Buying a franchise business is an excellent option for those hoping to enter the business world but who don’t have the time or in-depth experience to start one from scratch. Though the corporate franchise owners will provide much of the starting materials, it is still up to the franchise owner to maintain a successful and profitable business.

As the old saying goes, a significant component of business success is location, location, location. Therefore, proper business mapping location analysis is vital to ensure any site is profitable. This is true for both the corporate owner and the individual franchises, but it tends to be corporate that dictate where franchises are allowed to open.

Define Franchise Territories

The first step for business mapping location analysis is defining franchise territories. This step is both evident and essential. There are plenty of jokes about Starbucks and CVS being on nearly every corner. When this is true, it’s often because the market for that many locations is viable. Mapping technology will help define the boundaries of a franchise to determine if such saturation is feasible. The territory’s various definitions will depend mainly on the franchise and supporting market data but should be clearly understood and defined.

So, select the criteria which will define your business’s territory. Some simple metrics for your definition could include zip codes, population density, roadways, mileage radius rings, competition saturation, etc.

Future Territories

Once territories and boundaries are determined, future franchise locations can be planned and ready when additional prospects inquire about opening a site. Metrics are selected by the growth (or shrinkage) in the region. Planning future sites avoids over-saturation and ensures new franchise operations are profitable and have a relatively smooth opening and operation once fully established.

Manage Territories

When present and future franchise territories are defined and mapped, they must be managed. Again, this seems obvious, but it isn’t unheard of for corporate or franchise locations to get complacent and neglectful, which is one reason why many such operations are struggling in the twenty-first century. Knowing the boundaries of a franchise and how it relates to other local, similar businesses is in constant flux. For example, if a Starbucks is doing well on a corner street of a busy city, but a local coffee shop is a few blocks over, opening another Starbucks in the city is probably a bad idea. On the other hand, if that local shop has to close or becomes a different business, a new Starbucks might be feasible. Stores come and go, and that’s why proper business mapping location analysis is so critical, both for the corporate structure and franchisees.

Geographic Enterprises

Does your business need help to define franchise territories? Geographic Enterprises can help. Our mapping software can return the business mapping location analysis needed to create regions that will balance your territories for sales success. Contact us at 888-848-4436 for a free demonstration.