What is know-how? Why is it important for the business?

Have you ever heard of the know-how, what it is or how important it is for creating businesses? 

This expression refers to the knowledge that allows a company to offer added value to its products or services in order to be more competitive in the market.

A company's know-how can be global or focused on any area of the business (marketing, production, sales, finance, distribution, customer service, etc.). 

All you need is to consolidate and explain in a manual or in a system (such as a digital platform) how to perform an activity effectively. 

With franchises, know-how is the basis for franchisees to enter the market without previous experience, but with better chances of success. 

What is a company's know-how?

Know-how is an organization's intangible asset that groups together all the knowledge that has led a company to success.

It is built through the positive and negative experiences of a business and is fundamentally practical by nature. 

It’s also defined as being: 

• Concrete

  This means that it does not just talk about a business philosophy or vision, but about specific things (ingredients, techniques, processes, etc.).
  
  

• Secret

  Since know-how is, above all, a differential value, it's unique to each company and can (and should) be protected legally and intellectually.
  
  

• Unique

  Business know-how distinguishes the company from its competitors and places it in a privileged position with respect to the competition.

The know-how in franchising

Business know-how is part of the DNA and of the “reproduction and imitation” process between a franchise and a franchisee. This is because in this business model, the description and subsequent implementation of processes is of utmost importance.

In order to be transmitted, the know-how of a franchise must be perfectly identified and described, ensuring that it meets the secrecy and objectivity conditions. Therefore, the provision of such information is regulated in a contract that may include confidentiality clauses to prevent it from being disclosed to third parties.

What is its importance? If the know-how is adequately developed, the business' appeal will be greater. As a result, the initial costs will be reduced, and the profitability will be higher.

Advantages of having know-how in your company

The main benefit of having know-how is the competitive advantage over companies in the same sector, which is a fundamental element in the marketing and advertising of services or products. 

Other advantages include: 

• Helps to attract new customers.  
• Strives for excellence.
• Optimizes resources. 
• Retains and recruits talent, since it makes it easier to train employees according to the business philosophy. 
• Allows you to improve operational/productive (internal) and commercial (external) strategies.
• It boosts sales and drives success.

Management of the company's know-how

Having know-how is valuable, but managing it can be challenging: 

1. First of all, its development can take years, because it's the result of the accumulation of experience on the one hand, and of numerous trial and error situations on the other.  Therefore, it's common for start-ups or organizations with activities outside their core business to want to acquire the know-how from successful companies.
   
   On the other hand, know-how is not always easy to maintain and pass on. In fact, this has made managing know-how a challenge since it's just as important to know what to do as it is knowing to whom you should pass it on. 
2. Another difficulty of know-how management is that it's adjusted to market changes. Thus, although with more or less fixed parameters, it must be reinvented and redefined, requiring the constant creation/renewal of manuals, procedures, databases, or registration systems to maintain it, manage it and, finally, transmit it.
3. Finally, it's essential that the company's know-how becomes a long-term contractual tool, applying it to employees, suppliers, and partners. 

How to pass on know-how to staff

Know-how is, by itself, an element of knowledge management, both explicit (through training programs, books, and manuals) and implied (through the employee's experiences and transmitted to the staff). 

However, if a franchise has its own know-how, but fails to pass it on to its franchisees, interest in the franchise may be lost.

This is where another important element comes into play: how to pass on the know-how. Obviously, the simplest way is to develop a manual or provide training courses to help pass on the know-how to employees. 

In Jeff's case, we have opted for digitalization to transmit our know-how to entrepreneurs who want to open a business with us. 

How? Thanks to BiB (Business in a Box), a set of tools for business management through which we transmit our know-how to franchisees and give them the keys to apply it. 

Digitalization as a tool: Learn more about BiB

BiB is a more complete online platform for entrepreneurs. In it, we have compiled all the information of the Jeff ecosystem, with our general know-how, but also with the specifications for Mr Jeff.

In BiB you have everything you need to boost your business with a worldwide, established brand with proven quality standards. 

What will you find on this platform? 

Well, basically everything you need to run your Jeff business. 

• Technology and software: process and task automatization, database management, order tracking and monitoring, business management from Jeff Suite, etc.
• Technology for the offline world: operational management, delivery routes, on-site booking service, etc.
• Jeff ecosystem resources: Cross-selling between services that share the same target audience, discounts, and benefits between different franchises, etc.
• Around the clock guidance and support: Partner Success Manager, Partner Support Agent, operational control and assistance, e-learning platform for ongoing training, etc.
• Branding tools and strategies: marketing tools, periodic communications, training, brandbook, sales code, online campaigns, Google presence, etc.

In conclusion, we can say that the know-how of the company plays a fundamental role in companies, but especially in franchises. At Jeff, we have our own "know-how" so you can open your own successful franchise. Would you like more information? You can contact us from our website.