Medical: The most recession-resistant franchises

Medical: The Most Recession-Resistant Franchises

The funny thing about medical franchising—one of the most prominent franchise segments for the last 20 years—is that its franchise model could pertain to any industry. Great systems, good marketing, good branding, strong technology, and well-thought out training platforms all are inherent in successful medical franchises, just as they are in any other business.

Recession-resistant thinking is at the core of what makes medical franchises so appealing. Most of these brands offer services that are needed regardless of what is happening in our bank accounts. Even when times are tough, people need to take their children to urgent care centers, like Your Kids Urgent Care. Or when a senior family member is in need—maybe requiring assisted living at Avendelle Senior Homes or driving services from Wheels for the Wise—you don’t pay attention to the economics, you just pay for services that can help. Many medical and senior-care franchises claim recession-resistance, which makes them great businesses and attractive franchises, but there are some things to keep in mind.

MARKETING, MARKETING, MARKETING

Even recession-resistant businesses require strategic marketing, and medical franchises are no exception. Marketing is always crucial to sell what you do, even in the high-demand, medical service field. So when you’re evaluating a medical service franchise, look at the franchise marketing system and verify that the franchisor has figured out how to market the model in a way that you can duplicate in your own franchise.

Several senior-care franchises, like Ideal Home Care, leverage government-funded programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, which assign patients to in-home, senior-care franchises. If you are in a private-pay, medical service franchise, market and sell as you would in any other business. Some medical franchises require an extreme dedication to marketing and selling, and the franchisor should provide a system that can be used as a blueprint in your market. Before you invest in a franchise, make sure you understand your average cost per lead, average leads to conversion, and ultimately, your average marketing expense per converted customer.

ARE YOU LICENSED TO WORK?

Licensing and regulations can drastically impact not only the profitability of the business, but also your ability to actually open a franchised business at all. When evaluating medical franchises, get help from a qualified attorney who knows the medical field and the associated laws and regulations in your market. These rules can change drastically not only state to state, but also county to county. For example, medical weight-loss businesses, such as Medifast, can be owned by an unlicensed person in some markets and only by a licensed medical professional in others. The same is true in the medical beauty spa market with brands such as Ultimate Image and Skinworx. The key is to understand what you can and can’t own in your market, prior to engaging with a franchise.

Overall, medical franchises can make incredibly strong investments. Some of the best franchises on the market today, such as Modern Acupuncture, show great unit-level profits, have strong systems in place, and prove to duplicate exceptionally well. As with any franchise, you have to verify that the model makes money for you as the owner, as opposed to the franchisor, and that the system is structured for your success.

For more information on how to buy a medical franchise, contact Chris Conner at Chris.Conner@FMSFranchise.com