How to gain control of franchise IT
Becoming a franchisor is a way to rapidly grow a business with minimal capital expenditure, while franchisees gain instant brand recognition and established businesses processes and products, according to IP Australia.
The franchise industry in Australia is growing, turning over $146 billion in 2016, up from $144 billion in 2014, according to the Franchise Council of Australia. However, if there is insufficient cohesion and collaboration between the franchisor and franchisee, issues can arise, particularly with IT.
When it comes to starting your own franchise, here's why it's important to seek IT support to prevent technology becoming the thorn in your franchise's side.
In the early days of starting a franchise, it can be tempting to copy over the brand, but let the franchisee handle the tech.
Cohesion and collaboration: The cornerstone of a successful franchise
A franchise lends its name and brand to a franchisee for the mutual benefit of both parties, 'copy and pasting' a successful model over and over again. However, just as importantly, it lends it's processes as well. This includes IT, such as point of sale technology, servers, software and computers – the underpinning of any retail store.
In the early days of starting a franchise, it can be tempting to copy over the brand, but let the franchisee handle the tech. There are several key reasons why this is more trouble than it's worth.
1. Each store ends up with it's own IT configuration and equipment. This can cause issues with:
- IT not being robust enough for the environment it's in, such as resistance to spills in restaurants.
- Varying levels of IT quality, meaning customers receive a different experience each time they visit the store which can potentially hurt a brand.
2. Different configurations mean that when something goes wrong, it's isolated to a particular store, requiring different solutions each time an issue arises, causing headaches for head office as there's no 'one solution' that works across all stores.
Without a cohesive IT solution for franchisees, both the franchisor and individual stores will find themselves investing more time and money putting out fires than growing the business. Worst-case scenario, overspending on IT to fix issues can negatively impact the franchise's ability to remain profitable.
IT consultants can help find the right solution
Finding an IT solution that can be copied over with the same success as your brand is easy with outside help, identifying not only the right technology for the job, but assisting each new franchisee to get up and running as quickly as possible. LOOKUP.COM are the expert IT consultants in Sydney and have a long history helping franchises gain control over their IT.
To find out more about how to make IT simple, get in touch with the team at LOOKUP.COM today.