A home service refers to a service required in the upkeep of home at regular intervals. Installation of electronic equipment such as television or water purifier, home cleaning, carpet and sofa cleaning packers and movers, painting, and so on fall under the umbrella of home services.
In India, home services are either unorganized or provided as an added service by businesses selling expensive electronic equipment for use in homes. There a widely acknowledged lack of skilled service providers in this segment. Since the service providers work in an unorganized manner, it becomes inconvenient for customers who require a particular service. On the other hand, service providers are not able to reach out and provide services when and where they are needed. This often leads them to give up being an independent service provider and work with an establishment for a smaller income.
Home service franchises aim to bring a solution to this problem. The main agenda is to connect the service provider to those who are willing to pay for the service. This is done mainly by providing an online platform or establishing service outlets with branding and high visibility in residential areas. When a service is needed, it becomes easier for a person to find and contact the service provider.
The franchise business in this segment creates a niche for itself in a particular service or a bunch of services by setting standards for service with respect to time and cost. There are many other aspects to be considered before buying a home service franchise.
Scope of services: When you associate your business with a franchise, you may be expected to provide more kinds of services than that you already do. Give a thought to the fact whether you can provide the additional services or not. It may require you to hire servicemen and it will imply a cost to your setup. In the absence of servicemen, your quality of service may suffer. Consider whether you can comfortably accommodate all the services projected by the said business in order to meet a client's expectations.
Equipment and skill: A franchise is given training in the way a service is to be conducted end to end. Each service is supposed to use standard equipment and materials. One should assess one's skill and the investment to be made buying tools and equipment specified. The use of advanced equipment does help in performing a job conveniently but often your regular customers may be relying on your service because of their preference for traditional methods. For example, painting by machine often leaves a lot of cleaning up as compared to a hand painting. On the other hand, franchises may have exclusive products that are helpful in rendering efficient services. The additional equipment and skill should be use full in your local market and be viable for your business.
Brand: Many of the franchisors give kits consisting of bags, kits, and uniforms with branding so as to allow for easy identification. Customers start associating certain values with a brand. This is desirable for a business related to services as it immediately raises the clients' comfort level.
Documentation: In the rapidly changing world, safety has become a major concern for people. While dealing with strangers, people wish to be assured of safety and professional behavior. Many of the franchises take this concern very seriously and file the identity proofs of servicemen. There are also some franchises that do not perform such verification of identity, skill or qualification. It is better to be associated with a franchise that performs a thorough check on its associates to provide assurance to its clients.
Over a period of time, such information is known by customers and preferences change accordingly. Business service formats: Some of the franchises have a fixed for format for every service. The format includes pricing, product or materials to be used and the timing for providing services. The use of specified materials may or not be desirable depending on the service and cost implied. It is essential to ensure that such prefixed formats work in favor of both clients as well as a service provider. There should be enough flexibility of service plans where needed because it is a sector where standardization can be limited to a certain extent.
Online platform: In this digital age, most clients register for a service through online portals or apps. Visit the portal and check for ease of use. While talking to the franchisor, inquire about the strategies planned to pull in more clients and also find out how often the database is worked upon. It will be imperative to register clients in large numbers in order to get sufficient business.
Fees and royalty: Find out the total charges of buying a franchise and the compulsory fees that you might have to pay at regular intervals. Marketing fees, training fees, buying supplies from specified brands may be a part of the cost. Compare it with the increase in clients that a franchise brand will bring to you. In the end, the fees should justify the bottom line of the business.
Benefits: Buying a franchise may give you added benefits like a new skill set, upgraded equipment, access to exclusive products, spare parts and a preference for finance and so on. Most of the franchises help by providing training in the latest techniques to upgrade service quality. They may aid you to buy equipment at a lower cost than the open market cost. Franchisors help you to refine aspects of your business that you may have lacked earlier knowingly or unknowingly. Expert feedback from the sector will definitely motivate you to do your best and increase your business thereby.
Technical know-how: Most of the repair and installation oriented franchises provide extensive services to their franchisees. For example, it requires proper training to repair or install a water purifier or an air conditioner. A franchisor transfers this knowledge to the franchisee and his staff. This helps a franchisee to grow in individual and business capacity. A person interested in acquiring technical knowledge of a product or service should explore the extent of opportunity to gain knowledge with a particular franchisor.
Limitations: A franchisor may put limitations on a franchisee with respect to working hours, the number of clients to be serviced in a day and so on. The limitation of working in a particular area only will be one of the biggest limitations of operating as a franchise. Understand all the limitations in detail and find out the implications of those limitations with respect to your present market. As an excellent service provider, you may wish to charge a premium that clients are also willing to pay in order to access your services but you may be restricted by the franchise.
The pros and cons of buying a home service franchise are many. It is essential to consider all the terms and conditions of buying a franchise while keeping your existing market base in mind. Make an assessment of whether the added cost of fees and limitations of functioning in a particular territory region are set off by the increase in the regular flow of clients. The brand value, marketing, and upgradation of skill that a franchise will definitely give to you will help you grow as a person and will also help in gaining new customers.
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