The 7 Top Things Impacting the Franchising Industry Today

As of 2018, there are new rules in place for how businesses record their revenue. This new change is handled under the umbrella of new legality released by the Financial Accounting Standards Board. With the introduction of these new standards, franchisees now have more flexibility than before when it comes to reporting their franchise fees during tax season. Unlike previous years, franchise owners are now able to use their franchise fees as investments to further develop their staff training and site selection rather than having to write these off over the course of their agreements.

An emerging trend in the franchise industry is in multi-unit ownership. Over the years more and more entrepreneurs are investing in different verticals to support their franchise businesses. While larger franchises work to acquire similar companies in their industry, small business owners have begun to diversify their offerings and explore new vertical markets. Studying these new business opportunities has enabled franchises the ability to effectively manage the peaks and valleys of seasonality while improving cash flow and remaining profitable. Many field service companies are even starting to manufacture and sell their own products in combination with their service offerings.

With modern advancements in business technology, there are now many ways to communicate with customers and improve overall company engagement. Smart franchise owners have begun adopting technologies like field service automation, customer service chatbots, social media automation tools and other relationship management services to overhaul how their business interacts with its customers. Field service companies can benefit from advanced software solutions, allowing customers to book their own appointments and get quick answers to their questions.

Regardless of your business model, mobile optimization of your operational processes is critical. Customers are always on the move and have come to expect a high level of flexibility in how they do business with companies. Both field service and retail franchises have begun implementing various mobile transaction solutions to make it easier than ever before for customers to purchase products and services. Accepting mobile credit card transactions, NFC smart tap payments and other quick-pay solutions help franchise owners set their businesses apart from the competition.

As customers have gotten used to shopping for their products and services online, many companies have been doing a complete digital transformation of their business model. However, what recent trends in customer purchasing behavior have shown is that there is still a significant demand for physical store presence and face-to-face business interactions. Successful franchises are striking the perfect balance between creating clean and efficient online brand awareness and maintaining an active local presence. By leveraging both of these approaches, franchises can continue to cater to the needs of a more extensive customer base.

Marketing opportunities for franchise businesses continue to grow exponentially year after year. Local advertising still has its place for field service companies and continues to bring a high return on investment. However, improvements in customer data collection and smart purchasing intelligence have opened up new possibilities in digital marketing campaigns. Franchises now have many more tools at their disposal to increase their brand awareness and introduce their businesses to a new group of customers.

Creating a web presence alone is no longer good enough to benefit from customers looking online for their products and services. Today, there are certain expectations when it comes to the searchability of your business and the responsiveness of your website. More customers are searching for brands and services on their mobile devices than on their computers. What this means is that sites need to function correctly on smaller screens and create an easily navigable platform to find the information customers are looking for. Thankfully, there are now many online tools and services available that help companies optimize their sites to meet the growing needs of their customers.