5 Key Challenges of Running a Business and How the San Churro Support Office Can Help
Wednesday, December 14
Starting a business takes a huge leap of faith, long hours and endless challenges. When you join a Franchise system, it means that you start your business with support, resources, brand recognition and an existing customer base. Here are five challenges that our dedicated Support Office team will be there to help with:
- The Challenge: You’re worried about taking risks and you don’t have experience in all areas of running a business
Our network of Franchise Partners and Support Office team know how to run a San Churro store, so when it comes to unexpected curveballs, unwanted surprises or a full-blown crisis, we’ll be here to help! Our Support Office is made up of expert Finance, Product, Marketing, IT, Learning & Development, Human Resources, and Operations teams to make sure you’re covered in all areas of your business.
A franchise system not only helps you minimise risks, but also maximise growth opportunities for you. Many of our Franchise Partners own multiple San Churro stores, and many more have expressed interest in opening another store. There are ample opportunities for you to expand and grow with San Churro as a multi-location Franchise Partner.
- The Challenge: You’re not an expert in current trends in the food and beverage space, and you have no idea how to promote your products!
If you run a business in the food and beverage space, you’ll know that you have to constantly refresh your menu to meet consumer demands and innovate to get ahead of your competitors. The San Churro Product team are dessert connoisseurs who love keeping up with the latest trends in the industry to create delicious, cutting-edge products that are based on proven strategies and years of experience.
As a San Churro Franchise Partner, you don’t have to stress about creating and launching a new menu all by yourself to stand out from the competition, you just have to get excited about the next new San Churro product! However, the San Churro Product team cannot do it without our Franchise Partners who see our customers everyday and bring our menu items to life. Our Product team works closely with our Franchise Partners to get valued feedback and ideas about our menu. They also check in regularly to see where we can improve to become a more profitable, efficient, and delicious Franchise.
Once the Product team brings a new menu item to our San Churro stores, it’s time to get our customers excited. The San Churro Marketing team supports our stores with strategic, creative campaigns for each new menu with social media marketing, digital menu boards, printed collateral, offers and discounts, influencer partnerships and more. The Marketing team are also the custodians of the San Churro brand and will help you with all customer facing areas of the business all year round, including local area marketing activities and shopping centre activations.
- The Challenge: You’re having trouble affording stock for a standalone business due to minimum order quantities and a lack of experience in negotiating with suppliers
The San Churro Supply Chain team has years of experience in sourcing the finest chocolate and other ingredients from around the world. They’ll help you by negotiating the best deals for the best product to be delivered straight to your San Churro store. Due to the sheer size of the San Churro network, we have increased buying power to access discounts due to purchasing ingredients in bulk, as well as being able to meet minimum order quantities. This reduced cost for ingredients results in lower operational costs for each individual store. The San Churro Support Office also conducts sales forecasting to inform order quantities, prepare our stores and reduce waste.
On top of this, all packaging is handled by the San Churro Product, Marketing and Warehouse teams to ensure that we’re remaining efficient, on-brand and sustainable. Investing in a San Churro franchise gives you the tools and support to empower you in all areas of running a store that you simply wouldn’t get as an independent business owner.
- The Challenge: You don’t know how to reward your customers and keep them coming back
After over 16 years of San Churro, we know our primary and secondary target audiences inside and out. In fact, there are already San Churro customers out there eagerly waiting for the next San Churro store to open in their area. With strong brand recognition across the country, we remain one of the top dessert brands Australians think of when they’re craving a sweet treat.
So, how do we engage our customers and give them a reason to keep coming back? There are many reasons our loyal customers frequent San Churro so often, but there’s nothing like freebies and discounts from your favourite brand. Our loyalty program, el SOCIAL, is specifically designed to engage and reward our members who choose to spend their hard earned cash in our stores. Along with free Birthday Churros, our el SOCIAL members are rewarded with points for every purchase they make, as well as year-round offers and discounts to encourage visit frequency and higher average transaction value.
Our el SOCIAL loyalty program also allows us to communicate with our customers through various digital channels and target them with content that is relevant to their location, interests and favourite San Churro products. All of this customer data is stored in state of the art software so that the San Churro Marketing team can strategically reach our target customers and improve the success of our stores!
- The Challenge: You don’t know the best way to train and keep your staff
Being a part of a Franchise network is advantageous when it comes to recruitment due to San Churro’s brand recognition and the sheer amount of people who apply to work for well-known brands in the hospitality industry.
In addition to this, staff rostering is supported by a sophisticated online system wherein staff can be easily onboarded, take shifts, request leave and receive updates from the company.
Training modules are developed for every new menu item, as well as for all new staff and Franchise Partners in areas including customer service, uniform standards, safety and more. We believe that ongoing and in-depth training builds confidence and independence among our staff, encouraging them to choose to stay with San Churro longer.