Growth strategy & Expansion plan: from direction to realization

Many franchise organizations want to grow but encounter obstacles at two different levels. On one hand, there is a lack of a clear, supported direction: why to grow, what are the priorities, and which KPIs should be associated with them? On the other hand, there is a need for practical implementation: how and where to expand, with which partners, locations, and planning? Therefore, Koelewijn & Partners present both services in one place: a strategic growth framework (the "why & what") and an execution expansion plan (the "how & where"). Together they form one growth line: from direction to realization.

The added value of this dual setup is clear. The growth strategy ensures a supported direction, unambiguous goals, and a rhythm of decision-making. The expansion plan then translates this into concrete steps in areas, partners, locations, financing, and planning. Organizations that want to sharpen the strategic foundation first, find support in the growth framework. Formulas that are ready to open predictably based on those choices benefit from the expansion plan.

The growth strategy helps franchise owners to determine the direction and make choices. Think of sharpening the proposition, mission/vision/core values, determining goals and critical success factors (CSF/KPI), and establishing a decision-making rhythm. Optionally, an OGSM model is used here to clarify the relationship between Objective, Goals, Strategies, and Measures. This step prevents fragmentation, provides focus to teams, and lays the foundation for later expansion.

The expansion plan translates that direction into concrete execution. Here, data-driven choices and process discipline come together: gap analysis and territorial division, location requirements per format, the profile of the ideal franchise partner, recruitment & selection, real estate and financing approach, academy/training, and compliance with laws and regulations. The result is a planned roadmap that makes growth faster, more predictable, and more profitable.

For whom is which service relevant? The growth framework is suitable for organizations that want to sharpen their course, choose priorities, or evaluate multiple growth scenarios. The expansion plan aligns with formulas ready to open new locations or transfer existing branches based on those choices, thereby maximizing the chance of success. This page is deliberately structured linearly. First follows the growth strategy, because without clear choices, any plan becomes slower and riskier. Then follows the expansion plan, which describes the executable route. The transition between the two is small: once the course is set, implementation can accelerate in a targeted way. Those who already have a clear course can proceed directly to the second part.

Refining the growth strategy

The world is constantly innovating. Technology is improving, customer priorities are changing, and there are very unexpected events, such as the COVID-19 crisis a few years ago and now AI, which in turn enables further robotics. All this upends business operations and customer behavior. In a rapidly changing world, it is crucial to have a good strategy to continue to adapt. This means a strong unique value proposition and clear goals, supported by an up-to-date mission, vision, and core values, and having a clear insight into your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Concretely, this may mean revisiting aspects such as your environmental impact, your omnichannel strategy, or your current customer approach. Through our masterclass sharpening the growth strategy we are happy to assist you in further developing your vision, mission, core values, strategy, goals, and critical success & performance indicators.

Vision, mission, and core values

What is a vision?

A vision formulates what you, as a franchise organization, aim for. What is the organization's dream for the future, and what contribution do you make to society? Examples include:

• Google: To provide access to the world’s information in one click
• Dove: Creating a world where beauty is a source of confidence, not fear
• Tesla: To accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy

What is the successful future image of an organization, described in a single sentence? Reading a company's vision tells you where the organization aims to head in the coming years. The vision focuses on the world around, not on the organization itself.

What is a mission?

A mission outlines the 'who', 'what', and 'why' of your business. In other words, a mission describes an organization's raison d'être from core values and identity. To make your franchise organization stand out from the competition (including non-franchise organizations), ensure that your mission is not too general or obvious. The mission should describe what truly makes your company unique. Examples include:

• Google: To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful
• Dove: Dove commits actions to positively influence the self-confidence of all women, and especially young girls, and inspire them to make the most of their lives
• Tesla: To create the most compelling car company of the 21st century by driving the world’s transition to electric vehicles

What are core values?

Core values can be seen as the DNA or core beliefs of your franchise. Core values guide decision-making, inform customers what your franchise organization stands for, and are important for recruiting franchisees. Everyone involved with the company should fully understand these values.

Because your core values are unique to the franchise organization, they fuel how you and your franchisees should run the franchise organization.

Strategy, goals, and critical success- & performance indicators

What is strategy?

While there is often talk about defining the strategy, there is rarely a comprehensive answer to the question "What is strategy?". This is because different people think about strategy in different ways. One of the most common definitions is that strategy is a method for planning and guiding operations over the long term to achieve an end goal. In business, these goals are primarily driven by growth and revenue. To develop a strategy, you must first be aware of your own strengths and weaknesses within the franchise organization, as well as recognize opportunities and threats in the market. This is often done using a SWOT plan.

What are business goals?

A business goal is an endpoint, achievement, or target that an organization wants to reach in the short or long term. Business goals can take many different forms and be ambitious or motivating, such as improving customer service. They can also be very specific, such as achieving a certain revenue target, net income, profit margin, profit goal, or another financial milestone.

Business goals are important for numerous reasons that can affect an organization's operations and success. Business goals help measure progress, determine the company's direction, establish accountability, and improve decision-making.

What are critical success & performance indicators?

Critical Success Factors (CSF)

A critical success factor is a factor necessary to achieve a specific objective and is crucial for an organization's continuity. The CSF is then made measurable using a KPI and assessed based on the target figure or standard. Moreover, a CSF can be measured with multiple KPIs.

Key Performance Indicators (KPI)

A key performance indicator is a subject or variable that can measure (part of) the CSF. Additionally, it is important that the KPI aligns with the organization's objectives and is formulated SMART.

Critical Risk Indicators (CRI)

Critical risk indicators are "early warning" signals. The goal is to identify relevant risks within an organization to prevent them from manifesting and leading to losses. Based on these signals, the organization can decide to take additional measures to prevent the risk from occurring.

Determining the growth model

Once a clear vision, mission, and core values have been established and the KPIs by which success is measured are well defined, it becomes possible to determine which growth model is best suited. Various possibilities exist, and they can also be utilized in parallel.

During the masterclass, we discuss the opportunities and challenges of growth through more company-owned branches, franchise, license, joint venture, cooperative, and agency. We gladly assist you in determining which growth strategy or strategies best fit your growth ambitions.

Masterclass Growth Strategy

As described above, the success of an organization hinges on a clear strategy and value proposition supported by a clear mission, vision, and core values. To safeguard this, concrete objectives and KPIs are indispensable. They provide direction for the foundation of a successful future. In our masterclasses for refining the growth strategy, we work together with you over 2 or 3 sessions. The result of this masterclass is that the strategy is ready for the next five years to continue growing successfully.

Once the direction is set, the translation to implementation is required. The expansion plan addresses practical questions: which areas are prioritized, what partner profile fits best, what location requirements are essential, how do recruitment and selection proceed, what is the financing route, and how is progress safeguarded? This creates a planned route with checkpoints and ownership.

Expansion Plan

Growth is essential for every franchise formula. But without a clear direction and clear choices, growth often gets stuck in good intentions and disparate initiatives. An expansion plan is the way to gain control over your growth ambitions. Koelewijn & Partners and Franchise+ help franchisors with drafting and implementing a structured expansion plan, allowing you to methodically build scale, formula power, and success in recruitment.

Why an expansion plan?

The success of a franchise formula depends on more than just a strong concept and goodwill; a strategy for sustainable growth is also necessary to be successful in the long term. This requires careful preparation where all crucial factors come together, and working out an expansion plan provides a solution.

A first crucial factor is the catchment area. Not only must the target audience be within reach, but the week's rhythm also counts: are there enough passersby at peak times? Is there sufficient visibility, parking, or delivery reach? And does the area meet the revenue goals? Without a sharp location analysis, you risk a branch not realizing its potential—no matter how strong the formula is.

Furthermore, the right franchisee is equally important. An entrepreneur who is not only financially capable but also aligns with the formula's norms, values, and entrepreneurial mentality. One who demonstrates energy and initiative, is or wants to be locally embedded, and has the right experience: for example, in hospitality, retail, or strong leadership skills. A franchisee who understands that working in a formula is a balance between independence and collective interest.

Then there's the right property. Sufficient square meters at the right location is one thing, but the state of the building and layout also has to be correct: consider the routing, the needed space for an open kitchen or bar, storage capacity, sightlines for guest contact, and technical requirements such as ventilation or floor load. Permits, zoning plans, and requirements of the homeowners' association or municipality also play a role. Every detail matters.

Moreover, there are countless other prerequisites that make the difference between a difficult and a smooth start: a marketing campaign that fits with the gap plan, a realistic profit budget, feasible financing, solid real estate acquisition plan, and a streamlined recruitment process (including a smooth pre-contractual process). If those factors do not align, this often costs extra months or even leads to dropout.

An expansion plan helps to clarify this complex puzzle in advance. It brings structure to the process, makes choices transparent, prevents loss of time and money, and ensures that only the promising combinations of location, candidate, and concept are pursued. This prevents hasty decisions and focuses your time, energy, and marketing budget on the trajectories with the highest potential.

With our expertise, tools, and years of experience, we relieve franchisors of a significant portion of the concerns and complexities. We know which factors are decisive for successful expansion and ensure that everything is in place before a signature is laid down. This is not only more efficient but also significantly increases the chances of success for each new branch.

What does it deliver?

A well-thought-out expansion plan saves not only time and money but also increases the chance of successful branches. With a clearly defined white spots plan, consisting of tight district delineations and realistic revenue expectations, you can quickly determine if a location has potential.

Additionally, you ensure structural growth by working with clear selection criteria, a structured franchisee requirement, and fixed consultation moments between departments. In other words, your franchise organization gets into a growth rhythm.

What is included in the expansion plan?

General

• Expansion plan principles: describes the reason, growth objectives, and OGSM structure for recruitment and expansion. Focuses on recruiting, selecting, and retaining franchise partners, with an emphasis on economies of scale and more efficient use of resources.
• Responsibility: the franchise manager coordinates and monitors the plan, with support from project teams and clear communication guidelines.
• Progress monitoring: franchise recruiters are responsible for the execution and progress of the trajectories.
• Franchise law: ensures the legal framework for information disclosure, stand-still period, and franchisee rights.
• Consultation structure: fixed consultation moments and multidisciplinary project teams to monitor progress.

Expansion Plan

• Coordinating and directing: a structured approach to efficiently deploying people and resources in the leasing and setup of new branches.
• White spots plan: analysis of promising areas with location prioritization based on revenue potential, competition, and geographical distribution.
• District delineation: determination of exclusive and non-exclusive areas per branch.
• Location requirements: criteria for different concept formats (small, medium, large), zoning plans, and permits.
• The franchise partner: profile sketch of the desired entrepreneur, including required competencies and financial capacity.
• Internal coordination: overview of involved team members (recruitment, real estate, operations, legal, academy) and their role in expansion.

Recruitment & Selection

• Working method: process from lead generation to signing the agreement; based on the white spots plan and requirements from the Dutch Franchise Act.
• Recruitment: use of multiple channels (internal candidates, external through campaigns, referrals).
• Selection: structured franchise journey to ensure quality.
• Sales and acquisitions: step-by-step plan for transferring existing branches.
• Budgets: financial frameworks for recruitment activities.
• Valuing and rewarding: reward systems for internal and external referrals.

Attracting franchise partners

• Existing franchise partners: policy for expanding with multiple branches, including objective assessment (expansion form).
• Internal advancement and talent pool: programs to advance employees to franchisees through Academy and training paths.
• External recruitment: use of physical and digital channels (trade fairs, social media, franchise portals).
• Referrals: stimulation of leads through the network with a reward system.

Franchise Academy – Entrepreneurship & MBA

• Internal training courses to prepare employees and external candidates for entrepreneurship.
• Modules on business operations, customer orientation, leadership, and financial insight.
• Entry opportunities for different backgrounds (students, managers, external entrepreneurs).

Financing franchise partners

• Guidance on financing applications, business plans, and meetings with banks or investors.
• Specific trajectories for young entrepreneurs, internal candidates with limited capital, or succession.

A tailor-made Expansion Plan for the formula

No two franchise formulas are the same. Therefore, no Expansion Plan is identical. Depending on your growth objectives and challenges, we create a custom plan that fits your specific situation. Where one formula mainly needs a sharp location analysis and recruitment strategy, another focuses on internal advancement, financing, or training tracks.

Our Expansion Plan is modular: all components are available, but the emphasis can be placed where the greatest impact can be achieved. So, you do not get a standard document but a practical plan that perfectly fits your formula, market position, and ambitions. The result: a concrete step-by-step plan that truly contributes to your growth.

For whom?

The Expansion Plan is developed for franchisors who want to take the next step: from a well-thought-out franchise concept to actual growth in practice. For many organizations, the challenge is not in the idea or concept but in the execution: finding suitable locations, attracting the right franchise partners, aligning internal processes, and securing financing.

For many franchisors, this is a complex and time-consuming trajectory where many disciplines come together. The Expansion Plan provides structure and overview so that you do not get lost in separate actions and ad-hoc decisions. We take control of the entire expansion process, from analysis and planning to recruitment and realization, so you as a franchisor are fully relieved.

This service is ideal for companies looking to accelerate their growth without having to piece together all the operational puzzle pieces themselves. The Expansion Plan translates ambition and strategy into concrete, feasible steps towards new branches and more profit.

Ready to seriously work on growth?

With an expansion plan from Franchise+, you invest not in paper, but in momentum. You avoid costly mistakes, accelerate growth, and provide direction to your team. Contact us and discover how we can turn your expansion plans into results.

Unsure between the two? If course, priorities, or KPIs are not yet clear, the growth strategy is the logical start. If that foundation is there and the question mainly revolves around predictable execution, the expansion plan is the right step. Both services connect seamlessly; the foundation prevents delay in execution, the plan prevents ad-hoc decisions during growth. If there are questions or a need for more information, feel free to contact Koelewijn & Partners.