Franchise Development Software Red Flags to Watch For

Implementing franchise development software is one of the best ways to ensure the ongoing success of your brand’s recruitment efforts.

And yet, while most franchisors are aware of the hypothetical value of franchise development software – better organization, reporting, intra-franchise communication, and marketing, to name a few major benefits – these same individuals often lack the technical background to distinguish the good software from the bad.

This is a major problem when you consider just how much franchise development software is out there – a quick Google search yields half a million results!

Today’s post is meant to make your franchise development software selection easier. Whether you’re choosing a new development system or evaluating your current one, knowing what red flags to watch for is the only way to ensure you’ve got the best tools to grow your brand.

Read on to learn four red flags to watch for as you research franchise development software options.

RED FLAG: Limited user customization.

Franchise development software has to be flexible if it’s going to be successfully deployed across multiple industries. This means dashboards, outreach templates, and reports need to be fully customizable, especially if you intend to automate processes that are unique to your franchise system. Accordingly, rigid, one-size-fits all software with limited capacity for individualization should be considered a serious red flag.

RED FLAG: No consolidated communication tools.

Today, the majority of people walk around with at least one mobile device for texting, email, and voice calls on-hand at all times, so the idea of building another communication channel into your franchise development software might sound unnecessary. However, franchise development efforts require a lot of outreach, lead follow-up and prospect interactions, which can quickly get lost in the shuffle of texts, emails, and calls from friends and family.

Rather than thumbing through 3-4 different apps to find the lead, broker, or franchise family member you needed to follow-up with, quality franchise development software consolidates all these threads into a single app. Access leads, details, contacts, calendars, and brokers from the same dashboard, saving you a lot of thumb-action, improving franchise lead response times, and saving your attention for what really matters – growing your brand.

FranchiseSoft offers consolidated communication tools, and even gives users a One-Stop feature that integrates all recruitment and production activities into one platform, thereby eliminating the need for third-party software or add-ons.

RED FLAG: Clumsy or complicated reporting.

Franchise development relies on quality insights into workflows, campaigns, sources, communications, and the efficacy of the sales funnel. Without clear reporting on metrics that matter, your franchise development is reduced to “the blind leading the blind.” Moreover, reports need to be easy to generate, if not entirely automated; we can’t spend hours a day on basic data entry and calculations that detract from the very performance we’re trying to measure and improve.

In short, any franchise development software with labor-intensive or complicated reporting should be avoided. FranchiseSoft uses auto-generated pipeline reports, sent automatically to your email in a clear, concise report that highlights key performance indicators (KPIs) so you can review and recalibrate your franchise development strategy on the fly.

RED FLAG: Poor website design for your software provider.

Though not directly related to the functionality of your chosen franchise development software, the look and layout of the provider’s website is an early clue that tells you what you can expect with the final product. If the developers can’t put together a website that’s well-organized, responsive, and easy to navigate, what are the odds that their software will be any better?

Visit https://www.franchisesoft.com for an example of the site quality you should expect from a reputable provider, or just Google “franchise development software” to find us on page one. Note the intuitive design, visible contact forms and social buttons, quick load time, and clear/concise information. Anything less should be considered a serious red flag!

On behalf of the FranchiseSoft team, we hope this brief guide comes in handy as you look for franchise development software that’s right for you. Visit the link listed above to learn more about our software or book a free demo.