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For the last 14 months, Mainland* has been profiling franchisees to better understand their buying process and journeys as a candidate. What quickly became apparent is that the insights continue to stabilize. Obviously, this data is limited to 2022 - 2023, so buying processes could be much different in different economic environments.

The insights:

  • It takes franchisees 6.4 months to go from impression to inquiry.
  • Once they connect with you, the two things that excite them and get them closer to YES is your culture and your business model.
  • Once they are in the process, due diligence with your existing franchise owners becomes very important.

And then, this…

FAMILY.

I started looking at the responses to “What is the ultimate goal?”

  • “My goal is to spend more time with my kids.”
  • “I enjoy spending time with my wife and two kids.”
  • “Outside my business, my kids.”
  • “Running two businesses takes up a lot of my time, so, I really cherish spending time with my family.”
  • “I’m a baseball junkie. Both of my sons play in college.”
  • “Hanging out with my family”
  • “My fiancé lives close by, and we have four kids between the two of us.”

And the interesting thing is that I didn’t have to hunt for these answers.

So, family — what are franchisors missing?

Family.

While this doesn’t change my recommendation of pushing a clear 'Why You/Why Now', it does enhance my recommendation to include your family, your business family, your franchise owners and their families.

Why? Showcasing that your business can help fit their business goals — to spend more time with family.

Now, go to your Website. Anything about family?

Do you treat your franchisees like family?

Are their families involved in their businesses?

Probably not.

So, now comes the opportunity:

  1. Content
  2. PR
  3. Marketing
  4. Digital
  5. Family

This further enhances the need to save up cash for holiday marketing.

All opportunities.

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Nick Powills

About the Author

Nick Powills

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Nick Powills, CFE, founded No Limit Agency in 2008 and serves as Chief Brand Strategist for the Chicago-based firm. No Limit is a full-service communications agency that establishes and elevates brands by bridging Public Relations, Social Media, Marketing, Advertising, Digital, and a lot of creativity, to best strategize well-rounded and successful campaigns for 50+ global franchise brands. By presenting visionary ideas and building real relationships, No Limit is able to create effective media branding strategies to help companies grow. Nick currently leads a staff of writers, media strategists, designers, social media experts and digital producers in an office think-tank where brands are humanized for strong, compelling media stories. Prior to starting No Limit at the age of 27, Nick spent four years working at a franchise PR agency where he mastered the art of building rapport with media outlets and creating newsworthy pitches for earned media placements. He holds a Bachelor of Journalism from Drake University in Iowa.

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