4 Location-based Aspects to Keep in Mind While Buying a Franchise Think about what kind of experience your customer will have when getting to and entering your establishment

Whether you're setting up a day-care centre, restaurant or training centre, location is one of the most important factors that contribute to profitability.

If the real estate bit is diligently executed, one can estimate an 80per cent success rate for the franchise. There will be a lot of industry data available; demographic studies, traffic trends, municipal development plans for a given locality, etc;

But the best thing you can do is to find a location where your competitors have chosen to do business and see how they're doing. If they're doing really, really well, set up shop right next to them and enjoy the benefits of an established market.

In order to marry the right location, with your franchise here, are a few tips:

Seek Help From Your Franchisor

Looking up a good location and then negotiating a favourable lease is a routine job for a franchisee. And yet, freshly appointed franchisees do not have any experience relevant to selecting a location. This is the most important decision and must be escalated to a person with the most experience. This is where a franchisor's role comes into play; most successful franchising systems develop their own location-based algorithm which they allow their franchisees to access; it's part of the intellectual capital that makes them successful. What the franchisee can provide is local knowledge of hawkers, disturbances in the area and due-diligence in terms of the past history of the owner of the location.

Curate a Property Bank

Curate a property bank and speak with multiple property owners. This is nothing but an exhaustive database of suitable locations, ideal for your franchise business. Think about what kind of experience your customer will have when getting to and entering your establishment. What are the characteristics of a location that will provide the most valuable customer experience to the customer? How will a potential customer interact with your business- e.g.; a gym can be tucked away in a quiet location because it has a membership-based model. A restaurant, however, must be in an area with heavy foot traffic. The more people visiting the area, the more will visit your restaurant, improving your chances of success and impulse purchase. If you run a daycare, you might want it located across from a library, school, sports arena, field or playground. However, you don't want it near a business that will fill up all parking spaces. These locations are in circulation only at certain times, depending on the existing rental contracts.

Understand Risk Capital

Like every other business expansion model, franchising requires both capitals as well as your investment in developing a subordinate system and satisfying your regulatory obligations. Most prominent locations come along with a high price tag. It thus becomes highly important to estimate your risk capital in terms of your real estate and rent potential beforehand. You need not own the real estate in order to succeed as a franchise. This is a common mistake people make because culturally Indians seek safety in "property ownership.' Focus instead in building the wealth of customers who swear by your brand.

Eliminate Reasons "not to go'

Regardless of the industry, the convenience factor holds a lot of significance. The easier you are to be seen, the more accessible your parking lot, front doors, etc., the more business you will get. The same is true for your future franchise. If your franchise is located out of sight from key roads and highways, potential customers will walk or drive right by. If this happens, you'll lose the traffic that is essential to running a successful business.

Look at neighbourhoods, price ranges, and traffic. Locations close to travel stations often make for the most suitable option. Such accessibility eliminates a reason "Not to Go." It is possible to grow your business with this simple standard.

Be the franchise that's not only located at a good spot but offers great service. Being conveniently located will only sweeten the pot.