Getting your business off the ground may have been challenging but scaling it up will bring a whole new set of challenges that you will need to contend with. Does your business have the capacity to grow? Will your business systems, infrastructure and team be able to accommodate growth?
Chris Wootton, Managing Director and franchisee of Poppies, has identified a five step plan for any franchise looking to scale up their business to achieve long-term growth. If you get these right, they will be your springboard to achieving remarkable growth.
Scaling is about making the most of your existing resources or finding highly cost-effective ways to expand while minimising additional expenses. There’s no set formula for scaling your business, as you’ll need to consider how you can make everything from marketing and technology to day-to-day processes more effective
Robust
Make sure you are confident your business is working well as a small operation before you even think about growing it. You need to ensure the basics are robust. If your processes are unreliable or your workforce is not wholly committed to their jobs, the mounting pressure of scaling will identify any weaknesses and exacerbate them.
Customer service
Happy customers lead to more money, growth, and sustainability. Customer service should be a priority when scaling up your franchise. Building a world-class customer experience strategy and consistently delivering great customer service as your business grows will enable you to improve customer satisfaction, increase customer loyalty, and encourage word-of-mouth marketing from customers. All these things will help drive the business forward, while increasing your customer base and boosting profits.
Talent
Finding the right talent of people to help you grow is fundamental when scaling up a business successfully. You need to create a culture that attracts and retains top talent, starting with a strong leadership team. Make sure your team’s roles are well defined so you know every aspect of operations is being taken care of. And if asking your staff to take on more responsibility, provide extra training to ensure they are confident taking this on.
Technology
Technology makes it easier and less expensive to scale a business. If you are trying to increase your customer volume without employing new staff, then technology will be the solution. By implementing automated systems into your daily workflow, it will help reduce the time spent on repetitive tasks, such as invoicing, credit control, payroll and bookkeeping. Not only will this free up your time and that of your employees, but it will allow you to focus on growing your business and fostering client relationships.
“Last year, we developed a new operations system that minimises the amount of admin required by our franchisees. It has enabled automatic and seamless communication between the franchise and their employees, enabling rotas to be accessed, timesheets submitted and any special requests or requirements from customers. This has transformed the way the franchisees operate and frees up time for them to focus on scaling up their businesses.”
Values
Your values are the definition of a company’s culture and are a way of capturing behaviours that you feel are important in your business. When focused on scaling your business, it is vital that you do not lose sight of what got you here in the first place. With all the changes that you will be considering and likely to take on, remember to stay true to your core values and principles as they define who and what your business is all about.
“As a franchise owner, you will know when the time is right to grow your business. Whether you are ready to expand your service offering, widen your client base or add a new digital platform, you will need to take the right steps to prepare your business for a significant upturn in activity. By doing this, you will be perfectly placed to take advantage of the opportunities, and your business will sustain long-term growth.”
