HOW WE'LL FRANCHISE

As the pandemic has unfolded, questions have swirled around franchising. Can food service, its biggest category, survive in a time of social distancing? Will people continue to buy franchises in uncertain times? And can brands make large, expensive changes across hundreds or thousands of units? So far, the answer seems to be: Yes! The pandemic has shown just how resilient and adaptable franchising can be. Here’s what comes next.

Make It a Team Effort

As our world moves toward recovery, franchises have a secret weapon that other businesses don’t: strength in numbers.

by JAMES VITRANO and DANNY CATTAN

Franchising has always been a little different from the rest of the business world. We grow differently. We operate differently. But COVID-19 threw everyone a colossal curveball, and no business—franchise or otherwise— was spared.

But while other entrepreneurs struggle through this crisis alone, the franchise industry still has a unique strength to rely upon: community. Franchises are built upon the idea of working together, and now, more than ever, it’s crucial that we do.

For franchisors: It’s time to show up for your franchisees. And for franchisees: Now is the time to ask your franchisor for help. They are, after all, the experts in how to operate your concept and the different ways it can be configured or adapted. Any good franchisor will offer flexibility in how the model can operate, enabling a franchisee to try something a little different.

Keep in mind that many franchise concepts were developed and sold to franchisees based on a world that may not exist anymore—at least not the way it did pre-COVID-19. There might be a need to fundamentally rethink offerings on a permanent basis, rather than just a temporary one.

For example, if a franchise has traditionally been a lunch-and-dinner destination, but there are just too many other businesses selling to-go lunches and dinner packs as our communities reopen, try selling breakfast instead. And if you didn’t deliver before, why not try it now? These experiments might just become a staple of your business moving forward.