FBR Blog2023-01-27T21:04:48+00:00

FBR Blog

Stay up to date on the latest trends, tactics and strategies for creating a productive and profitable franchise system. Get advice and insights from FBR’s leadership and industry experts on franchise operations, franchise development and employee engagement.

  • Random Acts of Kindness

Random Acts of Kindness in Franchising

February 8th, 2024|Tags: |

With more organizations focused on creating a positive culture, there is a place for kindness in business. With that in mind, we created a checklist of 30 “Random Acts of Kindness in Franchising” and we invite everyone to participate and celebrate others who spread kindness.

The Grinches In Your Franchise System

December 1st, 2023|Tags: |

The shopping season has officially commenced, and whether you’re a Black Friday warrior or more of a last-minute, better-under-pressure shopper, the buying experience can fuel your holiday excitement or suck all the joy out of the process. The same goes for franchise candidates in the validation process. Get the intel you need to make the franchise buying experience something to celebrate.

  • Two Men and a Truck Franchise Owner

4 Ways to Re-Engage Senior Franchisees

October 24th, 2023|Tags: |

It’s no big secret that business owners of all types get bored after a few years of being in business. When it comes to franchising, it’s even more crucial to keep them engaged - especially the more senior franchisees. These four tips will help you re-engage senior franchisees and break out of their performance plateau.

  • Franchisee Onboarding

The Case for Consistency

October 11th, 2023|Tags: , |

Consistency is the key to success in various aspects of life and business, and the onboarding process for new franchisees is no exception. Learn how to integrate new franchisees into your brand while maintaining a consistent onboarding process.

4 Franchise Development Budget Planning Mistakes to Avoid

September 16th, 2023|Tags: |

Despite the seemingly endless meetings and ensuing headaches that accompany budget planning, there’s no escaping it. To make this year’s planning a little easier for you, we’ve put together the four most common budgeting mistakes that franchise marketing and development teams tend to make, along with ways to fix them.

  • Franchise culture planning diagram

Franchise Culture Matters

June 9th, 2023|Tags: , |

Which is more likely to lead you to a strong and powerful culture that will promote a healthy, profitable growing business? A culture that just happens or a culture that is planned?

  • International Franchisee Association 2018 event

5 Tips to Make the Most of the IFA Convention

February 6th, 2023|Tags: |

The International Franchise Association’s (IFA) Convention is THE franchising event of the year. FBR's President, Michelle Rowan, share a few tips she's picked up over the years for making the most of your time there - no matter if you're a seasoned veteran or first time attendee.

Three Ways to Make Your Item 19 More Meaty

January 22nd, 2023|Tags: |

More than ever, savvy franchise buyers are honing in on your FDD’s Item 19. After all, it’s the closest they can get to answering the almighty question, “How much money can I expect to make?” Following these three tips can make your Item 19 accurate, precise, and engaging.

  • franchise+development

4 Ways to Reach More (and Better) Franchise Candidates

January 13th, 2023|Tags: |

Unemployment rates have dipped to some of the lowest we’ve seen in nearly two decades, which means the stream of franchise candidate leads is slowing to a trickle at the same time many brands are hoping to accelerate development to keep up with customer demand. With franchisors all competing for a limited number of candidates, development teams need to get creative to find new leads. Try some of these out-of-the-box ideas.

  • Franchise+peer+group+members

How to Get Peer Groups Back on Track

June 11th, 2022|Tags: , |

Peer groups are a recognized and respected tactic used by franchise brands to facilitate internal knowledge sharing and invigorate their system. They are a proactive mechanism for franchise systems that want to truly leverage the collective knowledge and experience to improve unit results and brand performance. But even in the best systems, peer groups can eventually start to lose their effectiveness. If your peer groups are no longer functioning as effectively as they should, these five tips can help reinvigorate them.

  • Business people shaking hands

How to Work with Independent Franchisee Associations

May 14th, 2022|Tags: , |

Franchisee associations, which are typically meant to represent the interests of the franchisee to the franchisor, are usually organized independently of the franchisor, and can play a key role in whether the franchisee/franchisor relationship is positive and productive, or negative and combative. Learn how to work with your franchisee association and positively impact the growth and profitability of your system.

  • Hands+holding+puzzle+pieces

5 Signs of a Successful Franchise Advisory Council

May 13th, 2022|Tags: , |

In order for an FAC to truly represent franchisees’ perspectives, the group itself has to function effectively, which is dependent on practices and a culture within the group that set up both the FAC and the franchisor for success. If you have an FAC in your system, look for these five indicators to determine if it is running successfully.

Moving from Data-Driven to Insight-Driven: Uncovering the Gold in Your Data Mine

December 13th, 2021|Tags: |

The ultimate goal of surveying your franchisees is to gain objective insights into how to improve operational performance to get better results. In order to do that you need to pull out the gold hidden inside! These 10 ideas for digging into your data will help you understand what drives your franchisees’ behaviors and beliefs, and apply metrics to improving franchisee relations.

  • Image One Facility Solutions

Why Image One Shares Survey Data with Candidates

November 22nd, 2021|Tags: |

Image One's Tim Conn talks about why they continue to survey their franchisees year after year, which question means the most to him, and how Image One summarizes the data highlights to help candidates understand the strengths of their system through FBR’s independent lens.

  • Franchisee support

The Future of Franchise Field Support

August 23rd, 2021|Tags: |

After more than a year of remote work, operations teams found alternative ways to support their franchisees. Now, as we return to in-person visits, franchise ops teams are tasked with deciding what support changes are worth keeping and how they can continue to find new ways to increase value to their franchisee network. 

  • franchise investment

5 Ways to Protect Your Franchise Investment

April 21st, 2021|Tags: , |

Franchisee satisfaction is a primary leading indicator of current system health and a predictor of future performance and long-term system growth. If the brand you’re investing in doesn’t provide you with recent, detailed, third-party research on their franchisees’ satisfaction, it could be a red flag.

  • binoculars representing transparency in franchising practices

Franchisee Vision Plans: The Most Effective Tool You’re NOT Using

March 31st, 2021|Tags: , , |

Most franchise companies have a crystal clear vision of where they want to go. But the mistake many franchisors make is not requiring their franchisees to have their own vision. Implementing a franchisee vision plan program is the most effective way to set expectations and align franchisees’ goals with the goals of the organization. Learn how to start putting vision plans to work in your organization with these free resources.

  • TeamLogic IT Franchise Leadership Team

How TeamLogic IT Adapted Their Franchisee Support Model to Achieve Significant Network Sales

February 17th, 2021|Tags: |

As part of FBR’s ongoing series spotlighting 2021 Franchisee Satisfaction Award Winners, FBR talked with Team Logic IT’s president Dan Shapero about strengthening franchisee relationships, adapting franchisee support during the pandemic, and how they have continued to generate demand for the brand in terms of new store sales, new store awards, and territory expansion.

  • Sean Manning and Payroll Vault team at ribbon cutting

How Payroll Vault Measures Success Using Franchisee Satisfaction

February 11th, 2021|Tags: |

In our continuing series spotlighting our 2021 Best-in-Category Franchisee Satisfaction Award Winners, Payroll Vault president & CEO Sean Manning talks with Nicole Dudley, Director of Client Relations at Franchise Business Review, about the “hypertransformation” in business over the past year, as well as how they use their survey data to drive goal-setting and measure success.

  • World's Best CEO mug

Attn: Smart CEOs

February 10th, 2021|Tags: |

The pandemic disrupted many businesses - some struggled to survive while others were able to drive innovation. So where does that leave franchise CEOs who are committed to the health of their system? Implementing these three strategies with a critical focus on people is crucial for success.

Why Your Franchisees Will Love a Survey, and You Will Too

January 22nd, 2021|Tags: |

In most companies, employees have an annual performance review. When done properly, it creates a powerful feedback loop and an opportunity for positive change. In franchising, an annual satisfaction survey offers similar benefits. If you're using on of these common excuses not to survey your franchisees on a regular basis, find out why you could be putting your system at risk.

  • Peloton "Together We Go Far"

Lessons from Peloton for Franchising

January 21st, 2021|Tags: |

Peloton’s “Together we go far” slogan encapsulates a culture and strategic growth that most franchise systems (and all businesses) strive for. Community isn’t something you can force to happen, but Peloton seems to have fostered something special, and a lot of that could be applied to our own organizations. 

  • Roadblock to Employee Engagement

5 Roadblocks to Employee Engagement

January 20th, 2021|Tags: |

Employee engagement is important to the success (or survival) of an organization, and while it’s become increasingly hard to foster engagement when some (or all) of your team is remote, it’s also more important than ever in helping to retain your top talent.

  • Writing+sponsored+content

8 Do’s and Don’ts of Content Marketing

January 4th, 2021|Tags: |

Sponsored content can be a highly effective tactic to capture the attention and build awareness of your brand - when crafted effectively. If you’re thinking about adding it to your marketing strategy, follow these do’s and don’ts for writing sponsored content that performs well.

  • customer satisfaction surveys

Franchise Buyers Increasingly Care About Franchisee Satisfaction

December 9th, 2020|Tags: , , |

All franchise buyers do varying degrees of due diligence before investing in a brand. The difference is that today more and more prospective franchisees are looking at franchisee satisfaction data in addition to financial benefits, lifestyle, and the training and support they’ll receive. See what current franchisees have to say about franchisee satisfaction as a key factor in choosing a franchise.

  • Mother working from home on a laptop distressed while her two boys jump on the bed behind her

Franchisors: The Parents Are Not Okay

September 30th, 2020|Tags: |

Working parents are essentially juggling being the teacher, principal, custodian and lunch lady - in addition to their full-time jobs. Franchisors may not be able to alleviate the anxiety working parents are experiencing as the pandemic continues to wreak havoc on schedules and child care responsibilities, but here's what they can do to support them.

3 Reasons You Should Attend the 2020 MOD Conference

September 15th, 2020|Tags: |

Michelle Rowan, president & COO of Franchise Business Review, is part of this year’s planning task force and the emcee for the Operations program at the IFA's Marketing, Operations & Development (MOD) Virtual Conference. She talked recently about the highlights of the event and what franchisors will take away.

  • Culture speedometer

Franchise Culture in 2020 Is Different – Like Everything Else

August 27th, 2020|Tags: , |

While some franchise brands were able to continue to thrive through the events of 2020, many have had to lay off or furlough employees and/or had franchisees whose businesses didn’t survive - all of which can also take a toll on franchise culture. It’s more important now than ever before to assess your company culture and take steps to fix the parts that are broken. These 12 steps can help you get started

Franchisor Spotlight: Pinch A Penny

August 7th, 2020|Tags: , |

Michelle Rowan, president & COO of FBR, recently sat down with Michael Arrowsmith, Chief Development Officer of Pinch A Penny, a pool retail, service and repair franchise, to talk about their culture, what candidates are looking for when researching potential franchise investments, the recession, growth outlook, and training and support for franchisees.

  • multi+unit+franchisee

6 Ways to Attract More Multi-Unit Franchisees and Close the Deal

June 26th, 2020|Tags: , |

What’s always been common practice in food franchising—requiring franchisees to commit to opening multiple units as part of their franchise agreement—is now becoming common outside of food. But attracting multi-unit franchisees and keeping them happy isn’t as easy as just changing your franchise agreement. Here are six tips for attracting multi-unit franchisees and ensuring your system is set up for success.

  • paper ship leading fleet

Cultivate a Data-Driven Organization from the Top Down

June 5th, 2020|Tags: , , , |

When you survey your franchisees, it's critical to share it with your entire executive team if you want to truly cultivate a data-driven mindset in your organization. The insights we collect on our surveys can help every team in your organization identify priorities, track their progress and meet their goals. Find out how each of your teams can benefit from having FBR walk them through your data together.

  • Woman on phone in home office

Two-Way Communication: Making Sure Employees and Franchisees Are Heard During the COVID-19 Crisis

May 30th, 2020|Tags: , |

Most of us are aware that communicating - and communicating quickly and often - is critical in times of crisis. But while most of us are focused on outbound communication to employees, franchisees and customers, it’s important not to lose sight of the fact that communication is a two-way street. Learn how to ensure you have a plan for franchisees and employees to communicate their needs and concerns to you.

  • Piggy+bank+with+hourglass

The ROI of Franchisee Satisfaction Surveys

May 28th, 2020|Tags: , , |

Franchisee satisfaction is a primary indicator of long-term system growth and success in measuring the health of any franchise system, but if you're wondering what the ROI of franchisee satisfaction surveys is, read on for 8 ways you'll get a return on your investment of time and money - and drive franchise system growth.

Smart Ideas Project 2020: The Path Forward from COVID-19

May 8th, 2020|Tags: , , |

Like other businesses across the country and the world, franchises have had to get creative in how they deliver their products and services - from implementing curbside pick-up to going entirely digital to completely changing priorities - basically overnight. We asked them to share their Smart Ideas for getting it done and here's what they told us.

  • Franchise+Peer+Group+Meeting

How to Implement Franchise Peer Performance Groups

April 30th, 2020|Tags: , |

Franchisors frequently implement new programs with the intention of adding value for all (or most) of their franchisees, but oftentimes, it’s hard to create programs that impact the more experienced, high-achiever franchisees in your system who have already figured out how to be successful. Franchise peer groups, however, can inspire and motivate all franchisees, including those already successful and mature franchisees, and give them the tools to take their businesses to an even higher level.

  • Woman on video call with colleagues

Maintaining and Rebuilding Company Culture During and Beyond COVID-19

April 10th, 2020|Tags: , |

Many leaders are trying to adapt to running teams and their businesses remotely. How can you maintain, or create a remote culture while everyone is online instead of in-person? And how do we rebuild culture when remote workers return to the office? Consider these ideas for creating or maintaining company culture while working remotely during COVID-19 and how to rebuild culture after returning to the workplace.

  • Tipping Point: Best Practices for Closing More Deals

Caring for Your Business, Yourself and Others During COVID-19

March 30th, 2020|Tags: , |

Here at Franchise Business Review, we talk about ways we can contribute to supporting the franchise industry during COVID-19. With our Smart Ideas Project, we want to collect and share more ideas that are working in this crazy time - I hope you’ll share yours. We plan to share these ideas that might help support or inspire others as we look for ways to protect or pivot our businesses.

  • content+marketing

COVID-19 Franchise Resources

March 27th, 2020|Tags: , |

Within days of COVID-19 becoming a health and economic crisis, numerous organizations and companies made resources available to provide assistance and forums to connect us and guide us through this. To make them easier to access, we’ve compiled a list of the COVID-19 franchise resources we’ve come across. The list is not exhaustive and we are updating as more resources become available.

  • Meet+franchisees+where+they+are+in+the+franchisee+lifecycle

Coaching for the Franchisee Lifecycle: Meeting Your Franchisees Where They Are

September 3rd, 2019|Tags: |

One of the biggest challenges of the franchisee lifecycle is keeping tenured franchisees engaged. Join us at the IFA's Franchise Operations Conference this fall to learn how successful franchisors are using franchisee satisfaction data to make continuous improvements to their training and support to break franchisees out of their performance plateaus.

  • Using+Franchise+Audit+Questions+to+Support+Franchisee

357 Audit Questions to Turn Your Compliance Check into a Support Tool

July 30th, 2019|Tags: |

Do your franchisees feel supported during compliance checks? Most franchisors will say “no”. But it doesn't have to be that way! FranchiseBlast has collected 357 franchise audit questions from top franchisors to help you "audit your audit" and elevate the compliance check from an exercise in “catching” franchisees doing something wrong, to “coaching” them to make the business be its best.

  • attracting+candidates+with+social+media

How to Use Social Media to Attract Franchise Candidates

July 23rd, 2019|Tags: , |

Social media has become an indispensable tool in franchise recruiting, with more and more franchise organizations using social platforms to attract new franchisees. With the ability to hone in on the exact type of operators they want to bring on board, franchise organizations are able to save time looking for the right qualified candidates. Meanwhile, prospective franchisees are using social media to research brands. Learn best practices for using social media not just to build brand awareness, but to attract and qualify franchisees.

The Gender Pay Gap Is Real

April 30th, 2019|Tags: |

FBR’s newly released Franchising@WORK study found that franchise salaries for women are lower than men, especially at the mid-level management and C-Suite levels. The question is why? FBR’s president Michelle Rowan explores some theories that may be contributing factors.

  • Office+Pride+podcast+series

How Office Pride Commercial Cleaning Services Is Using Podcasts in Training

April 15th, 2019|Tags: |

Wouldn’t it be nice if your training sessions were available whenever you had the time to listen – maybe when you’re stuck in traffic or working on mundane tasks? Welcome to the age of podcasts. Learn how Office Pride Commercial Cleaning is using podcasts to help franchisees be more successful by providing training and support - when and where it fits their schedule.

  • Woman holding a smiling face emoticon

Got Satisfaction?

March 29th, 2019|Tags: |

FBR’s CEO Eric Stites provides an inside look at employee satisfaction in the franchise sector in the latest issue of Franchising World. Find out which employees are least satisfied, where the biggest pay gaps exist, and the risks posed by Gen Z.

  • Star+Awards

Takeaways from the 2018 Star Awards

December 5th, 2018|Tags: |

Each year, Franchise Update invites franchise brands to compete in the Star Awards, which recognize franchising’s top sales teams at the annual Franchise Leadership and Development Conference. Find out which of the winning brands excelled in franchisee satisfaction and what the research revealed.

  • Content+marketing

Content Marketing for Franchises: The 3 Most Common Challenges and How to Overcome Them

November 2nd, 2018|Tags: |

It’s clear that content marketing works. You know you need it to be relevant, but executing is another story. No matter the size of the system, franchisors share the same challenges when it comes to implementing and maintaining an effective content marketing strategy. This list of helpful resources and tips can help you get over the content marketing hump.

eBook: The CEO’s Guide to Creating and Maintaining a Positive Culture in Franchising

November 2nd, 2018|Tags: , |

Despite it's critical importance, culture is frequently overlooked by leadership. This eBook examines the three foundational components of a positive franchise culture—and provides practical advice for franchise leadership teams for creating and maintaining a culture that leads to greater productivity and profitability.

  • Homevestors+franchise

What Makes a Positive Organizational Culture?

October 5th, 2018|Tags: , |

Everyone's talking about organizational culture these days, but it can be squishy topic - hard to define and even harder to shape. To help understand what makes for a positive culture, we asked 10 franchise leaders at top-performing franchise companies how they would describe their brand’s culture. See what they told us.

  • content+marketing

Creating a Content Marketing Strategy to Attract More Franchise Candidates

October 2nd, 2018|Tags: , |

Content is an important piece of a successful marketing strategy; by now, most marketers know this. But in the content age, the internet is flooded with information. As a franchisor, you are not only competing with the other franchise brands in your space, you are competing with all the content producers who are fighting for a spot on page one of Google. So, how do you create a successful content marketing strategy that will attract more candidates?

  • customer+satisfaction

Is Your Brand Being Sabotaged?

August 29th, 2018|Tags: , |

There’s so much to know and learn as a new franchisee – and so much ‘paper work’ coming down from HQ, that franchisees often get lost in a barrage of paper, rather than focusing on the big picture. That can lead to your franchisees unknowingly sabotaging your brand and their customer satisfaction. Nancy Friedman, President of Telephone Doctor Customer Service Training, outlines five common phrases that can sabotage a business and how to mitigate them.

  • operations+seminar

Operational Excellence: The Driver of Sustainable Franchise Growth

August 9th, 2018|Tags: |

We see so many brands that grow quickly but don’t have the operations support in place to sustain it. Join us in Tampa on September 12 for the IFA's Operations Seminar, where top ranking brands in franchisee satisfaction will share techniques and insight on how to achieve grow your brand strategically through operational best practices.

  • increase call conversion to franchise applications

How to Convert More Calls to Franchise Applications

June 5th, 2018|Tags: |

Today’s franchise candidates are coming into the development process more educated than ever before, and savvy franchisors understand that the importance of an effective first call with a candidate has never been greater. The good news is that advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI)– specifically phone call speech-to-text and natural language processing – can unlock opportunity from these conversations to improve results in first-call conversion, and carve out a bigger piece of the shrinking pie of qualified candidates.

6 Ways to Differentiate Your Brand with Franchisee Satisfaction Data

May 18th, 2018|Tags: |

With the proliferation of franchises, it can make it even more difficult for a brand to differentiate itself to potential buyers. Franchisee satisfaction is what can set your brand apart. Candidates want to know what it’s like to be part of your system, and when you can show that your franchisees are happy and would do it all over again, you send a powerful message that your brand is committed to their success. Learn six ways to use franchisee satisfaction data to capture more leads and close more deals.

  • franchise broker shaking hands to close deal with franchise buyer

What Your Franchise Broker Needs to Know About Franchisee Satisfaction

May 17th, 2018|Tags: |

Franchise brokers can be an important part of your franchise recruitment strategy, but most franchise brokers are working with a hundred or more brands. So how do you make sure your broker is recommending your brand over others when talking with potential leads? Find out how your franchisee satisfaction data can be the silver bullet to get your broker sending more candidates your way.

  • franchise recruitment

10 Tips and Tricks to Crush Your Franchise Recruitment Goals With Data Storytelling

February 13th, 2018|Tags: , |

Sales is all about storytelling: Connecting with your audience on a human level. And while data - cold hard numbers - may not seem like it gives your audience the warm and fuzzies, data is actually a powerful storytelling tool. These tips and tricks will show you how to leverage franchisee satisfaction data at every stage of the sales funnel to meet and exceed your franchise recruitment goals.

How Yogi Bear’s Laser-Focus on Brand Differentiation Made It a Top Franchise

January 30th, 2018|Tags: , |

Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park Camp Resorts was named one of Franchise Business Review’s top 200 franchises of 2018. We recently sat down to chat with Jim Westover, VP of Operations, to talk about the franchise’s growth over the past 50 years and how their focus on brand differentiation and franchisee education has been a critical factor in becoming a top choice for franchise buyers.

  • discovery day tactics

5 Tactics to Make Discovery Day More Effective

November 20th, 2017|Tags: , |

Discovery days are an integral part of every brand’s development process. They are a way to set appropriate expectations and expose candidates to what it’s like to be a part of your franchise brand. Here are five ideas to make your discovery day more effective and make sure the candidates you choose will turn out to be successful franchisees.

  • franchise leads

Find Your Perfect Franchisee Match

October 10th, 2017|Tags: |

Is your current lead strategy getting you a million first dates, but no commitment? Do your leads seem great online but turn out to be duds? Are they putting out the vibe that they’re interested but never return your calls? Take our two-minute quiz to find out if your lead strategies are getting you to the final commitment ceremony or you’re losing out on great relationships.

  • franchisee satisfaction data as business intelligence

Franchisee Satisfaction Data as Business Intelligence

September 11th, 2017|Tags: , |

Business intelligence is all about using data to make informed decisions for your organization. It applies data analysis to glean actionable insights, identify risks and opportunities, and guide strategic plans. If you’re not collecting franchisee satisfaction data, you’re missing a critical piece of business intelligence. And that means you’re putting your entire system at risk.

  • franchisee satisfaction reviews

Highlight Your Franchisee Satisfaction Reviews Online to Influence Candidates

August 14th, 2017|Tags: , |

It’s no secret most people read online reviews of a product or service before making a purchase. While most franchisors expect and encourage franchise candidates to contact their existing franchisees as part of the validation process, more and more are starting to realize they need to have reviews of their system online to grab candidates’ interest in the first place.

  • grow your franchise brand

Growing Your Franchise Brand Without Losing Sight of What Matters

July 20th, 2017|Tags: , |

The energy behind small, but growing franchise brands is often fueled by the passion, culture, and core values of its founders, staff, and franchisees. As a brand grows, those things tend to get diluted or take a back seat to other priorities. Pulse surveys can help you keep your franchise on track and keep franchisees and corporate staff from disengaging.

  • franchise trade shows

5 Tips To Help You Close Deals at Franchise Trade Shows

April 17th, 2017|Tags: |

Franchise trade shows continue to prove to be the #1 approach to engaging and establishing relationships with qualified prospects in the franchise industry. They offer franchisors the opportunity to meet face-to-face with thousands of qualified prospects in one location. And now more than ever, prospective franchisees want, and need, to look someone in the eye and discuss their investment options. Learn how to make the most of franchise trade shows and close more deals.

  • communication audit

Communication Audit: Think of It as Benchmarking

April 10th, 2017|Tags: , |

When was the last time you did a communications audit? Probably too long ago. Strategic communication is a critical component in your organization's ability to reach and exceed business objectives. And just as you would with other key areas of your organization like operations, marketing, and finance, communication must be reviewed, directed, adjusted, and monitored to ensure the best possible outcomes.

  • The Franchise Happiness Project

eBook: The [Franchise] Happiness Project

February 1st, 2017|Tags: , |

If you can commit to focusing on one area to work on each month and embedding it into your corporate culture, you may find that a step-by-step approach to change can end up making a big difference. This eBook lay out 12 best practices you can implement over the course of a year to increase satisfaction and improve productivity.

  • Vic Ciuffetelli, ActionCoach

Vic Ciuffetelli

December 14th, 2016|

Vic CiuffetelliCEO, ActionCOACHWhy did you decide to survey your franchisees with FBR? FBR is reputable and has recognition. Did you [...]

  • Zach Nolte, Kitchen Solvers

Zach Nolte

December 14th, 2016|Tags: |

Zach Nolte President, Kitchen Solvers Did you use any type of survey before FBR’s? If so, was it internal or [...]

Chuck Lennon

November 2nd, 2016|Tags: |

Chuck Lennon President, TeamLogic IT Did you use any type of survey before this? If so, was it internal or [...]

  • Lead Generation

Your Sales Team Is Throwing Away Leads

February 16th, 2016|Tags: |

Research shows that 71% of the leads generated on the Internet are wasted simply because companies wait too long to respond, 46 hours and 53 minutes on average, and sales reps typically make only 1.3 call attempts before giving up and moving on. Learn how to get your sales team converting more leads, faster, with these simple tips.

FBR Staff Picks: Recommended Reading

January 27th, 2016|Tags: , , |

How does Franchise Business Reviews’ staff stays inspired and motivated? Check out our latest list of great reads. CEO Eric Stites recommends Making Idea Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision and Reality. According to productivity expert Scott Belsky, no one is born with the ability to drive creative projects to completion. Execution is a skill that must be developed by building your organizational habits and harnessing the support of your colleagues. Read on for more inspiring titles.

Young Franchise Brands: Your Franchisees Want Better Tech

November 24th, 2015|Tags: |

Newer, smaller franchise brands typically don’t have a ton of capital, so investment in powerful software platforms can be extremely difficult to finance. At the same time, steady, sustainable growth of the brand depends on franchisees being successful and validating well for interested candidates. So do you invest beyond your means to streamline unit-level and brand growth, or do you stick with inefficient systems until there’s enough capital to spend on better technology?

FBR Member Brands Appear on CNBC Program

November 12th, 2015|

The segment, part of the Nightly Business Report program, aired on November 11, 2015 and featured interviews with veteran franchisees of both Housemaster and Pinot's Palette, two of the highest rated brands in our 2015 Top Franchises for Veterans guide.

How to Drive Franchise Profits Via Customer Satisfaction

November 6th, 2015|Tags: |

As local business owners, your franchisees are often buried in the day-to-day details of running their businesses—hiring, payroll, sales, customer service—meaning they typically have time to pay attention to customer satisfaction. Make it easy for them by providing them with customer satisfaction data that relates specifically to their location.

The Most Important Franchise Operations Tool You May Not Be Using

July 7th, 2015|Tags: |

In June 2015, over 100 franchisors learned how to run their brand more successfully via Franchise Business Review’s 2015 Ops Webinar Series. They benefitted from the insight of 15 respected franchise industry leaders who shared their experiences, expertise, and favorite resources during five online sessions. Throughout the series, one idea kept that regardless of the session topic was...

The Perfect Time To Reach Candidates

May 22nd, 2015|Tags: |

Search activity ticks up Sunday evening, specifically between 8:00 pm and 11:00 pm ET, as denoted by the brighter red markers in the graphic. It then continues for all of Monday’s typical waking hours, peaking for the day at around 1:00pm ET, when the greatest number of North Americans across the four time zones is taking lunch.

  • binoculars representing transparency in franchising practices

GAINING TRACTION: 5 Steps to Drive Franchise Performance and Profitability

February 20th, 2015|Tags: , |

Having a strong culture of transparency is critical for the long-term success of your franchisees and your system as a whole. Franchisees can easily get distracted as their business grows, which will ultimately stall their growth. Being 100 percent transparent as an organization will keep you and your franchisees laser-focused on things that really matter.

3 Ways You Are Wasting Money

January 7th, 2015|Tags: , |

Prior to spending the bulk of your budget on advertising, online lead generation, or attending shows to generate interest from potential franchisees, it's crucial to address things your franchisees aren't happy about. Why? Because your franchisees’ feedback can make or break a deal when trying to bring a new franchisee on board.

Four Ways to Attract More Multi-Unit Franchisees

August 5th, 2014|Tags: |

Every franchisor wants to attract a “certain type” of franchisee, and lately, the type of franchisee every franchisor seems to want is a multi-unit franchisee. But attracting multi-unit franchisees and keeping them happy isn’t as easy as just changing your franchise agreement.

Don’t be a Dummy

July 3rd, 2014|Tags: , |

No matter how “good” your system is, there’s a little bit of dummy in every organization. If any of these sound like someone you know, now is the time to address it – they could be holding you back from being truly GREAT.

Can Your Candidates Network? Find Out Now

June 22nd, 2014|Tags: |

It doesn’t matter if your concept is a soccer camp or a sandwich shop, franchisees spend countless hours “selling” themselves at family functions, after church, even in line at the grocery store. Here's a quick and dirty trick to find out how natural networking is for your franchisees-to-be.

Complainers Among Us

June 5th, 2014|Tags: , |

There’s no doubt we’ve all worked with a complainer or two—that person who spends all his time griping about a situation rather than doing something to improve it. Complainers may hurt your brand in more ways than you know.

Jimmy John’s Greatest Mistake

April 7th, 2014|Tags: , |

The passion of Jimmy Liautuad is palpable. He’s got a big personality, and as he shared at Franchise Time’s Finance and Growth Conference in March, he’s had a great ride as CEO of Jimmy John’s Gourmet Subs—a brand he started back in 1983. But it hasn’t all been roses.

Would You Trust You?

March 5th, 2013|Tags: , , |

If by some unlikely twist of fate, you were instantly transplanted from the home office to ownership of your own franchise unit, how would you feel about the direction of the company? What thoughts would be crossing your mind as you read the latest memo from the executives? Would you trust you?

Franchise Business Owners Provide Their Views on Tax Reform

January 31st, 2012|

With the shadow of tax overhaul looming, the International Franchise Association and Franchise Business Review asked franchise executives to weigh in on several pending tax proposals and comment on tax reform in mid-October 2011. More than 400 franchisors and franchisees took part in the study, which uncovered the following key findings.

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