As a franchise consultant, common questions I often hear revolve around how to market your franchise program once it’s up and running.  We recommend you first examine where you want to sell franchises.

Think about the following points when planning to market your franchise:

  1. Do you want to reserve some area for expansion of company-owned locations when you franchise your business? Often, Franchisors may want to refrain from selling franchises in certain territories to allow them to open additional units owned by the parent company or Franchisor. Other Franchisors may concentrate on opening only franchise locations. The choice is yours when you franchise your business.
  2. Does your concept have more of a local or regional appeal, or can it be successfully launched nationwide or internationally when you franchise your business? For example, Cincinnati-style chili might be hugely popular in Cincinnati but relatively unknown in California. Unless the particular market has a substantial number of Cincinnati transplants, is it wise to market a Cincinnati chili franchise outside the Midwest at the outset of your franchise program?
  3. At what type of market is your franchise concept targeted? For example, when you franchise your business, are you seeking locations in large metropolitan areas, medium-sized cities or smaller towns? Do you want a highly educated market, such as a college town? What demographics are desirable, for example — customer age range, number and ages of children, household income or traffic patterns?
  4. What size territory does your franchise require? When you franchise your business, first determine the type customers sought. For example, a commercial cleaning business usually targets building owners. A child-oriented service, such as a day care center, must study the number of families with appropriately aged children. A home services business, for example, residential lawn care, must look at homeowners (as opposed to apartment or condo dwellers). How many target customers must you award each Franchise Owner for him/her to succeed when you franchise your business?
  5. How far from your headquarters should your first few franchise locations be? When you franchise your business, you are responsible for providing Franchise Owners with support. Some support is pre-opening, such as site approval, and some is post-opening. The closer your franchise locations are to your headquarters and to each other, the easier and more efficient it is for you to furnish on-site assistance. Assistance can also come through telephone calls and video conferences when you franchise your business.

As you can see, there are a variety of considerations when deciding where and how to market your franchise program. Once you know where you want to sell franchises, you will be better able to decide how to market your franchise.

Thinking About Franchising?

NFA Franchise Consultants have the experience to help businesses franchise.  Just watch and listen to some of our client case studies and video testimonials.  We can HELP YOU and it doesn’t cost anything to call and talk to us! 

So, if you are still asking the “should I franchise my business” question over and over with no clear direction, give us a call at (706) 356-5637, or contact us through our online form.  We look forward to helping you take your business to the next level and beyond.