How to Build a Tech Company That Works for Franchisers Naranga CEO Mark Montini breaks down his company's four-pronged strategy.
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Naranga is a growing technology company headquartered in Atlanta, which was founded less than four years ago by Tariq Farid, the founder of Edible Arrangements
I interviewed Naranga CEO Mark Montini to get to the bottom of what makes the company tick. We had a lot in common, starting with the belief of growing a thriving community of franchise brands by offering world-class consulting and resources.
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Montini started with their vision statement, which is "Simply Succeed," with the primary focus on making their clients more efficient and profitable. He then pointed out their four-prong focus:
- Align value with price. Naranga is committed to the success of the franchisor clients and their corresponding franchise communities. A big part of this is making sure that the customers always feel that they are getting a great value from Naranga at whatever level they are paying for.
- Make it easy for emerging franchisors. I found this to be one of the critical differentiators for Naranga. The company was founded by a franchisor and therefore could empathize with newer franchisors. I have seen many technology companies that don't get the lifecycle of franchise organizations and don't offer suitable options for emerging brands. Naranga gets it and knows that a long-term relationship with a franchisor is well worth being flexible in the early days, which builds trust and loyalty.
- Modernize technology. Montini pointed out that they are committed to staying in front of the technology curve for the benefit of their client organizations. For instance, they say "mobile first, not mobile friendly."
- Franchise owner experience. Naranga also understands that it is imperative to focus on the franchise owner experience to make sure that their platform is facilitating growth and efficiencies for the actual operators that are in the field every day.
It's simple: Franchise owners come first. I coach my clients in this way on a daily basis. Technology is one of the five departments of every franchise organization and needs to be a primary focus. As a franchisor, you will want to implement the most efficient technologies so your franchise owners can thrive as well as streamlining your communication, support and training systems.
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Always make sure that you do your homework to make sure that you are choosing the best solutions at the right time. You may want to get your owner's advisory committee involved with the implementation or roll out of new platforms to streamline the process. The marketplace is more competitive than ever before and the franchisors that optimize technology will have the upper hand.
