Why Location Matters for Your Pizza Franchise

Location makes a big difference in the success of your restaurant. Learn why location matters for your pizza franchise.

Target Market & Demographics

Having a clear sense of your target market is essential to choosing the ideal franchise location. If, for example, you’re catering to families, you will likely need a location with easy access to parking. Alternatively, a high-end bistro may not find its best home in a small suburban setting. When you understand your target market, you can study the demographics of various areas to find what’s most suitable for your concept.

Demographics are the statistical data about the characteristics of a certain population, including things like age, gender, and income level. Psychographics include more nuanced data classifications such as attitudes, aspirations, and other psychological information. Both will help you determine your target market and help inform your location and marketing decisions. By siting and focusing your restaurant with a particular audience in mind, you have a greater chance of achieving both immediate and long-term success.

Visibility

The best franchise locations have great curb appeal and are easy to find along your target customers’ typical routes. When people notice your new restaurant, they will get curious about it and plan a visit. In fact, the curiosity factor will be one of the biggest draws in the early days of your restaurant.

You will want to figure out how high the traffic is in your desired location. The greater the traffic, be it pedestrian or drive by, the better the chances you have of attracting people off the street.

Before you commit, visit the area throughout the day and night, both during the week and the weekend. If the area is deserted after certain hours, then a dinner service is unlikely to succeed, no matter how enticing the concept is.

Ease of Access

Along with traffic patterns, you will want to consider the accessibility of your location and how it will affect your customers. Is it easy to drive to your location, is it easy to find on the highway or on the street? When entering your location, are there obstacles to getting there, such as one-way streets, obstructions, on-going construction, and other things that could alienate potential customers?

Think about all the different ways people might access your restaurant: public transit, walking, bicycle, and car. Then consider how accessible a location is to those types of visitors. Simple tweaks, such as adding a bike rack in your parking lot or employing a valet service in a high-traffic downtown area make your restaurant more accessible and have a better return on investment in the long run.

Size Up The Competition

While you probably don’t want to be the only restaurant in an area, if your concept is too similar to the competition, it could work against you. If you are opening a pizza franchise, you would do well to find a location that is calling out for your offerings, otherwise you may have a difficult time winning the loyalty away from similar restaurants.

A little healthy competition can be a good thing, as it helps drive the market. Do some serious market research to determine the competition in your area. If you have an idea of where you would like to set up shop, scout out similar or complementary businesses in the area to see how they are succeeding, what they may lack, and how your business may fit in the mix.

Providing something fresh and new to prospective customers is always welcome, even in a location already populated with many options. This way, other business owners in the area are less likely to perceive you as a threat and are more inclined to welcome you to the community.

Find The Right Home with Your Pie

Where you choose to open your restaurant will impact your success almost as much as your menu. A lot of work goes into finding the perfect location for your restaurant, and luckily for franchise owners, there are teams of experts charged with the very important task. Most franchisors are well equipped to help direct you in your location search, since finding the right spot will boost the brand’s visibility, as a whole.

Your Pie enlists the expertise of market analysts and real estate professionals to provide franchisees with invaluable information about restaurant siting. Each Your Pie location is designed to be warm and welcoming, centered around the brick ovens that serve as the heart of our dining experience, meant to be shared with friends and family.

Visit us to learn more about franchising opportunities with Your Pie today.