The secret to achieving success in a franchise business (or any kind of business) is having a well-written plan on how to run the business and how to connect with potential customers.
When you have a business plan, you will be able to set your business goals and ensure that everything you do aligns with those goals. Follow the tips below to get started.
1. Don’t Overwhelm Yourself. You don’t need to create a lengthy document unless you are seeking a loan and the bank asks for your business plan. A business plan may not be more than a page. You just need to make sure that your business plan contains all the necessary information. If the templates you find online or elsewhere don’t suit your needs, let your creativity runs wild and just write down what you believe will be useful to you.
2. Know Your Customers. A business plan usually includes a section where you will describe who your potential customers are and how you want to reach them. The parent company may have information about who your customer will be, so ask them if it’s available. It’s good to know the customers’ demographics and how to connect with them, as this can determine your marketing plan.
3. Obtain Information from the Franchisor. There are certain parts of your business plan you won’t have answers for, such as expected revenue, but your franchisors may have already included this in the franchise disclosure document (FDD) or other documents. Therefore, you need to go through these documents and use the information therein to complete your business plan.
4. Run Your Own Marketing (in Addition to Franchisor-Provided Marketing). It’s true that the franchisor will do some marketing using promotional materials or national TV ads. However, you will be the one to promote the brand at the local level. Include this in the market strategy section of your marketing plan. Make a list of all marketing channels you want to use and how you want to use them to get in touch with customers. Some of the marketing avenues you can consider include email, social media, community events, and so on. Set a cost for each marketing channel, so you can include it in your marketing budget right from the get-go.
5. Let Another Person Review Your Business Plan. Your business plan may seem perfect to you once you create it, but the truth is you have bias. To know if your business is what it seems like, let your friend, spouse, or business partner go through the business plan and indicate any sections that are contradictory or unclear. Don’t be annoyed if they find many holes in your business plan. After all, this was only your first draft, so you might need to rework the plan to make it perfect.
6. Keep Your Plan At Your Fingertips. You won’t get much use of your business plan if you tuck it away in a folder in your filing cabinet. So try to go through it a couple of times every year to be sure that what you have been in your franchise is in line with the goals you set in the beginning.
