This guide will show you how to set up Segments in FranConnect, a tool that helps you organize your franchises just like they are in the real world. Segments let you sort your franchises by things like location, type of service, or market size. By following these steps, you can make managing your franchises easier, with better communication and reporting across your business.
Topics
Creating a Segment Category
Before creating our segment, we will first configure our segment categories. To do so, first click Info Manager on the left-hand sidebar and then select Segments from the drop-down menu.
On the following screen, click the SETTINGS button.
You will be taken to the following page:
These categories create hierarchies in which your segments can exist, enabling you to further organize your franchises. To create a new one, click the CREATE button at the top of the page.
The following drawer will pop out:
Give the category a name and a category type. If you wish to make it a child category, click the ticker to YES and select the parent category as seen below.
Note: Selecting the "Company" category enables you to link any entities you desire to this category. Opting for the "Geographical" category allows you to connect any regions of your choice to the category.
When you are finished creating your category, click SAVE, and the new category will be created.
Creating a Custom field under Category
Once you've created a category, you can enhance it further by adding custom fields. Custom fields allow you to capture and organize additional data specific to your business needs, such as market type, territory size, or performance tier, making your segments more descriptive and easier to manage.
To create a custom field, you will first need to select the category under which you want the field to appear. This association ensures that when you create or view a segment under that category, the relevant custom fields are displayed alongside it, keeping your data organized and contextually relevant.
You can also control whether each custom field is searchable via the global search. For each category, up to ten fields can be made searchable. Enabling this option means that when a user searches for a segment, they can search by the values stored in those fields, making it faster and easier to find the right segment without having to browse through your full list.
Once your custom fields are configured, click SAVE to apply them to the category.
Creating a Segment
To create a segment in FranConnect, navigate back to the Segments page as we did above. Click the CREATE SEGMENT button in the top-right hand corner.
You will be taken to the following page:
When creating a segment, you'll need to give it a name and choose an accessibility level. You can name your segment anything you like — the accessibility level is what controls who gets to see it.
Accessibility Levels
Public to All Users: Want your entire network to see it? This opens your segment to everyone in your FranConnect environment — Corporate, Division, Regional, and Franchise users. Best for segments that are relevant across your whole network. (Available to Corporate users)
Public to All Corporates: Only Corporate users will be able to see this segment. Division, Regional, and Franchise users won't have access. (Available to Corporate users)
Private — Just for you. No one else in your FranConnect environment will be able to see it. (Available to all users)
Users of a Specific Division: Sharing with one Division? Users within the Division you select, along with Corporate users, will have access. (Available to Corporate users)
Users of a Specific Region: Focused on a specific Region? Users within the Region you select, along with Corporate users, will have access. (Available to Corporate users)
Group: Group gives you the flexibility to share with a defined set of people. Who sees it depends on your role — Corporate users share with the entire Group, while Regional, Divisional, Sub-Divisional, and Franchise users share only with members of that Group who match their own role level. (Available to all users)
Additionally, you can give your segment a category and a description if you choose, but these are not required. You can also choose whether discussion is allowed on the main segment page.
The next box you will see will allow you to define the default filters for your segment.
There are two types of filters that you can choose - Smart and Static.
- Smart: A smart filter will react to new data. This would be a good choice for a segment like "Low Performing Units" that won't remain the same over time.
- Static: A static filter will remain the same. This would be a good choice for a segment like "East Coast Franchises" that will not change a lot, if at all, over time. Additionally, with static filters, you can include individual units to include in the segment, rather than just filter categories.
Finally, choose a person or people to associate with the segment. When you are finished, click the LAUNCH button at the bottom of the page to launch the segment.
If you have done everything correctly, you will be taken to your new segment's page in FranConnect.
Now the new segment will show up on our Command Center segments card as well as in our Info Manager reports.
Searching for Segments in Global Search
FranConnect's Global Search now supports searching within Segments, making it easier to quickly locate segments without having to navigate through the full list.
To search within segments, open Global Search from anywhere in the system and select the Segments checkbox. Hovering over the Segments option will display a tooltip showing the attributes available for search, including Segment ID, Segment Name, Segment Category, and any custom fields you've enabled for search.
Search results will display key details for each matched segment, including its ID, name, category, status, and relevant custom field values. If you're searching across multiple areas at once, click Show More Results to view a consolidated summary page with results grouped by module, including a dedicated section for Segments.
Note:
- Search keywords must be at least 3 characters long.
- When searching for a document under a segment, you can search by the document title, provided that Enable Global Search is turned on for the corresponding custom field.
Conclusion
Having read this article, you should now be familiar with setting up segment categories and segments in FranConnect.