Jun 18, 2018
Franchise brands eager to expand their reach cannot do so without a plan, a process and the means to execute it. Those key elements extend beyond a dedicated corporate staff and a passionate network of franchisees – it also means having a Software Platform that enables them to scale based on franchising best practices and configures to their unique needs. For more than 700 leading franchisors, that franchise management software solution is FranConnect.
In a recent study, FranConnect customers grew 40%+ faster than the broader franchising market. It’s no surprise that brands across all industries are relying on the platform to optimize their operations and increase revenue.
One brand that recently recognized FranConnect’s strengths as a franchising CRM tool is Dickey’s Barbecue Pit. The nation’s largest barbecue chain – which consistently receives top rankings by publications like Fast Casual – was looking to improve its development process. And after Chad Cione, VP of Real Estate for Dickey’s Capital Group, learned more about FranConnect following an IFA conference in Dallas back in 2017, he knew that the FranConnect CRM tool was the one to choose.
“The addition of FranConnect will be an integral part of our growth. Having a robust CRM system is the key to success in the franchising world. In addition to managing the ROI of our portals, FranConnect gives us the data to track our leads from start to finish. Making sure we ‘touch’ the lead within the first four hours really closes the ratio gap and FranConnect allows us to track all this information very easily,” said Cione. “Additionally, we have added four amazing development sales directors over the past few months to act on these leads and support our growth plans. Finally, the addition of FranConnect allows me the flexibility to focus on the real estate strategy for all of our future Dickey’s locations.”
According to Cione, Dickey’s Barbecue Pit’s decision to utilize FranConnect is already making a positive impact on the brand as it works to grow both domestically and internationally. The biggest factor making that difference is the software’s organizational capabilities.
“The organizational features are second to none,” Cione said. “Now that we have the data we need, we are starting to dive deep into reporting insights that help drive better decision making here at Dickey’s.”
Within the next five years, Dickey’s is aiming to cross the 1,000-unit count milestone. That includes the opening of its first international store this year, which will open the door to even more international expansion in the near future. And going forward, Cione says that FranConnect will be an important partner in Dickey’s long-term global growth plans.
He said, “FranConnect plays a major role in our global growth model. I don’t know what we would do without it.”
Dickey’s is far from the only concept relying on FranConnect throughout the franchise sales process. Right now, there are over 700 brands – and 140,000 franchisees – that manage their businesses throughout the entire franchise lifecycle on the platform. In 2017, that meant users of FranConnect products logged over 16.7 million hours on the platform, with 2,200-plus successful franchise openings managed using FranConnect.
Sep 14, 2017
