Managing a restaurant franchise is a real challenge. Between managing costs, building customer loyalty and optimizing operations, profitability can sometimes seem elusive. Yet, with the right strategies, it's possible to significantly improve your margins and maximize your sales. Let's take a closer look!
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Before thinking about optimizing your operations, it's essential to understand where your money is going. That's why it's imperative to analyze all your costs in order to identify the heaviest expense items and maximize your margins. To do this, rely on performance indicators (cost of raw materials, labor, fixed charges) to pinpoint areas for improvement.
You can also compare your costs with those of other franchisees in your network, to identify any discrepancies and assess the best practices to adopt. Finally, to monitor the evolution of your establishment's performance over time, it's important to set clear profitability targets.Â
One of the advantages of a franchise is access to group purchasing. By ordering in larger quantities, you can reduce the cost of raw materials. At the same time, well-controlled inventory management is essential to avoid food waste and optimize your profitability. Numerous digital tools can help you monitor your stocks in real time and prevent unnecessary losses.
It's also a good idea to train your teams in rigorous inventory management. By implementing a data-driven predictive ordering system, you can avoid unnecessary surpluses while ensuring optimum availability of your flagship products.
Digitalization is a key lever for reducing errors, improving efficiency and optimizing staff management. Adopting digital solutions such as connected checkouts, order kiosks or automated and centralized management solutions saves time and reduces operational costs. An excellent example of this transformation is NBK's success story, which was won over by Innovorder's 360 digital solution. The result? Improved profitability, faster service and simplified management, proving that digitalization is a real asset for restaurant franchises.
Digitizing internal processes will also have a beneficial impact. By using technology to schedule teams or manage deliveries, you can reduce stress within your establishment and improve coordination between kitchen and front-of-house teams.
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Encouraging your customers to spend more is an effective strategy for increasing your sales. How do you go about it? There are several strategies to consider:
Digital menus can also be used to make personalized recommendations based on consumers' purchasing habits. Good use of these technologies can considerably influence the average bill.
👉 Going further: Understanding upselling and cross-selling for your restaurant
Don't limit yourself to in-store service. Delivery, click & collect and even are all sales channels that will enable you to reach a wider customer base. By optimizing your presence on online ordering platforms or developing your own delivery service, you'll boost your sales.Â
This omnichannel presence is a major asset. Last but not least, think about integrating exclusive offers for online orders or proposing subscriptions to boost sales on these channels.
Loyal customers tend to spend more and return more often, which is why it's important to give them special attention when developing your sales strategies. Attractive loyalty programs, exclusive offers and personalized customer service are just some of the elementsthat will foster loyalty and improve your profitability.
Have you thought about equipping yourself with a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool? This will enable you to get to know your guests better and offer them tailor-made deals based on their preferences.
👉 To find out more : 5 tips to boost fast-food profitabilityÂ
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Automation reduces human error and optimizes order taking. With connected tools, you can improve service speed and customer satisfaction.
Automation isn't just limited to order taking, it can also involve inventory management, task allocation or even schedule management to improve team balance.Â
Thanks to digital solutions, it is possible to anticipate staffing and resource requirements, thus reducing wastage and periods of overload. What's more, by automating certain administrative tasks, managers can focus on improving service, the menu and the customer experience, rather than on the day-to-day management of operations.
Data is a real goldmine for foodservice professionals like you. It enables you to understand consumer trends and adapt your offer. Thanks to analysis tools, you can adjust your prices, optimize your promotions and even adapt your menu according to customer preferences.
By exploiting data, you can also anticipate peak periods. This information will help you to adjust your stocks and staff accordingly, to maximize your sales.Â
Customers are looking for fast, efficient service. To meet their expectations, you need to be able to offer them contactless payments, QR codes and mobile applications to speed up transactions and reduce queues.
The second advantage of these fast, diversified payment systems is that they limit abandonment of online orders, a key factor in avoiding loss of revenue potential.
Ensuring the long-term viability of your franchise requires thoughtful, structured management over the long term. This means standardizing and structuring operations.
This business model offers the opportunity to guarantee consistent quality and simplified management through the implementation of uniform processes. To achieve this, it is essential to define clear procedures and ensure that they are consistently applied. This will not only help maintain consistency in your offering and services, but also guarantee stable, sustainable growth for your network.
Do you have a detailed operations manual? This is an essential tool for ensuring the long-term future of your franchise, and it's never too late to adopt one! It allows you to standardize practices within the network and helps new franchisees conform to the brand's standards and values.Â
Well-trained staff are more efficient and improve the customer experience. That's why it's important to invest in ongoing training. You'll reduce turnover, which is relatively high in this sector, and ensure optimum service in all circumstances.
Please note that training should not be limited to technical aspects, but should also include modules on customer relations, stress management and corporate culture.
Consumer expectations are changing fast. Incorporating adapted options (vegan, organic, gluten-free), keeping abreast of technological innovations and adjusting your offer to new trendsare excellent ways of ensuring the long-term future of your franchise.Â
What's more, by regularly analyzing customer feedback and monitoring emerging trends , you'll be able to remain agile and keep your offers in step with new consumer habits.
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In short, improving the profitability of your fast-food franchise doesn't happen by chance, but through a strategic, methodical and innovative approach. By combining rigorous cost management, intelligent digitization and targeted approaches to maximize revenues, you'll put all the odds in your favor to propel your establishment to success over time.Â
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Are you running a franchise and looking for a partner to help you digitalize your establishments? Innovorder is the only player in France to offer a complete ecosystem: order-taking, collection, preparation, delivery and management!
