Franchisees tend to be thirsty for information from their parent company. Unfortunately, many franchisors agree, believing that “the more we give them the better.”

However, that’s a big mistake, and it could be costing franchisors and franchisees dearly.

The result is a torrent of emails flooding into the inboxes of franchisees every day. They receive so much information that they don’t stand a chance of soaking it up and using it to their advantage. Much of it just gets ignored, even the vital information that can make a difference to how well your franchisees perform.

Email is almost as old as the internet itself. And really, it hasn't changed much since its inception: messages hit your inbox, you read them -or try to, and they either pile up or get banished to the trash can.

The solution to information overload is smart communication. With a cloud-based hub, franchisors can store information and distribute it in a timely, easy to digest format.

This information can also be made as relevant as possible. Every message can be tailored to the right roles and functions within the franchise network so that recipients can focus on what they need to be focusing on right now. For example, a multi-unit franchisee does not need the same information as a part-time sales clerk, but they both need to be part of the same network.

Look at it this way. Instead of wielding a fire hose, franchisors can feed information to stakeholders through a straw. It’s easy to grasp, simple to use and they can manage the rate that information is received.

It's Time for Your Franchise to Replace Emails With A Franchise Intranet

Email may be great for sending customer receipts or sharing holiday plans, but it’s far from ideal for use in franchise networks.

For one thing, when you send an email, you create as many copies of the information as there are recipients. This is wasteful, and also runs the risk of degenerating into spam, overloading employees with information. Then there’s the danger that the recipient easily can hit “Forward”, and then only God knows where your internal and potentially strategic information ends up!

Email is also designed to communicate with individuals, not groups or functions within a franchise organization. Every franchise has different roles and levels with their own functions. Most information from the franchisor are targeted at groups of people with these functions, not to individuals themselves.

For example, messages about new marketing campaigns, price list updates, policy or procedural changes, or new suppliers are all functional messages with no personal content.

Franchisors also have to maintain an up to date mailing list of all stakeholders within the organization, which can be labor intensive and hard to do accurately. It’s easy to imagine new hires being left out and missing key information such as changes to the Operations Manual, or information going to ex-employees by mistake. With a Franchise Intranet, each Area Manager or Franchisee can be tasked to manage their own local staff and users, generating an always up-to-date directory.

Relying on email also makes franchise handovers harder. For example, let’s say a franchisee is leaving after five years. Over the years, their franchise email account has been filled with (hopefully) useful information that they no longer need and definitely not shall have access to. However, the new franchisee has an empty inbox, and has plenty to learn as they begin their new role.

So, how do you ensure that the right information is always available to every team member? With a Franchise Intranet every piece of information is stored, tagged and indexed, making it super-easy for all new franchisees and staff to find what they need and to easily get a grip of historical events and issues. The collective Know-How that build up over time is one of the greatest assets of you entire Franchise.

Finding information with email is also a pain. Email histories are cumbersome to search, while information in attachments is almost impossible to search. Even if you do have an inbox full of useful information, if you can’t find it, it’s effectively useless.

How Chainformation Can Make A Difference to Your Franchise

Chainformation Franchise Intranet is a ready-to-launch cloud-based service that allows franchisors to achieve this kind of information distribution without any IT hassle or the need for bespoke development.

Chainformation provides franchisors with the tools to channel their internal communications and share knowledge effectively. Information can be filtered for different role-based access levels, allowing the system to fit seamlessly into any organizational structure.

In addition, it enables easy sharing of daily updates, campaign and marketing materials, training videos, Operations and Concept Manuals, price lists and supplier updates – all of the essential information that keeps franchises running smoothly.

With a just few clicks, any information can also be shared with franchisee staff or external users like Suppliers or Partners.

A Cutting Edge Solution for Managing Franchises

Chainformation’s Franchise Intranet is a top-notch solution, built upon the most up-to-date web application technologies. It has been 100% optimized for mobile devices via responsive design that allows it to fit into any screen size, from smartphones to large office computer displays.

It offers social features as well. You can allow your network to interact, share information, write posts, register likes and comment on other posts, exactly as they would with Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn. The difference is that with the Franchise Intranet, you are in control. You can decide which users can access different functions, and you can ensure that no information is shared outside the network’s boundaries.

Set-up requires no prior knowledge, and within a couple of weeks you can have a capable Franchise Intranet up and running.

To find out more, arrange a Free Trial today, or throw your questions our way and chat with one of our experts.