In this episode of The QSR Experience Show, Mike LaRue, Vice President of Franchise Development at Angry Chickz, shares his extensive experience in franchise development, in particular the ins and outs of when to start franchising and when to continue to expand. He emphasizes the importance of selecting the right partners and the lessons learned from emerging brands.
Mike also discusses the critical role of maintaining personal guest interactions to stand out in the competitive QSR industry that is leaning into technology more heavily every day. Additionally, Mike offers insights into the future landscape of quick service restaurants, highlighting the balance between technology integration and preserving the guest experience.
Topics discussed:
- The importance of selecting the right partners and reaching multiple locations before considering franchising.
- Lessons learned from working with emerging brands and understanding what not to do in franchise development.
- Maintaining personal guest interactions to avoid becoming a commodity in the competitive QSR landscape.
- Developing a comprehensive onboarding process for franchisees to ensure smooth operations and consistency across locations.
- Proving a successful labor model even in challenging labor markets, essential for franchise growth and sustainability.
- Balancing the integration of technology, such as kiosks, with maintaining a personal touch in guest interactions.
- Strategies for expanding into new markets, including understanding psychographics and demographics to select the best locations.
- The significance of operating numerous corporate locations to refine and prove the business model before franchising.
- The role of community engagement and the impact it has on differentiating a brand in the marketplace.
Guest Quotes:
“I love the idea of just dealing with investors and entrepreneurs. And so you really get a good. When I say I gained a really good understanding of what not to do as an emerging brand. And I think even to this day, it’s still quite, it happens quite often where franchise sales is the, that’s the gas that really gets a brand going.”
“And sometimes I felt like I was a counselor because, you know, franchisees would vent. And I think at the end of the day, franchisees just want to be heard, and it really has to it really has to be a partnership, not us versus you guys. And unfortunately, that’s, you know, that’s the case with many, you know, different concepts.”
“And so when it comes down to decisions that we make, you know, we’re able to do so in a manner that is what’s best for the brand, what’s best for the brand, what’s best for the franchisee, you know, and what’s best for, you know, the market that we’re going into.”
“Another thing that we’ve done is, I think a lot of brands miss, we have a supply chain strategy in place. I always laugh because it’s like, Cisco and us foods is not a supply chain strategy. That just means. Just means you can get your product in other places of the country.”
“But I think, you know, everyone is so like, the industry is obviously being forced to get into, to implement technology that’s going to minimize labor. I feel that those who don’t lose sight of the guest experience when it comes down to people interaction are the ones that are going to thrive.”
Get in touch with Mike LaRue:
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Get in touch with your host, Bobby Marhamat:
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