How Technology Is Upending the Franchise Industry For The Better

The franchising industry has historically operated using old school mentalities, systems, and models. 

And that approach has worked incredibly well for decades. Franchising has powered some of the greatest success stories in modern business. 

What’s heartbreaking is how the industry has seen too many promising concepts fail to achieve their breakout potential due to franchisors’ lack of development resources, misunderstanding of digital marketing and tech best practices, and unwise franchisee selection. 

Brands wishing to attract a new generation of franchisees need to bring their companies, and therefore, the industry as a whole, up to date. Otherwise they risk missing out on working with some of the brightest young entrepreneurial minds. 

FranFunnel has been on the leading edge of this effort for the past several years, and we’ve learned a lot about how technology is upending the industry for the better. Today we wanted to share several specific ways technology is revolutionizing the franchising world.

1. Bridge the generational gap. Every brand needs to grow, change and evolve with consumer needs and technology to capture the younger generation of investors. At the same time, those same companies can also do a much better job at converting older generations as well. Franchising operated well in its old ways for decades, and now the challenge is that businesses do not always realize the ways their processes were imperfect. It’s like riding a bicycle downhill and assuming your legs are strong. When the landscape levels out, it’s time to pedal. Or the case of selling franchises, peddle.

2. Optimize your sales stack. The revolution that technology is bringing to the franchise industry allows for brands to understand where their processes are suboptimal and to optimize them, all at once. Of course, in FranFunnel’s domain you can more easily reach leads where and how they are, via text message automation. Two data points back this up: 90% of leads prefer texting to phone or email, and 70% of leads are generated outside of business hours. With simple software upgrades, you can revolutionize your sales process in a way people from the 90’s and early 00’s never would have imagined.

3. Meet consumers where they are. Technology also helps franchisors meet leads where and how they are, themselves. We like to tell our clients, all your leads are in your pocket, which is true. But here is the difference our app makes: it is just as true to say that your brand is in your leads’ pockets as well. Texting as a communication channel is already being used by early adopter brands to execute tasks like sending payment reminders, setting up appointments, birthday or anniversary messages, surveying customers, managing live events, and so on. 

4. Communicate more personally. At FranFunnel, we have the benefit of years of data across hundreds of businesses that text, and thousands of real conversations. This asset gives us a deep understanding of the intricacies of what it means to use messaging as a tool for success. In our most recent survey of top customers who close the most deals, we learned that the most successful conversations with prospective leads follow the same digital messaging arc: Introduce yourself. Explain why you’re texting. Give them an easy question to answer. Shorter is sweeter. Don’t waste valuable real estate on empty characters. Customize to reflect your brand when appropriate. Use automation features to make each lead feel your personal touch. If that’s your baseline, we’re confident contact and closing rate will increase.

These are only a few of the ways technology is upending the franchise industry for the better. More innovations will come, and we’ll be sure to be a resource for your brand every step of the way.

Eli Rosenthal, President of FranFunnel, and Scott Ginsberg, Head of Content at FranFunnel, are optimistic about the future of tech in franchising. If you have questions, please send a carrier pigeon to their office address.