What decisions will you make to set up your multi-unit business for success? Francesca Nicasio, resident Retail Expert at Vend has some suggestions.
While Australian retail figures ended on a high note in 2015 it’s not predicted to be all smooth sailing this year. So for those thinking about expanding their franchise business in 2016, it's important to make choices that will set you up for success.
Planning your expansion isn’t just about factoring in the cost of rent and more stock – it’s important to consider how you’ll be able to run your stores across multiple locations, how you’ll keep track of staff, and how you’ll get the data you need to make faster, smarter decisions.
Below are our top five tips to help you grow a multi-outlet operation and succeed:
1. Adopt cloud solutions
Technology-wise, the best thing you can do for your franchise business is to run it in the cloud. Since cloud-based solutions don’t live in any one machine, they allow you to access the tools and data you need from anywhere as long as you have an Internet connection. So whether you’re in one of your stores, at home, or even on the go, checking in on your stores is as easy as logging into the system.
Additionally, cloud software can reflect data in real-time, so information such as stock levels and sales are always up-to-date. This is powerful, especially for franchise owners needing to provide head office with regular updates. This will enable you to get a more accurate view of store performance and help you better understand your business.
The cloud let’s you plug-and-play different systems together that ‘talk’ to each other to share information across multiple locations.
And doing this is more affordable than you might think. Cloud technologies are enabling franchise owners to scale quickly and easily at a fraction of the cost compared to 'on premise' solutions.
Plus, finding cloud-based tools to suit franchises has never been easier. Whether you’re looking for a multi-store point of sale system, accounting software, staff rostering solution or a customer management solution, there are plenty of options.
But, be sure to choose your tools wisely and make sure they integrate well with each other. You want a tool that can integrate with accounting solutions such as Xero and other business tools like Deputy or Collect, helping you keep track of sales, finances, employee timesheets, customer loyalty and other important information.
2. Optimise inventory across all your locations
Inventory optimisation is crucial, not just when it comes to running multiple stores, but also in terms of customer service. You need to know how much stock each store has at any given time in order to maintain healthy inventory levels across all your locations.
And in the event that a customer can’t find a particular product, size, or colour in one location, you’ll want to have the ability to check if other branches have it, so you can either direct the shopper an alternative location, or have the items shipped to your store or their home.
There are plenty of cloud-based solutions out there that let you do this, and will link up with your sales, staff, and customer information so you can even recommend products to particular customers no matter which store they're shopping in, and provide you with alerts and automatic reordering when stock levels get low.
3. Establish standard operating procedures for all your stores
You may be operating in multiple locations, but you’ll want to make sure that all your stores have just one way of doing things. This makes them more manageable and allows your customers to have a consistent experience with your brand.
Naturally, you have your franchise systems’ operations manual and procedures but the way you personally want to stamp your mark on customer experience, for instance, needs to be documented too.
Outline instructions and policies on how your staff should behave, the things they can and can’t say, as well as what to do if a customer gets difficult.
According to Flip Out Trampoline Arena, Australia’s largest trampoline playground with franchises all over Australia and overseas and more than 700 staff, the ability to see trends in reporting made a big difference in staying positive during quiet times.
Owner and CEO Brent Grundy runs Flip Out on the Vend platform as it “saves us a lot of time and resources setting up, and it brings consistency across our franchises. Vend is a great foundation on which to set up a franchisee,” he says.
4. Make sure you hire the best
You can’t be in multiple locations at once, so it’s important to leave each store in capable hands. And you want every store to give your customers the same, consistent, and fantastic service. The best way to accomplish this is to hire and train the right people.
I’d always recommend hiring for attitude over aptitude – choose people that embody the right culture fit and enthusiasm that you want in your stores.
And to ensure that your new store maintains that same brand and culture feel, place one of your outstanding managers or staff from your current store in the new one and have them train up any new staff. That way the practices and attitude that you’ve cultivated in your business will continue into your new store.
You might also want to invest in management training for some of your key staff, so they can step up and manage more of the business for you as it grows.
5. Check in regularly with all your stores
The clich_ out of sight, out of mind can easily become true when you’re running several stores. That’s why regular communication is critical when you’re a multi-outlet franchise owner or manager.
If you can, conduct regular site visits so you can see first-hand how each store is doing. If this isn’t feasible, then jump on regular calls or Facetime/Skype with store managers so you can see how they’re doing.
You will also need to closely monitor each store’s performance.
Run store-specific reports on a regular basis, and see to it that you always have a handle on each location’s sales (per hour, day, month, as well as per square foot), best (and worst) products and staff performance. That way you can make adjustments as you go to ensure your store has the greatest chance of success.