Pasta Italia: Support and Advice for Franchise Owners



Table of Contents

Introduction4

Products That Are Not Prone To Recession4

Brand and Image5

Location5

Financial Targets6

Marketing6

Franchise Agreements6

Product Design7

Writing the Menu7

Food Cost8

Portion Control8

Balanced Menu9

Pre Menu Design Information9

Designing a Restaurant Menu10

Service Design12

Employee Opinion Surveys13

Focus Groups13

Customer Feedback14

Pre-Shifts14

Employee Self-Evaluation15

Turnover and Employee Retaining15

Assign a Mentor15

Consistency16

Safety17

Variety in Training17

Training Techniques18

Demonstration18

Shadowing18

Instructing19

Supervised Performance19

Capacity Management20

Conclusion22

References24

Pasta Italia: Support and Advice for Franchise Owners

Introduction

Franchises are licensed outlets or similar business agreements through which outlets, stores and branches are operated and consequently owned by franchisees. These franchisees distribute and then sell products, or services depending on the organization, of the already established organization. The franchise functions, exists and does business under the trademark, logo, marketing plan and operating manual by paying a certain amount to the organization. Numerous examples of franchises can be seen in our modern society. McDonalds, Dunkin' Donuts, Subway, Burger King and KFC are just a few of popular, and successful, franchises present throughout the world. Keeping the names of these highly rated organizations in mind, the success of a franchise depends primarily on the following few factors.

Products That Are Not Prone To Recession

For any business to be successful, it must provide services or products that are unique and worth purchasing. The customer must feel that the product or service's quality is unmatched and cannot be acquired anywhere else. On top of the product or service's most apparent qualitative characteristics, the product or service must be affordable in terms of economic resources. On average, consumers tend to focus a lot more on price than seen in earlier times. While most businesses were forced to close, established franchises continued to perform and cement their position in the global market. This can be seen in the economic recession during 2007 and 2008. Consumers were drawn to the previously mentioned franchise's menus primarily because of their economically lucrative pricing and budget menus.

Brand and Image

A key factor to the success of franchise is the parent organization's image and how cemented it is in the market. It is around this image and name that the franchise will function and consequently earn a profit. Brands help create this image and become one of the reasons why consumers relate to a certain organization. Thus, brands can be considered successful and profitable if it is well recognized, in demand, has a memorable logo and a popular advertising campaign. Franchises help expand such brands and allow consumers to easily access products and services. With popularity, however, come competition and the opportunity to replicate and make off with a quick buck. To protect the organization and the brand, trademarks are enforced. They ensure the protection of the brands from replication and potential competition.

Location

The importance of location can never be highlighted enough. For most businesses, it is the key factor that determines success or failure. The number one reason why location is so important is that if not chosen properly, the product, brand or service will not be able to reach out to customers geographically. If the organization cannot reach out to their consumers, ...