It’s the question that can confront any ambitious franchisor: if there’s demand for our product or services, why aren’t we growing faster?
It’s generally accepted that 20-25 stores is the starting point for real profitability for franchisors. Yet estimates suggest that the majority of Australia’s franchise brands are operating fewer than 20 units.
Of course there are external influences such as economic conditions that can impact network growth.
More often than not, though, the answer has nothing to do with the market. It’s about what’s happening, or not happening, within the business.
The franchise networks that are growing sustainably right now share a common trait. They made a deliberate decision to scale their capability.
Rethinking the support functions that underpin the network is the starting point. The options are varied: add head count to the business, outsource processes, embrace AI tools, harness the skills of expert offshore teams.
Franchisors wanting to break through their growth ceiling need a strategy that balances growth, cost management, operational resilience and franchisee support – all without compromising customer experience.
Offshore teams bring skills and expertise
So when expansion is limited by finances, a strategy that incorporates smart use of resources will bring the best results.
Jeffery Brown, CEO at Shore360, is confident offshoring is the future-looking solution.
“Offshoring is a strategy for long-term growth,” Brown says. “By streamlining the back office, franchisors can afford to hire more staff or re-allocate existing team members to focus on high-level growth and R&D.
“For instance, a marketing department might use an offshore team to handle market research and execution, allowing the local marketing heads to focus on strategic thinking and managing larger teams as the franchise grows,” he says.
Brown says there is considerable value in the operational knowledge and skill development that offshore teams can provide. They build their expertise providing solutions for numerous franchisees. This enables them to draw on a wide base of businesses to identify patterns and implement effective solutions that can be replicated across a network.
“They’ve looked across the entire market, can spot similarities, and they can reach out automatically to these operators and say, “X had this issue. Here’s a fix. Here’s a tip. Here’s a trigger that might help if you’ve had that problem. It’s a much faster process for managing processes and problem-solving across multiple locations and regions.
“It’s the skill, it’s the knowledge, it’s how fast we can get all this stuff done,” he says.
Offshoring allows franchisors to be strategic with teams
An offshore team can bring its knowledge to direct and monitor AI, to give franchisors the best of both worlds.
While AI is increasingly the tool that is reshaping structures and procedures, it has its limits, as many franchisors are discovering.
“AI can do so much, but it can only only do so much. AI acts as a supplement to offshore teams, not a complete replacement for human oversight,” Brown says.
Tapping into offshoring enables a franchisor to strategically invest in people rather than processes.
“As the franchisor I would be looking at all of the processes that happened today where I’ve got teams doing the work that are not physical labour,” he suggests.
That could stretch from bookkeeping and accounting to procurement and logistics.
Brown suggests the value that the right offshore appointment can add to a fast-food operation.
“Take offshoring and the way technology runs today in a drive-thru. Does it even need a person talking on their end? No, not at all. There’s also tap and pay systems that you could tap right there. Your person taking the order for your store could be sitting here in the Philippines. All they have to do is hear what your order is and send it through.”
That shift to a more efficient process enables the franchisee to reassign the team member to a more valuable kitchen or front-of-house role, for example.
“Anything that can build speed and efficiency is good in a fast food chain,” Brown says.
Franchisors maintain full control
Offshore teams at Shore360 work directly for the client, within their systems and technology, ensuring system security and giving the franchisor full control over the work.
“Consistency matters in franchising. Controlling that consistency from your corporate vantage point is important to keep the brand going for all your franchises,” he says.
When franchisees get the support they need quickly, they grow faster, stay longer and bring others in.
That’s the case for a well-structured support system that includes offshore teams.
The franchisor can free up local staff from repetitive administrative tasks and assign them where they add the most value: working alongside franchisees as genuine business partners. The result is a leaner network, lower costs and a franchise that’s far easier to scale.
