Are you a small business owner dreaming of turning your business into a franchise, or an entrepreneur looking to jump into franchise ownership? Or, perhaps an established franchisor who feels that success is just around the corner, but isn’t sure how to get there?
No matter the case, if it’s success you’re looking for, we at Impression Signs and Graphics want to give you the inside scoop on a key part of any Minnesota business’s success: choosing trusted vendors.
The vendors you choose to take with you on your franchise journey have the capacity to either make or break your franchise. Hiring an unstable, untrustworthy vendor will likely cause your business to suffer a loss of time, revenue, and even reputation with your customers. Hiring reliable vendors, however, can have a huge impact on your success.
Below, we’ll break down the key benefits of partnering with trusted vendors and how you should vet them.
But first, let’s define the types of suppliers available to you. Vendors usually fall into one of two categories: specialized professional service vendors and products and services vendors.
Types of Vendors
- Specialized professional services vendors offer special custom services designed for franchisors. These vendors include marketers, lawyers, packagers, and accounting or financial institutions.
- Products and services vendors provide (you guessed it) products and services that are modified for franchise use or specifically formulated for franchise use. Examples of these vendors include suppliers of uniforms, internet services, paper goods, inventory, office supplies, and signage.
Now that you understand the kinds of vendors you’ll need, let’s get into how to choose vendors you can trust.
Questions to Ask Before You Partner With Vendors
Trusted vendors will communicate openly and promptly, maintain a positive professional attitude, and have a vested interest in supplying for your franchise. To make sure your vendors tick all those boxes, there are some questions you should ask yourself when vetting potential suppliers.
- Does the vendor have experience supplying other small business owners with products or services similar to your own? A supplier with years of experience will translate to smoother processes and added value to your business.
- What is the vendor’s reputation and who are their references? Is the vendor still working with any long-term clients? If so, are those franchisors happy with the vendor’s products/services? Reach out to the vendor’s past clients and have a conversation to get an idea of the vendor’s workflow and professionalism.
- Does the vendor have the resources available to satisfy your current business needs and to expand with you as you work toward franchise growth? You’re going to want to investigate if the vendor has the equipment and personnel necessary to deliver the products and services you need in a consistent and timely manner.
- Do they have the proper training and licenses to carry out the tasks you need them to? Regardless of their good reputation, if they don’t have the proper licenses, you won’t be able to rely on their services. You may also be held liable if something goes wrong.
- Is the vendor willing to conduct field tests or site surveys to determine whether they can successfully satisfy your franchise’s needs and expectations? Be cautious about doing business with any supplier who flinches from reasonable quality assurance requirements.
Impression Signs outfitted Pizza Karma with their signage needs when they decided to franchise.
3 Ways Trusted Vendors Help You Succeed
1.) Better Vendors = More Revenue
No matter what vendor you choose, understand there can be hiccups in the production processes. But, the more effective your vendors are, the fewer problems you will encounter during your partnership. Fewer problems in the production and delivery of your products and services translates to:
- Less stress and frustration
- Less time wasted
- More money in your pocket.
With reliable, consistent, and communicative vendors, you can focus on the big-picture parts of your business strategy, such as franchise growth and profits.
2.) Consistency / Brand Image
Finding a vendor you trust and want to partner with is ideal. Long-term relationships with vendors are not only beneficial for your peace of mind as a franchisor, they’re also great for your brand image.
To stand out in the sea of Minnesota businesses in the Twin Cities area, your franchise should be immediately recognizable. Things like uniforms, retail items, and signage should be consistent throughout the franchise system to let customers know who you are.
One of the best ways to establish brand consistency is to create successful signage for your franchise. By creating brand standards and corporate identity packages and guides (colors, graphics, logos, etc.), you can easily build the foundation for signage across stores that will make it easy for customers to identify you.
Make sure you choose an experienced print partner who can streamline the process for both you and your franchisees.
See how Impression Signs and Graphics helped streamline the process for local franchise Pizza Karma.
3.) Reputation with Customers
If your suppliers are unreliable or inconsistent, your businesses will develop a similar reputation. Without consistency across stores, your customers will be confused, disappointed, and ultimately lose trust in your business. It’s important to remain consistent to show your customers you can provide them with the reliable products and services they want.
With reliable vendors, your customers will come to trust your brand and feel that they can depend on your products and services. This will help boost your reputation and also help you increase revenue, as you’ll retain repeat customers and attract new ones.
Does your Franchise need signage from a reliable, trusted vendor?
Impression Signs and Graphics has partnered with numerous Minnesota businesses and local franchise owners to provide them with quality signage in all formats, both large and small. Whether you’re a brand new franchisor just starting out on your journey, or already an established franchise, Impression Signs and Graphics can help you establish a premium brand image across locations.
Contact us today to get started.
impressionsignsblog.wordpress.com 