Utilizing Automation to Empower Franchisees Discover how you can drive results and motivate franchisees with ease.

"I want to micro-manage my franchisees," said no franchisor ever. Franchisors typically share one common objective, which is to increase revenue and expand franchise development.

We've all heard the cliché "consistency is key." While overused, this saying could be the tagline for franchising, as the success of the franchise model hinges on consistency.

However, as any business owner or franchisor may know, consistency can be difficult to enforce at scale without excessive supervision. To avoid friction and empower franchisees efficiently, you'll want to provide automated tools that drive revenue by eliminating daily workflow hurdles.

It can be difficult to identify suitable technology and how to effectively implement automation to benefit your brand. Here are some best practices to increase franchisee productivity through innovation and automation.

Find the right solution.

First things first, find a comprehensive customer relationship management system (CRM) that streamlines your entire workflow on one platform like ServiceMinder, a franchised-focused platform that manages and operates more than 50 home services brands through innovation and automation.

"As home service suppliers for over a decade, we understand the struggles of operating at a large scale. Our solution closes the gap and empowers franchisees by providing automation options throughout entire workflow," says ServiceMinder CEO John Keene.

Providing an all-in-one experience for franchisees is crucial for consistency and execution at scale. After selecting the perfect solution for your brand's workflow, be sure to align with franchisees and thoroughly train at the brand and location level to fully utilize the solution.

Acquire leads by streamlining daily workflow.

When it comes to lead acquisition, automation offers a significant advantage to the franchise business model. An essential function to consider automating is contact creation and scheduling.

Regardless of the industry, this automation holds a joint impact, to elevate the client experience while expediting the sales journey. By seamlessly integrating with call centers or funneling leads from online appointment forms, this automation ensures a uniform approach across all franchise locations.

Automated scheduling eliminates concerns over data accuracy—such as misspelled names or incorrect addresses—and eliminates the risk of missed calls. It also gives the client a confirmed time without having to wait for a callback.

While these two functions simplify lead acquisition for franchisees, they also ensure consistency which not only fosters a sense of reliability but also amplifies both productivity and precision.

Enhance client experience.

Automated communication methods have proven to be a game-changer in expediting the sales process and providing a consistent experience for clients.

By harnessing the power of automation through email and texting, franchisees can efficiently nurture leads, respond to inquiries, and deliver essential information to clients.

For example, ServiceMinder provides automated communication capabilities to send en-route text messages, targeted emails, and more through drip triggers. These automated systems ensure that no opportunity is missed, enabling sales teams to reach out to both prospects and clients in a timely manner.

This streamlined approach not only accelerates the sales cycle but also empowers sales agents or franchisees to focus their efforts on addressing specific client needs and increasing revenue.

Reporting.

Now the fun stuff! Data is crucial for making educated decisions and strategizing, especially in franchising. Of course, data is nice to have, but how do you get it? This is another reason why it is crucial to find a comprehensive CRM for data storage and reporting. It's beneficial for tracking all elements from revenue by lead source to royalty reporting.

Lastly, to stay in the know, automate report submissions. This function allows franchisees to spend more time focusing on client satisfaction and less time on a spreadsheet crunching numbers to get their royalty report in. This not only allows the franchisors to evaluate performance but encourages franchisees to see where they can improve and what they can celebrate.

Click here to learn more about how you can acquire, track, convert, and grow with ServiceMinder.