How to make your franchise work harder for you in 2023

All businesses are affected by seasonality and ebbs and flows, but with the right initiatives you can make sure you're getting the most out of your franchise all year round and also make it more resilient to change and unexpected hurdles, which are the norm for businesses right now. 

Every franchise is different and depending on your industry, you are probably already aware of when you’re likely to be quieter – particular times of the year and perhaps even certain times of the day or week. But what if you could turn those quiet times into equally busy times and also extend your income opportunities when your customers are engaged with your business?

It’s essential to get your core offering right first, but tapping into extra income streams will give you a solid foundation for your franchise for years to come. With a little forward-planning and out-of-the-box thinking, you can create a franchise business that can weather the ups and downs, encourage activity in the less busy times and maximise its income potential.

The strategies will depend on the particular nature of your franchise, but here are a few ideas to get you started:

• What else can you sell? Are there certain items your customers are likely to need while they are engaged with your business? If you’re providing swimming lessons, your customers are likely to need swimming caps, for example. Can you sell branded t-shirts? Is an onsite café a possibility or wattle bottles and a small snack stand? Brainstorm what additional, practical conveniences you can provide that you can make a margin on. 

• Can you extend your offering into people’s homes? Is there a take-home or DIY option for your product or service that you could offer as an add-on to your core offering? Can you take your service online or, for example, or if you’re providing a food service, perhaps your customers want to buy a bottle of one of your signature sauces so they can enjoy it at home.

• How can you make use of your space in quieter times of the day? Is there a group you could tap into who would be interested in accessing your service when your main target market isn’t? If your main target market is kids after school, for example, can you service adults during school hours? Or could you offer private bookings for corporate events, schools or private groups? Give this some through and research community groups in your area to see if any could be a good fit.

• How can you incentivise customers at quieter times of the year? Can you offer a special, host a challenge, run an annual program or could you host birthday parties? At BK’s Gymnastics, for example, we offer birthday parties and also school holiday programs which utilise the space while regular classes aren’t happening. Get creative as the sky is the limit.

• Can you extend what you offer to other demographics? Can you do something just for kids? For seniors? A special men’s package? This doesn’t have to be something you offer all year round – it may just be a special tactic that you use during quieter times of the year. If you can slightly repurpose what you already do to suit a different demographic, it may be worth a try – they could even turn into an ongoing part of your business.

• Can you teach what you do? Your expertise in a particular product or service is a very valuable thing and people will often pay to gain knowledge that they can then put into practice in their own lives. Can you teach people how to complete a particular task or make a home-version of a particular product? If you have the space, you can run the classes onsite or look at online seminars if you don’t have the room to host. You can run these classes in quieter periods and use tickets to the event for incentives, promotions/giveaways and rewards to current customers.

• Can you embrace the seasons? Can you do something creative for winter, for Halloween, for Mother’s Day or Easter? There’s also a calendar full of quirky celebrations, from Fairy Bread Day to International Ninja Day. Shaking up your offering and having a little fun can attract new eyeballs to your business and give your regular customers an excuse to try something else from your business. If you’re particularly creative with your idea, you may even be able to attract some media attention from your local newspaper.

• Can you speak to your customers? One of the best ways to get ideas about how you can provide additional value to your clients is to ask them and carefully listen to what they have to say. Open a communication line with your customers. Perhaps it’s through an online survey or one-on-one chats with some of your regulars. You just might be surprised at what you hear and what ideas you may receive to get more out of your current business. When you can confirm the need/demand before you introduce something new it certainly removes some of the risks and what-ifs.