A customer relationship management (CRM) system is an invaluable asset for franchise development. It can sometimes be difficult to keep track of franchise applications due to a lack of support or contact. A CRM simplifies this task by allowing you to stay in touch with franchise candidates. In this article, we'll look at how optimizing application management can lead to successful development and effective facilitation.
What is the RCMP?
Customer Relationship Management (CRM), also known as client relationship management (CRM), is a software or online tool that tracks all interactions between your network, franchise candidates, and franchisees. This data can be organized and collected regardless of format, allowing you to track candidate progress and make informed decisions about your network's growth. With a CRM in place, teams work seamlessly together.
A CRM allows your franchise to consolidate candidate data.
A CRM centralizes all prospect-related information—contact details, interaction history, and documents—so all essential information about potential candidates is accessible in one place. Additionally, CRM allows development teams to easily access this same data from any device, at any time.
Your network information can be updated automatically or manually by collaborating with all stakeholders. Save time! Your CRM database stores all leads, regardless of their source.
Simplify and automate your recruiting process with CRM-based applicant tracking.
To successfully integrate CRM into your recruitment process, it's essential to evaluate each step and ask yourself questions. How does a candidate go from contact to opening a store? What is the purpose of each step, and why do we need it? Is there another way of working that would allow more candidates to reach franchisee status more quickly?
Make the candidate journey smoother for everyone by standardizing and streamlining it. Then incorporate these steps into your customer relationship management software so that all required actions can be clearly defined and documented within a management tool. Now your development team knows exactly what needs to be done, when, and for whom.
Automate certain processes with your CRM
Without CRM, you risk overlooking certain steps. Imagine candidates patiently waiting for documents—which can take two, three, or even a week to sign. Without support during this time, recruiting efforts would grind to a halt.
CRM solutions automate document submissions, account opening, and onboarding day scheduling. Once the candidate completes an action that closes a pipeline stage, the CRM solution automatically moves them to the next stage without any intervention from you—saving time!
Maintaining Human Contact with Customer Relationship Management Software
Automating a process typically removes the human element that should remain. Automation, however, allows you to focus on the aspects that require the most human involvement, such as relationships and communication.
A CRM tool allows teams to focus on what matters most: conversing with franchise candidates. You can start the conversation by filling out a form on their recruitment website; an automatic contact will be created in your database, allowing you to send an initial message and arrange meetings through the channels you have access to. Finally, take the time to speak directly with each candidate!
Recruiting franchise candidates is great, but what happens afterward?
The benefits of a CRM don't end with the opening of a new location—it's just the beginning. With a franchise-specific CRM, you can efficiently manage and run your network.
Centralization is the main benefit of having a CRM within your business, especially for franchises. It may seem counterintuitive to assume that all franchisees will receive the same message simultaneously, but with a CRM, you can ensure that everything—orders, events, reports—is sent to those you care about most effectively and efficiently.
The franchise makes it easy to track rates and statistics.
For a network to be efficient, it's essential to track its performance indicators. Franchisees can identify areas for improvement and compare them to their objectives. A CRM that provides on-demand statistics will allow you to maximize your potential.
Conversion rates, contract signing costs, and data related to each stage of franchisee recruitment can be monitored at any time. You now have reliable benchmarks to optimize your network over a 12-month period.
What are the effects observed for franchises that integrate CRM into their management?
First, CRMs save time. Franchise on Cloud allows franchise networks to save an average of 17% time when signing contracts while reducing the cost per signature by 19%. Conversion rates have also increased by 26%! Everything is under real-time control for optimal optimization.
The center of your network should be the gathering place for franchise candidates. Your franchise must ensure that these individuals feel supported, confident, and guided to give them the best chance of success.
CRM is the ideal solution for this: collecting, organizing, and analyzing candidate information so they feel valued until you make a final decision.