How to Succeed in Opening a Franchise--Even Without a Fried Chicken Sandwich

SAN JOSE, Calif., Sept. 9, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Whenever he has a new franchise location opening on his calendar, Kevin King, chief development officer at Smoothie King, and the franchisee, are as prepared as the best of wedding planners. They have carefully selected the venue, know their customer community and their tastes—and are ever so well organized.

King knows the franchise opening process well. In a decade at Papa Murphy's Pizza, he helped elevate the take-and-bake brand to the fifth-largest pizza chain in the U.S. He joined Smoothie King in 2016, growing that brand from 780 stores to more than 1,000. His first advice to new franchise owners? "You join a franchise system to take advantage of its experience," he says. Doing that means the franchisee can focus on other parts of the franchise's operations.

Matt Rusconi recently opened the first freestanding location of an Artichoke Basille's Pizza franchise, with seating for 35, in Newington, Connecticut. It's the franchise's first location in the state and the first of five he has signed on to develop there. Rusconi, who has completed more than 20 franchise location openings, has learned that success always starts with collaboration. "The best partner you will ever have is the community you're in," says Rusconi. "You get to see who you will be serving right off the bat, contribute, and feel very lucky to have a platform to give back."

Halle Waggoner, an Amazing Lash franchise location owner in Cypress, Texas, has been on a fast track for grand openings since October 2016. This May, she racked up her sixth. Her grand opening plan now incorporates her own ideas with those from her franchisor. "We go to anyone who is around us to ask if they want to be part of our grand opening in some way," Waggoner says. "We give donations and we do giveaways, like 'Walk up and spin to win a free set of lashes.' Free lashes are the most popular. Who doesn't like free?"

Waggoner also has learned that her franchise is suited to a multiplicity of extras for grand opening pizazz. For example, she can station someone special in each lash room: a chiropractor, a masseuse, a henna artist, a face painter—even a balloon artist. At one opening, she had a student chef out front making sushi rolls. Once she even served champagne. And, depending on the time of year, she'll throw in something seasonal. For a grand opening near Christmas, Santa Claus was on hand.

Being part of the larger franchise community also offers a network of peers available for conversations about opening a franchise. Feel free to ask questions, veteran franchisees say. What worked? What didn't? What would they do differently today?

Do use your local knowledge. Check for local events that could either help or hurt a franchise opening. Is there a major concert or sporting event scheduled for opening day? Could road construction interfere?

Add refreshments, giveaway, and door prizes related to the franchise that appeal to both children and adults. Sometimes live or recorded music may be in order—think about hiring a DJ or a band. If possible and appropriate, bring in a guest speaker and have a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The goal, of course, is to create positive word of mouth advertising about the franchise and its new location—just like the one driving those lines of eager consumers for those franchise fried chicken sandwiches.

Other tips from franchising experts for a strong opening:

• Choose an opening date and time that will give you excellent exposure. This may depend on the product or brand, but the point is to choose a high traffic time for a new franchise debut.
• A strong multi-platform social media campaign for the franchise is essential. Make online friends, and reward them with coupons or a sneak preview as opening day approaches.
• Plan some local media advertising—an array that could include TV, radio, and print media. Send press releases to the local media outlets at least a couple of weeks in advance.
• Invite other community members such as the mayor and the city council members. One more important group to invite is friends, family, and other business contacts.
• Join forces with the owners of other businesses on your street who might want to join the franchise party: Customers and shoppers will more likely be drawn to a location with a lot going on. When the actual day is near, prepare the store's exterior store with balloons, ribbons, signs and banners that stress the "Grand Opening" theme. The idea is to attract attention and a memorable first impression.

Get more tips for getting started in franchising at
https://www.franchising.com/getting_started.html?ref=PRWeb

About Franchise Update Media
Founded in 1988, Franchise Update Media produces popular franchise websites, magazines, research, and four highly regarded annual conferences that serve franchise audiences online, in print, and in person. Franchise Update Media delivers a unique combination of educational and lead generation sources to help franchisors, multi-unit franchisees, prospective franchisees, and suppliers achieve their growth objectives. For more information, visit Franchising.com

SOURCE Franchising.com