Custom Intranets: The next step in franchise management, marketing and communication
Franchising and You -- Albert Jay Rosenthal

The advent of internet-based technology has, in many ways, revolutionized the way both individuals and organizations communicate. Nowhere, perhaps, is this more apparent than in the franchise industry.

Prompt, accurate, and reliable transmission of information is essential to maintaining a successful franchisor-franchisee relationship. Until recently, many franchise organizations typically deferred to the telephone, the fax machine, ordinary e-mail or the post office to communicate with their corporate management teams and franchises worldwide.

Although these media continue to represent viable means of communication, many companies are examining alternative mediums which employ state-of-the-art internet technologies which are now available to the franchise industry as a whole.

Many franchise experts are believed to agree that private, secure internet-based communication systems, often referred to as "intranets", represent the next step in franchise management, marketing, and communication.

Several large franchise organizations are reported to have jumped on the intranet bandwagon and retained private programming firms to design and implement their custom intranet systems from scratch. These organizations recognize the advantages associated with the ability to issue and receive messages from franchisees anywhere in the world using a uniform system, customized to meet their specific communication needs.

Moreover, they recognize the long-term benefits associated with greater efficiency and decreased costs that a private intranet system offers. Unfortunately, designing a custom intranet system from scratch can be expensive, averaging $60,000 or more over a typical six-month development period, according to reports. In addition, custom intranet systems can be complex, requiring extensive programming expertise or computer knowledge just to use them on a daily basis.

Franchise organizations with limited budgets, if they so desire, can turn to companies like San Diego-based IFX International, Inc., for what is reported to be affordable preproduced intranet communications systems designed specifically for franchise networks. In contrast to others, IFX works on a one-time set-up fee. Thereafter, charges are based on the number of users accessing that particular franchisor's system each month.

The company is about two years old, and reported to be growing rapidly. With over 14 years of experience in the franchise industry, the principals of IFX believe their standardized intranet systems will accommodate the majority of communication needs for what they estimate to be about 90 percent of franchise organizations on the market today.

The result, they report, is a secure and reliable intranet system that dramatically improves communication and support services, while reducing administrative overhead.

More important, IFX's system is designed to track and document sensitive communications for archiving purposes and future reference; thereby it is designed to dramatically reduce litigation liability.

IFX's intranet communications system, referred to as an "Online Business Support System," is simple in structure and is reported to be remarkably easy to use, requiring only 30 days to customize and implement. IFX's President and CEO, Daniel Martin, notes that, "We wanted to design a system that even computer novices would be comfortable with." He added, "Although our system offers several powerful capabilities, it needed to be simple enough so the average franchisee would actually use it."

In fact, IFX's system is divided into four basic sections inclusive of a "Registered" Webmail feature, a Q&A forum, a News section and a section for viewing and printing a franchise company's current operations, training and marketing manuals. None of these features require programing or HTML expertise to use or administer.

Martin reports that everything from uploading newsletters and manuals to issuing/responding to questions and answers can be administered directly from a franchisor's headquarters using an ordinary personal computer and a standard internet connection. For franchisees, an ordinary PC or Mac and an internet connection is all that is required, along with the proper access information and dual-level passwords.

Martin, whose company also publishes a national franchise and business opportunity website called "Centercourt" (www.centercourt.com), notes that, "Centercourt has provided us with an opportunity to introduce a wide variety of franchise companies to the internet through the design of their corporate websites.

"Now that they're comfortable with the Internet, they've indicated that they're interested in moving to the next step. The IFX Online Intranet communications system should represent the perfect next step."

We bring this to your attention for "Current Franchise Management" purposes whether you are a franchisor, area developer, etc. It does get to the heart of the franchise.

If you desire more information about internet and intranet technologies designed specifically for the franchise industry, you may want to contact Daniel Martin, President at: