14 September 2020 | Advice, Buyers, Invest
Mark Siebert, author of The Franchisee Handbook, predicts that a franchise resurgence is on its way. Paul Stevens, CEO of Just Property, agrees. These are his thoughts on why franchise sales are likely to surge in the years to come and how to prepare.
"The property industry has felt the effects of the recession, certainly, and we're receiving interest from operators who are struggling without that support. There is also the appeal of the resilience that our franchise model offers", says Stevens.
What is drawing people to our franchise model? The answer is best captured in the words of Gerard Smith, who joined us as the Just Property King Williams Town franchisee just as the country went into lockdown:
In May, Siebert concluded an article he wrote for Entreprenuer.com with the following words: "Businesses looking to launch or continue their franchise programs would be well-advised to use this time wisely and prepare expansion strategies, make operational adjustments, and shore up marketing tools and messages in anticipation of the resurgence."
Expansion strategies
We are facilitating the expansion of our strongest franchisees into new territories, which allows us to grow our footprint with individuals who have proven themselves to be excellent business partners. At the same time, we are joining forces with smaller, independent operators - this provides for a win-win situation where we grow our footprint, and independents benefit from the franchise infrastructure.
Operational Adjustments
In preparation for our future expansion, we are investing heavily in technology development that allows our agents to work more efficiently from anywhere. We cannot scale and survive in the new world if we are not harnessing the power of technology.
In future, data insights will drive our business more than ever before. We are centralising our data warehousing and strengthening our analytics, which will allow us to put powerful numbers and insights into the hands of our agents and franchisees.
Marketing tools and messages
Our #StrongerTogether marketing campaign has a two-fold focus. The first is to assure our franchisees during this difficult time that we are available to help them and that our support will never waiver. The second is to alert other agents that we are the "home" they've been looking for.
Messages include reminders of our combined strength ("Magic happens when the right people come together", "In tough times, it helps to have a strong network" and "Together we're stronger"), as well as clear invitations to agencies not yet part of our network, such as "Growing our rental footprint. Join us" and "We're looking for rental books".
For more information on Just Property call (087) 059 8888. Follow Just Property on Facebook and Twitter Just Property Let's Open Doors