FranConnect Blog

We're thrilled to share that we have been graced with the honorable 2023 CARE Award from Northern Virginia Family Service (NVFS). Notably, this is not the first time FranConnect has been honored with the CARE Award. This year’s recognition , a demonstration of our outstanding organizational culture and employee engagement strategies, further motivates us to maintain our position as one of the most rewarding places to work in the D.C area!

As a franchisor, collecting an initial franchise fee can be a critical factor in your success - yet it isn’t always as straightforward and simple as you might expect. Despite planning to collect all relevant fees at designated intervals, there are common issues that arise during the process of collection – packet delays, delayed payments, or non-payments by some franchises. To help equip you for managing these challenges efficiently and effectively, here we discuss the 4 most problematic issues franchisors face with initial franchise fee collections and how best to approach them.

When you franchise a business, you're offering many different services to your franchisees to help them get off the ground, like your recognizable brand name and business strategies. Of course, these resources have a cost, and royalty fees represent one of the ways that franchisees pay for those resources. Determining how you'll charge these fees will play a significant role in your earnings from franchisees.

One of the crucial factors that contribute to the success of any franchise lies in building and maintaining a strong relationship between the franchisor and the franchisee. Open communication and trust are the pillars that support a successful franchising model. Effective communication is essential to creating a strong foundation for franchise growth. It is an effective tool that can help both franchisors and franchisees understand each other's priorities, challenges, and expectations for the future. In this blog post, we will discuss the importance of effective communication between franchisors and franchisees, and how to establish open lines of communication and trust.

When it comes to training and development in franchising, there are so many ways that the content, best practices, and insights are being delivered. In a franchise system, there is continuous learning. While traditional group training in a classroom environment is still the norm at franchise headquarters, ongoing development for unit owners and their teams is vital. No one wants to be stuck in a classroom for weeks on end, so alternative delivery methods like eLearning or on-the-job training are on the rise. With so many creative ways to acquire best practices and insights, training and development in franchising has never been more accessible or engaging. Have you ever felt like you couldn't possibly absorb any more information during an eight-hour lecture? Turns out, your brain might not be able to retain as much as you hoped. Studies show that only a small percentage of training content is remembered after spending the entire day in a classroom.

Managing your franchise’s royalties and fees can be a daunting task. With individual payment processes, manual calculations, and likely multiple currencies to consider, it's easy to see why this process often leaves franchisors overwhelmed. But there is an alternative. A technology solution can streamline the entire process of managing franchise royalties and fees to make it easier for franchisors. Let’s explore why a technology solution is worth considering for your franchise.

Technology is constantly evolving, and businesses need to be prepared to adapt in order to stay competitive. Franchisors who don't update their systems and technology may find themselves struggling in the years to come. One way to help ensure that your franchise system is keeping up with the latest trends is by implementing a technology fee in your FDD. In this blog post, we will discuss the benefits of doing so and how it can help your brand in the long run.

When it comes to site audits, franchisors have a unique opportunity to be able to actively coach their franchisees on what they need to do in order to improve their unit's success. Today, we are focusing on turning the traditional site audit into a coaching moment, franchisors can help their franchisees understand where they need to make changes and how they can improve their unit's performance.

It is no secret that high-impact franchisee engagement is essential to a franchisor’s success. Franchisors who take the time to set clear expectations and goals for their franchisees are likely to see better results than those who do not. In part two of this series, we will cover some tips for creating an effective engagement program using effective expectation and goal setting.

Franchising is a proven way to scale your business by distributing the risk and the reward across a community of franchisees. Yet, most franchisors struggle with engaging their franchisees, who are often the lifeblood of their growth and success. No matter how big or small you are as a company–you can’t afford to have franchisees struggle because they don’t have enough engagement with their parent brand.

Sales and Development Executives in franchising are always looking for ways to increase qualified lead flow to sell more franchise units. Many marketers are finding that purchased leads do not convert at the same rate as leads gained through organic search. Often it is thought that the more leads the better, but we have learned that it’s about the quality of the lead in the first place that can make all the difference. Quality over quantity is the way to go in this instance. The world of franchise development is changing every day. With so much information available about almost every business model, it’s difficult to get prospects interested in your brand over others. We've put together 6 ways that you can elevate your marketing efforts in order to return more qualified leads.

Creating franchise buyer personas can be an extremely valuable exercise for Franchise Development Teams tasked with aggressive growth goals. Defining these personas allows you to better understand the motivations and needs of your ideal customer, and ultimately create sales and marketing content that resonates with them. 2022 is calling for franchisors to think smarter when it comes to how they engage prospective franchisees. In addition to creating or refining your persona definitions, selecting tech tools that support growth and make processes simpler are essential for business owners this year. Our Executive’s Guide to Franchising Tech in 2022 – CDO Edition is a great place to start if you are looking for inspiration on what you should be focused on in terms of tech options. But for the sake of this blog post, let’s hone in on why franchise buyer personas are so important and review some of the best things you can do to get them right.

In a perfect world, franchisors and their franchisees would have the best of relationships; but as we all know, the real world is far from perfect. In fact, there are often times when franchisors and franchisees find themselves butting heads. In franchising, the relationship between the franchiser and franchisee is paramount to the success of both. So buzzwords like: communication, collaboration, integrity, and inclusivity all need to be backed up with actions in order for there to be any meaning for franchisees. In this blog post, we will discuss how franchisors can handle conflict when it arises, create opportunities to foster trust with franchisees, and set the stage for productive relationships as you scale your franchise brand.

At a recent franchising conference, we were lucky enough to sit down for interviews with a variety of senior executives from the FranConnect customer base. This included franchise brands of different sizes and from different industries. We asked them what business challenges are most important for them to solve using technology. It was great to know how they are getting so much value from FranConnect, but it was also enlightening to hear some of the common themes that surfaced. Here are four of them, with actual soundbites from those customer interviews. For the full catalog of interviews, check out our Testimonials Resource Center.

If you’re part of an emerging franchise business, chances are, you’re familiar with software and other tech solutions that promise to make life easier for franchising. But aren’t those products built for large enterprises… would they work for a ‘startup’? And does it even make sense to invest in technology at an early stage before you’ve mastered your processes and built a winning team?

A visit from a Franchise Business Consultant (FBC) can stir up a lot for franchisees. Some can see the FBC as a checklist-wielding intruder, while others may see it as a major disruption - like the Kool-Aid man bursting into the side of their operations when they are trying to get stuff done. While using your checklist is needed, why not provide them with some surprise value during the franchisee visit? Check out the tips below to learn more.

Our annual FranConnect Franchise Sales Index Report features real-world data culled from our brands spanning across the franchise platform. After an eventful yet encouraging first half of 2021, for the first time ever we are looking at the data mid-year for an in-the-moment view on the state of franchise development. This data offers significant insights for franchisors looking to grow and develop their franchise brands and make the right sales and marketing investments. Peering into the data of how franchisors handled the first half of the year reveals some promising signs. It may be too soon to say, but it seems that most verticals are showing improvements on key metrics. In this post, we will share some of the high-level findings, and give you access to a webinar where the report’s author, Keith Gerson, will break down everything you need to know.