Making the decision to franchise your restaurant has the potential to shower you with a host of benefits.
Among the most important are added access to capital from your franchisees, a lightened expansion burden, more employees with minimal direct supervision from you, the potential for increased brand awareness, and the distribution of risk.
But before you capitalize on these advantages, it is important to find the best merchant account provider who can help you to cobble together your expanding eatery empire. The following tips will get you well on your way toward finding the best payment processing for franchises option.
Consistency across all locations.
Success in franchising depends on your ability to create uniformity across your entire system as well as with all members of your franchise team. When you partner with one payment processor for all restaurants in your chain, you will know that your services are the same across the board.
Additionally, your relationship with a single processor will benefit each individual owner should a problem arise.
A fast response and resolution rate is essential in the event that your system goes down, and having an overarching relationship with one merchant account provider will ensure that this happens.
Extensive industry experience.
The franchise model is an incredible way to do business not only for dining establishments but also for other types of retailers and service providers. Even so, what works for one type of business might not be efficacious for another.
That’s why you need payment processing for franchises that can demonstrate years of experience working with restaurant entrepreneurs like you.
Ability to scale.
As you are launching your fledgling franchise restaurant and getting into a relationship with a payment processing company, you may be tempted to partner with a local sales representative.
However, the truth is that sometimes national is better.
That’s because you want to be able to easily scale your franchise business.
Should you meet or exceed your goals and expand your brand across the country, you want to be in a relationship with a representative who is knowledgeable about helping you to navigate a nationwide enterprise.
Customer loyalty.
As you well know, the restaurant industry is extremely competitive. Consequently, you need to be both creative and intentional in your efforts to attract and keep every customer. Delicious food and excellent service are two essential elements, but incentivizing patrons to return by using loyalty programs has also proven to be highly effective.
These loyalty programs work thanks to the database function that is built into your point of sale system. Its customer relationships management tool can help you to gather and store contact data about each of your patrons so that you can keep track of every purchase.
As long as your payment processor allows you to do so, you can easily set up a loyalty program that rewards diners with discounts or other promotions as soon as they hit a preset milestone.
In addition to inspiring return visits, this incentive is also a great way to elevate and expand your brand recognition.
Security infrastructure.
Accepting credit card payments is essential for your restaurant franchise business, but it automatically makes you and your customers vulnerable to cyber criminals bent on intercepting and stealing payment data.
In order to minimize the risk of this happening, you need to select a merchant account provider who makes cardholder security a high priority.
At minimum, this means complying with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and any other industry-specific digital safety requirements.
In addition, you should partner with a company that goes the extra mile to protect data and is willing to demonstrate and display the steps they have taken.
Flexible payment options.
Whether you have just one or two franchises or many, your customers should be able to pay using their method of choice. That should include the ability to resolve their bill contactless.
For certain eating establishments, tableside ordering and payment options are also a great idea. Additionally, you might want to find a provider who offers flexible tipping capabilities, including percentage-based, flat fees and even suggested tipping amounts as well as the ability to split bills.
Advanced reporting tools.
Taking customer payments consistently across all franchises is just the beginning of what your payment processor can help you do via the point of sale systems they provide.
In addition, your company can furnish you with analytics tools that enable you to track sales trends, peak transaction times, and top-performing menu items. With this information at your disposal, you can refine upcoming marketing campaigns to further burnish your success.
Making the move to franchise your restaurant has the potential to bring expanded brand recognition and profits to both you and the individual owners with whom you partner.
Perhaps the single most effective way to jump-start your success is to find and partner with the right payment processing vendor. Start your search today to ensure that you, your franchisees and your customers will soon reap the rewards.
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