Pulse Surveys: A Small but Mighty Tool for Increasing Franchisee Satisfaction

Find out how pulse surveys can give you real-time insights into franchise performance

Pulse surveys are increasingly being used by franchisors as a fast, easy, relatively inexpensive tool to measure system performance. So how do they work and what makes them so effective? Read on to learn what makes a successful pulse survey, when to use them, and how to implement them.  

What Is a Pulse Survey?

Pulse surveys are short, targeted surveys sent to the same audience on a regular (monthly, quarterly) basis. They’re intended to be a short check-in to give you a snapshot of how your franchisees are feeling at any given time. They can be just one question, or up to 10 questions, but more importantly, they’re highly specific, focusing on one area for feedback/improvement.

While a comprehensive annual franchisee satisfaction survey measures the overall health of your system and benchmarks performance year-over-year, there’s so much that can happen in between. Pulse surveys help you quickly identify areas for improvement—before they become problems—so you can adjust as needed and remain agile. 

For instance, pulse surveys can be used to:

• Measure franchisees’ engagement in real-time over the course of a year
• Track effectiveness of changes, initiatives, or new programs (e.g., training, technology, etc.) and how they’re being received by franchisees
• Dig deeper into areas of the annual survey where you scored low

Pulse surveys are not intended to replace an annual franchisee satisfaction survey. Rather, they’re meant to complement it. Pulse surveys keep franchisees engaged all year long and help you track progress and measure incremental results. And because pulse surveys are short and targeted, participation is typically higher.

How to Use Pulse Surveys Effectively

Be specific on what to measure

For example, do you want to test the effectiveness of a new program or technology solution before rolling it out system-wide? Do you want to gauge the reaction to a major policy or leadership change?

Choose your questions

Will the questions be the same each time? Do you want to dig deeper into an area of your annual survey or measure feedback on areas outside the scope of your annual survey?

Define your audience 

Are you reaching out to all franchisees? Or do want feedback from franchisees in a specific region? Franchisees in a specific stage of the franchise lifecycle? Multi-unit vs. single-unit owners?

Determine frequency

Because pulse surveys are intended to be short, you can send them out as frequently as once a week. However, monthly or quarterly pulse surveys can be just as effective in taking the temperature of your system.

Have a plan 

If you ask franchisees for feedback, you better have a plan in place for what you’re going to do with it. How will you share the results? Who will you share the results with? What is the expectation for action?

When used effectively, pulse surveys are a valuable tool to spot trends, measure engagement, and get immediate feedback. Franchisees appreciate that you’re listening to their input, which builds trust, and you reduce risk by acting quickly to adjust strategies that aren’t working.

What Should You Measure With Pulse Surveys?

FBR has a standard set of pulse survey topics and associated questions that clients have found to be useful in gathering feedback in the key areas where most systems tend to score lowest. Those include:

• Ongoing training & support
• Technology effectiveness
• Financial management
• Communications
• Marketing programs & support

Other types of standard pulse surveys measure the effectiveness of support programs, such as: 

• Franchisee onboarding process
• Vendor satisfaction
• Post-convention
• Franchise Advisory Council (FAC) effectiveness

While you can create your own pulse survey questions, one of the benefits of using the standard questions is to be able to benchmark your performance against other franchise systems.

Looking for more practical advice on how to improve franchisee support? Join us for the FBR Summit, October 28-30 in Austin, TX, for the only event created for franchise operations leaders and their teams. Learn more and reserve your seat now.

Sample Pulse Survey Questions

Following are a few of the types of questions you could ask on a pulse survey: 

Technology Effectiveness

1. Please rate your franchise business technology in the following areas:

• CRM or customer management tools
• Point-of-Sale system (POS)
• Digital marketing technologies
• Online ordering and/or customer-facing app

Marketing Programs & Support

2. The marketing programs provide a good return on my investment. (strongly agree to strongly disagree scale)

Financial Management

3. I am confident in the long-term financial viability of my franchise business. (strongly agree to strongly disagree scale)

New Franchisee Onboarding

4. My Franchise Business Coach was accessible and responsive during the onboarding process. (strongly agree to strongly disagree scale)

Franchise Advisory Council (FAC) Evaluation

5. I feel that the FAC takes franchisee feedback seriously and acts upon it. (strongly agree to strongly disagree scale)

How to Get Started with a Pulse Survey

At the end of the day, pulse surveys are more than just short questionnaires—they’re a strategic, agile way to keep a continuous line of sight on how your franchisees are feeling and performing. When paired with a clear plan for action and follow-through, pulse surveys help  build trust, strengthen engagement, and improve satisfaction across the network. 

FBR now includes pulse surveys in our standard franchisee survey packages. Whether you choose quarterly or semi-annual pulses, checking in regularly with targeted questions enables you to spot trends early, gauge the effectiveness of initiatives, and respond quickly to emerging challenges.

Ready to see how pulse surveys can help you improve franchisee satisfaction and engagement? Get in touch to request a complete list of sample questions or schedule a demo for a walk-through of the process, from survey design and execution all the way to creating an action plan for sharing and implementing the results.

Related Resource

The 10 Biggest Roadblocks to Franchise Performance

Want to grow your system? Don’t let these common roadblocks slow you down! Download our free guide to learn:

• Why franchisees often have unrealistic expectations for their business
• Why you could be wasting money on your development efforts
• How to get actionable data to measure progress and drive growth

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