It is no news that the percentage of online consumers has significantly increased over the last few years. And because customers are the lifeline of every business, businesses are moving online to meet them. The COVID-19 lockdown was an eye-opener for the business world. While almost every business suffered in one way or another, those without an online presence were the worst hit. A strong online presence has become necessary for any business to thrive in the 2020s, including Book of Ra.

Online presence is simply referred to as brand recognition. Having a website for your business is one thing; developing a recognizable brand is another. When it comes to building a successful franchise, brand development is non-negotiable. It helps to build consumer trust and loyalty and drives business.

Why You Need a Franchise Management Software

One key component of brand recognition is brand consistency. For a franchise to gain the trust of its consumers, there has to be consistency in branding irrespective of the distance and location of franchise stores. This includes the logo, colors, goods, services, company culture, and even store set up. It is this consistency that subconsciously makes consumers trust a brand.

Ensuring consistency across franchises can be quite tasking for large franchises, particularly if done manually. It soon became obvious that businesses need franchise management software for ease of operation and brand development. Thankfully, franchise management software development has made operating a franchise easier and more profitable than in the past years.

Increased software development has made a plethora of franchise management software available to pick from when building your franchise. There are, however, important factors to consider when choosing franchise management software.

Choose One with A Flexible CMS (Content Management System)

There are some software development options available online, and each has its strengths and weaknesses. In choosing one for your business, it is important to find the one that is flexible. Flexibility here refers to a software development that allows the admin to add custom development.

It is also important that the software development you choose allows for a chain of approval. This will enable you to give administrative privileges to certain persons on the organization’s command chain. It ensures that operations are carried out seamlessly as though everyone was physically present.

Multi-user Interface

A franchise management software development with an integrated multi-user interface is the best option. It allows you to train your staff easily on one page and interact with customers on a different page. The ability to communicate with all managers via software helps the parent company ensure their franchisees comply with the company’s operational procedures, branding, and quality of products across the board. This type of software development integrates the functions of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), CRM (Customer Relationship Management), financials, and e-commerce into one all-encompassing business management suite.

This simply means all of your business data would be conveniently stored in one database and could be retrieved at any time.

Custom CRM Development

Your franchise business will not succeed if you do not pay close attention to customer statistics. Most software development ways come with embedded CRM functionality. However, there might still be a need for custom CRM development to meet the unique needs of your customers. A good franchise management software should allow you to input custom CRM development easily into the system.

This will enable you to keep track of customer analytics and tailor your products and services to meet their needs adequately. A custom CRM development also helps you streamline customer experience while on your site. Irrespective of their location, a good CRM development will show customers localized products and services available at the franchise closest to them.

Cost Versus Value

Cost is also a factor to consider when choosing a software development for your franchise. It can be very expensive to build a franchise software system from scratch and sometimes be unnecessary.

One way to ensure you’re getting the right franchise is to communicate with other franchisors and know what works for them. This way, you’d have an idea of how different software works and be able to pick the one that best suits your business.

Carry Everyone Along

Before deciding on the software development to purchase, it is necessary to meet with the managers of your franchises to get their opinion. If possible, test-run the software to check if it can automate processes, streamline operations, and assist business growth. You also need to check if the software is easy to handle and if franchises can implement it without hassles. Even after you’ve chosen a software development strategy, getting feedback from franchises from time to time will help you ascertain how effective it is and what should be worked on.

In Conclusion

Your franchise needs an online presence to succeed in an increasingly competitive business space. A franchise management software is one tool that can help build consistency in your branding and support brand recognition. Not all software development options are suitable for every type of business, though. The checklists given above will assist you in choosing the perfect software for your business.

We hope you found this article helpful. Let’s hear your thoughts in the comment section. And if you have other useful tips, please share them here.

Author’s bio:

Thomas Glare is a web designer and photographer running an eCommerce business selling his services. Over the years, he has helped many of his friends design a logo for their businesses. Thomas also writes blog articles about web design topics to share his knowledge and keep himself up to date with the latest trends.