directly borrow the headquarters' golden brand and draw on the headquarters' experience, thereby reducing investment and operating risks. However, for franchisees, after "copying" the environment, atmosphere and products of the headquarters business premises, it does not mean that they can sit back and relax.
In the operation process, franchisees will definitely be involved in many factors such as financial management, personnel management, market development, peer competition, etc. Moreover, each franchise store will be affected by local customs, market, competitive environment, etc. Different, very different from the headquarters.
Research and analysis concluded that in order to make stable profits, franchisees must absorb the headquarters’ business philosophy, operating methods, etc. into their own available methods and develop their own business and management capabilities.
Opening a franchise store requires investing a certain amount of money, a lot of time and energy. Things to note when opening a chain franchise store are as follows:
1. In the early stage of franchising, attention should be paid to reasonable fund raising and reasonable investment of funds
Due to the eagerness to start a business and open a store, some franchisees in order to raise funds to join the franchise Deposits, security deposits, etc. are everywhere, and they even do not hesitate to borrow usury. Once the store was opened, although the business was going smoothly, in order to raise money to pay off debts every day, I had no intention of investing in the business. Once the operator who is supposed to be the leader leaves the front line due to capital allocation, other employees in the store will be immediately affected, and the service quality will gradually decline. And customers are also sensitive and will gradually stay away from the store. Of course, the performance cannot be improved anymore. Stores that were originally doing well often collapse because of this.
In order to raise the franchise fee and opening expenses, Mr. Feng borrowed money from people everywhere. After successfully joining the franchise and opening the store, the business was very prosperous. Seeing that it was profitable, a creditor proposed to invest the 100,000 yuan lent to Mr. Feng to participate in the management of the hotel and the distribution of profits. If he did not agree, he would repay the debt immediately. In order to raise money to pay off debts, Mr. Feng had no intention of investing in hotel management, and the service quality gradually declined.
Therefore, franchisees should act according to their ability and choose a franchise fee that suits their threshold. Otherwise, they will be in debt and worry all day long, which will have a great impact on the operation of the store.
At the same time, franchisees must determine a reasonable allocation ratio of the entire capital investment and make an overall plan. Don't wait until after the grand opening to find out that you have no funds for the later operations of the store. Wouldn't it be a huge joke?
2. Control operating costs and plan purchase strategies
Cost control in the business process is very important. One less expenditure equals one more profit. Compress costs to a smaller level. A low range is absolutely necessary. However, excessive saving is also incorrect. For example, lighting effects are an indispensable condition for attracting customers for the sale of certain goods. If you turn off the spotlights in order to save power, you will definitely lose more than you gain.
At the same time, planning the purchase strategy and adjusting the turnover speed are also effective ways to control costs. Stores should try their best to avoid stocking up on goods. Many new owners often have serious capital constraints, and their capital operations are stretched thin, and they quickly fall into trouble. Seasonal slow-moving goods should be cleared at a timely price reduction and new goods should be used to fill the original vacancies. After all, money only comes from selling goods.
3. Learn to manage employees
Although after joining, the headquarters will provide a series of training on employee management and provide corresponding support to franchisees, but Yuanshui cannot save it. Near fire, franchisees need to find the problem from the source, truly understand it, and learn how to manage employees. From the examples of many entrepreneurs, it is found that many new bosses do not correctly understand this problem. They start from their usual thinking and do things according to their own temperament. Therefore, it is not surprising that internal employees cause trouble.
"When I first came into contact with the franchise chain, I thought that as long as I successfully joined the franchise, I could easily enjoy the success." Ms. Wu, who once joined a beauty chain, said with emotion. Ms. Wu believes that it would be fine if she just lays down and does nothing, and everything is managed by the headquarters. After the actual opening, problems from employees came one after another. An employee of the company took advantage of his job to promote other beauty products to customers; within a week, several key employees of the company were poached by other beauty salons, taking away dozens of regular customers. Ms. Wu recruited new troops, and not long after, she discovered that she was making a wedding dress for someone else.
Therefore, franchisees must realize that managing employees is their own business and must be done well. First of all, franchisees must fully understand their employees. As a manager, it is not easy to fully understand your employees. But if managers can fully understand their employees, their work will go much more smoothly. "A ruler is short, an inch is strong." Every employee has his or her own strengths and weaknesses in terms of ability, character, attitude, knowledge, cultivation, etc. Some work quickly, some are cautious, and some are good at dealing with people. relationship, some people like to bury themselves in statistics and work silently. As the saying goes, "A man who knows his friends will die". A manager who can fully understand his employees will be a first-class manager in terms of work efficiency and interpersonal relationships.
Secondly, communicate more with employees and listen to their voices. Employees will always have their own dissatisfaction and opinions, although some of them are correct and some are incorrect. But if it doesn't get an outlet or guidance, it can cause big problems. Therefore, managers need to communicate with employees frequently, seek their opinions, and listen to their questions. By untying the knot among employees, the team will be more united and more motivated to work.
At the same time, employees should be allowed to make mistakes and employees who perform well should be praised in real time. The real world is full of uncertainties. In such an environment, it is naturally impossible to succeed in everything. As a manager, if you require your subordinates not to make any mistakes, it will inhibit the spirit of innovation and make them timid at work. Of course, employees who have made contributions must be rewarded and praised in a timely manner to boost morale.
4. Learn to manage customers and establish good customer relationships
A grain of wheat has three fates: first, it is ground into flour and consumed by people to realize its own value; As seeds, new wheat grains will be produced after sowing, creating new value; third, due to poor storage, they will become moldy and deteriorate, losing their value. In other words, if wheat is managed well, it will create value for mankind; if it is not managed well, it will lose its value or even bring negative value. The same is true for customers. If the franchise store is managed well, customers will become loyal consumers; if the franchise store is not managed well, a large number of customers will be lost and affect other customers.
Franchise entrepreneurs should learn to manage customer files, retain old customers, and find new customers. Customer files include the customer's basic information, transaction status, credit ability, etc. This is also important information for franchisees to manage and track. By carefully analyzing customer profiles, you will discover their preferences, vision, and purchasing power, so that you can recommend products and provide services to them in a more targeted manner.
The cost of developing a new customer is 6 times that of developing an old customer, so retaining old customers is the basis for the survival of a franchise store. Providing after-sales service to customers and strengthening communication with customers are effective methods. At the same time, franchise stores can promptly reward old members through membership discounts and other activities to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.
In order to expand the market and discover new customers, franchisees can adopt a variety of business methods for marketing. For example, the joint operation method: you can form a joint venture with nearby coffee shops, cinemas, Internet cafes and other commercial institutions with the same customer base. For example, if you buy a specified product, you may get a movie ticket, etc.
5. Coordination with the franchise headquarters
Franchise stores and franchise headquarters have a very subtle relationship. They are interdependent and each has its own axis of interests. Therefore, it is inevitable that there will be some conflicts between franchise stores and the headquarters. Franchise stores often complain about the bureaucracy at the headquarters, which only knows how to give blind orders and lacks understanding of the actual situation; the headquarters also thinks that the franchise stores are self-centered, insist on having their own way, and do not support or cooperate with the work of the headquarters.
This situation often occurs because the franchise stores are more or less suspicious or resistant to the company's policies, or at least wary. Therefore, franchisees should invest a lot of energy in investigating when choosing to join the headquarters; once the franchise is successful, they should actively cooperate with the work of the headquarters with the mentality of "creating a win-win situation".
The so-called excess is not enough, doubt, resistance and complete dependence are not the way for franchisees to do business. Since most areas in our country are very regional, and the consumption levels and consumption concepts of various cities and regions vary greatly, the successful business strategy of franchise headquarters elsewhere may not be suitable for local franchise stores.
Therefore, franchisees should actively communicate with the headquarters on the basis of listening to the opinions of the headquarters, deliver local information in a timely manner, and use the headquarters' existing experience to jointly explore business strategies suitable for local conditions.
6. Actively accumulate industry experience
Industry experience is Hanxin’s guide for franchisees, the more the better. The so-called "separate lines are like mountains apart, and people working together have different benefits" are caused by familiarity or lack of familiarity.
Industry experience is difficult to gain from one or a few books, and many things can only be obtained through personal experience. Therefore, franchisees should pay attention to everything and accumulate more. For example, if you open a franchise store of a certain clothing brand, franchisees should read more popular magazines and participate in more fashion events to cultivate their own unique fashion concepts and keen fashion sense. When every customer walks into the store, you can use your unique vision to provide a match that suits them. Are you worried that the franchise store's turnover will not increase by leaps and bounds?
To sum up, in order to succeed in franchising and entrepreneurship, franchisees themselves must work hard and learn how to operate, so that their efforts can generate multiple returns and increase the probability of success and profit!