Technology Feature Articles

Technology Feature Articles

Franchise Sector Showcase

Informative Technology franchise articles to support business buyers, franchisees, and franchisors.

Each year, for more than a decade, Franchise Update Media Group has surveyed hundreds of franchisors about their sales and development practices and compiled the results in its Annual Franchise Development Report (AFDR).
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 5,663 Reads
Being a part of YouTube is no longer something franchise businesses can control. Chances are, you're there, whether you created the content or not.
  • Lisa Wehr
  • 5,265 Reads 99 Shares
Jim Sullivan keeps an eye on business trends and market shifts. His livelihood depends on it. In fact, the very mission of his organization, Sullivision.com, is to design and deliver operations and leadership training programs for companies - including many franchises. He's worked with brands like McDonald's, Panera Bread, Regis Corp., Jiffy Lube, Applebee's, Domino's, and Dunkin' Brands.
  • Multi-Unit Franchisee
  • 4,680 Reads 1,023 Shares
When Emir Lopez was ready to open his first Domino's Pizza store, he could have done it anywhere. But after working his way out of the James Weldon Johnson Project in East Harlem, New York, Emir decided the best place to open that store was right in the neighborhood he had come from.
  • Multi-Unit Franchise
  • 4,037 Reads 32 Shares
As a franchisor, what are some things you are doing (or considering doing) to help give your franchise development people enriched selling opportunities in today's economy?
  • Franchise Update
  • 6,380 Reads
"Mystery shopper": two words that strike fear in the hearts of franchisors with poorly managed sales departments and weak sales processes. But for those on top of their development game, who always have a finger on the pulse of their sales team, it's simply a validation of what they already know.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 5,965 Reads
In my 20-year journey of understanding leadership fundamentals, I have found change to be constant and adaptability to that change as the number one indicator of personal success.
  • Tom Welter
  • 5,977 Reads 143 Shares
Just like any business, the franchising business is one that I have seen evolve tremendously over the past 30 years. While many of the cornerstones and crucial elements - product, simplicity, control, and support - remain the same, so much is changing.
  • Larry Feldman
  • 4,169 Reads
U.S. franchisor interest in Asia seems to be at an all-time high, yet from a legal compliance standpoint it has never been more difficult to enter into many of the various Asian markets.
  • Robert A. Lauer
  • 9,088 Reads 966 Shares
Tulsa resident Bill Ramsey had worked hard in the international manufacturing business all his life, and was a bit disappointed when he learned that none of his five children were interested in following him into that industry. He didn't have a lot of family growing up, so he was determined to keep his close.
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 7,733 Reads 17 Shares
Over the past 25 years, franchising has continued to develop and become more sophisticated. The reins of the franchisor have passed from the pioneering founders to established management teams with significant industry experience. Today, many of these companies are publicly traded or majority-owned by institutional equity investors.
  • Dean Zuccarello
  • 5,834 Reads
Jersey Mike's Subs
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There are tweets and pokes, posts and check-ins, mayors, fans, friends, and likes. It seems as though every social media network has its own language and users--yet all of them are grouped together as the "shining light" of marketing for the year to come. Well, here's the truth. While social media is now a cornerstone for branding, sales growth, and PR, for multi-unit franchisees to successfully use social media to drive business into stores, you need to get the facts.
  • Lisa Wehr
  • 8,069 Reads 33 Shares
Innovative franchisors seeking to expand their offerings and attract a new pool of franchisees are breaking with tradition and instituting new ideas. Here are a few ideas that have proven effective for the systems that have used them to achieve specific goals as they developed
  • Steve Olson
  • 3,663 Reads 9 Shares
I am a big fan of sales processes. However, I am a bigger fan of buying processes. And when a company's sales process is inconsistent with their customer's buying process, breakdowns occur. Many of the tactics and techniques franchisors counted on in the past appear to be producing diminishing returns in the present.
  • Joe Matthews
  • 4,950 Reads 1,023 Shares
Aggressive growth companies measure the performance of their sales personnel just as they do their advertising. With high recruitment expenses you can't afford mediocre selling performance, which costs dearly in lost franchise deals. A policyholder survey by Prudential Insurance revealed that the greatest influencing factor in the buying process is the sales person.
  • Steve Olson
  • 3,401 Reads 7 Shares
Just like any business, the franchising business is one that I have seen evolve tremendously over the past 30 years. While many of the cornerstones and crucial elements - product, simplicity, control, and support - remain the same, so much is changing.
  • Larry Feldman
  • 4,056 Reads 1 Shares
Social media platforms are now emerging as franchise recruitment tools. Granted, it's still early in the adoption process and only time will tell how successful these new channels are in generating leads and franchise sales.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 13,746 Reads 1 Shares
Those pondering a future in franchising face many important decisions. Beyond nuts-and-bolts basics such as raising capital, identifying a brand that fits, and completing the paperwork, are other – just as important – factors to consider. One such topic is what's known as unit economics. Anyone who has ever cracked open a business school textbook understands that the bottom line of the monthly financial statement of any company should reflect profitability – if the company is to survive. When the numbers are in the black the business is generating more than it's spending. It's simplistic but effective. But there can and should be a more sophisticated approach to operating a franchise in a fiscally responsible way.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 17,971 Reads 1 Shares
As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy, FUSR will continue to bring you good news each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, and continuing to grow despite the economy - maybe even because of it. And, as the U.S. struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 10,350 Reads 93 Shares
Franchise Update Media Group recently conducted a survey of social media usage by franchisors who are actively recruiting franchisees. The questions dealt not only with social media in consumer-oriented marketing, but more important for franchise development teams, its use in franchise recruitment.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 9,641 Reads
In April 2010, McDonald's helped cement the realization that if franchises want to continue succeeding in this consumer-driven world, they must get involved in social media.
  • Lisa Wehr
  • 4,150 Reads 1 Shares
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One of the significant consequences of the Internet's development is that we can gather opinions from a diverse group with minimal effort. I did so recently through a posting on the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising listserv.
  • Rupert M. Barkoff
  • 90,750 Reads 3 Shares
The other night I told one of my daughters, who is in college, that I was going to the IFA convention and would be gone about a week. She asked me why even have conferences, and why business people travel anymore, because with all the technology out there people can communicate almost like it was in person (we Skyped with her for the last five months when she was in Argentina).
  • Darrell Johnson
  • 6,549 Reads 72 Shares
Market dominance is the measure of the strength of a brand, product, or service relative to the competition. Emerging franchise companies that are the first movers in their market niche need to be agile to establish their market presence before more aggressive or better capitalized companies move into their niche and overtake their first mover advantage.
  • Marvin Storm
  • 7,469 Reads 2 Shares
"Explain your development strategy as it relates to recruiting single-unit versus multi-unit franchisees. Do you look for both? Why or why not?" During the past five years, most franchisors have changed their concept of the ideal franchise candidate. Today larger franchisors are focused more exclusively on recruiting multi-unit/multi-brand players, rather than the single-unit operators most systems were built on. As an established, nearly 40-year-old brand, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen markets franchising opportunities toward the top-tier multi-unit/multi-brand category franchisees, while simultaneously considering single-unit candidates. We currently have more than 1,900 locations in 44 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and 27 foreign countries.
  • Franchise Update
  • 6,555 Reads
I keep hearing Baby Boomers moan, complain, and quite frankly, just whine about Gen Y. I am sick of it. If you are whining, then you are not a leader. If you are a leader, you will look at this situation and say, "Okay, we have 70 million super-sharp young men and women coming into the workforce, and we are going to get them ready for early leadership positions..." instead of sitting around saying, "They are so entitled, they are so into their own thing, they are always on Facebook, blah, blah." If you are saying this, then maybe you are the one who is entitled. As I always say, "If you spot it, you got it!"
  • Bea Fields (adapted with permission from her blog)
  • 3,598 Reads 116 Shares
Brian Klaubert spent 19 years as an engineer before entering the franchising world. Not surprisingly, he had very little financial background for running a business. That's where his franchisor, Christian Brothers Automotive, stepped in.
  • Multi-Unit Franchisee
  • 3,166 Reads 29 Shares
Business buyers evaluating a prospective purchase want answers to key opportunity factors. If you don't provide these answers, their relatives, CPA, attorney, or armchair advisors will! During my career I've had the enviable position of gaining insight into these major decision-making criteria, which could make or break the attractiveness of a franchisor's concept with discerning buyers. I've listened to, learned from, and consulted with hundreds of print and Internet advertisers seeking ways to accelerate their response rates. This included providing in-house creative services to increase lead generation performance. What we discovered were the critical factors that attract prospective franchisees--whether you're a $50,000 cleaning franchise or a $1 million restaurant concept.
  • Steve Olson
  • 3,463 Reads
I keep hearing Baby Boomers moan, complain, and quite frankly, just whine about Gen Y. I am sick of it. If you are whining, then you are not a leader. If you are a leader, you will look at this situation and say, "Okay, we have 70 million super-sharp young men and women coming into the workforce, and we are going to get them ready for early leadership positions..." instead of sitting around saying, "They are so entitled, they are so into their own thing, they are always on Facebook, blah, blah." If you are saying this, then maybe you are the one who is entitled. As I always say, "If you spot it, you got it!"
  • Bea Fields (adapted with permission from her blog)
  • 3,836 Reads
Social media is an ingrained part of people's everyday lives. How many people? Well, according to Facebook, there currently are 350 million active users. And by active, Facebook is accounting for those who log on to the site every day. eMarketer anticipates the number of U.S. Twitter users in 2010 to jump to 26 million. That's 15.5 percent of all adults online--and that's huge. What do these digits have to do with growing your multi-unit franchise? Close to everything.
  • Lisa Wehr
  • 4,634 Reads 24 Shares
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