Dad Would Be Proud: The Dwyer Group Leads with Legacy

When The Dwyer Group opened its doors in 1981, founder Don Dwyer only had one brand. But in time, the business has grown to become the holding company of seven service-based franchise organizations: Aire Serv®, Glass Doctor®, Mr. Appliance®, Mr. Electric®, Mr. Rooter®, Rainbow International® and The Grounds Guys™. Viewed as a service-industry visionary, Dwyer knew how to differentiate and innovate within the industry by developing proven systems, helping entrepreneurs find success and instilling core principles and values, all of which would surely make his brands stand out from competitors. Dwyer’s mission was, quite simply, to help people enjoy a better quality of life. At the end of the first Gulf War, Dwyer had a moment of clarity when he realized a specific group whose quality of life he truly wanted to impact and improve: military veterans. He wanted to empower them to get into business for themselves but not by themselves. That vision grew into VetFran, a program that incentivizes former veterans to become new franchise owners that today includes more than 400 franchise brands across the country. In 1994, Don Dwyer passed away, leaving Robert Tunmire, his long-time, right-hand man to take over as the company’s president. In 1999, Tunmire elected to switch roles with Dwyer’s daughter, Dina Dwyer-Owens and took over company and franchise operations. Dina took the reins and became the CEO of The Dwyer Group, and was charged with developing confidence and respect amongst those in the industry. From day one, she stepped up to the challenge, never looked back and continued her father’s legacy to develop programs to help people become their own business owner, just like he did for U.S. Military veterans. In 2012, Dina set out yet again to take charge of the service industry and pioneered Public Protectors Franchise Advantage (PPFA), a program designed to help law enforcement officers and firefighters get into business, as well as the Women in the Trades program to boost female employment and business ownership in male-dominated industries. Under her watch as CEO, The Dwyer Group has grown to more than 1,600 franchises in the U.S. and Canada and helped countless local heroes and women follow their dreams. To keep momentum moving forward, The Dwyer Group is forging ahead by following the same cultural and entrepreneurial mission Don Dwyer built and that Dina has continued – creating new ideas to enhance the service sector and new initiatives to improve the many franchisees under the Dwyer umbrella’s seven brands. New Brand Acquisition New brand acquisition is a target in 2013, as the company is currently building relationships with several potential brands that meet The Dwyer Group guidelines and expectations. “Acquiring another company to join our seven established franchise brands will make our organization much more attractive to commercial accounts,” Dwyer-Owens said.  “We anticipate growing our family of service-based franchise brands in the coming year. This move will diversify our organization even more, which will appeal to national brands looking to partner with a collection of reputable service brands.” National Accounts The Dwyer Group family of brands is well-positioned to provide commercial services to national fast-food and quick-service restaurants, as well as retailers, home improvement centers such as Home Depot, banks such as Liberty Bank, and hotel chains such as La Quinta Inn. National accounts set up with The Dwyer Group are provided with customized plans utilizing the Dwyer Service Solution (DDS), a recently launched support department for national accounts. This solution ensures it’s appropriate brands, like Mr. Electric or Aire Serv, for example, help reduce overhead associated with consolidated billing, single transaction costs and central points of contact. “National accounts continue to be a major factor in driving more sales to our franchisees across the country. The more commercial  networks we establish, the more opportunities arise to show what we can do,” said Mike Bidwell, President and COO, The Dwyer Group®.  “Because franchisees receive ‘pushed down’ work from these large national contracts, we are even able to provide additional revenue streams to our franchise network.” Customer Purchase Power A trend emerged in the service industry over the past few years: customer purchase power. Since the rise of the Internet, there is a wealth of information at a customer’s fingertips. With 24/7 access to visit review sites and discussion forums, customers can learn tips and best practices for their drains, toasters and air conditioning units, as well as the approved industry techniques. They can even see costs associated for work and who provides the best customer service in their community. “In this age of service, there is a heightened transparency,” said Bidwell. “In the past, customers didn’t know what was expected or protocol, so good marketers and bad service providers could still receive work. Today, that doesn’t happen. And, this new trend in customer innovation has positively positioned The Dwyer Group and service industry sectors for improved greatness.” Integration of Technology In 2013, The Dwyer Group has invested time, money and resources in improving the technology for each of its franchise brands. Over the course of 2012 and well into 2013, the company has made significant advancements toward enhancing the inventory technology levels and better managing vendor partnerships. The Dwyer Group support staff constantly works with franchisees to review and analyze their truck inventory, something local independent contractors don’t have at their disposal. And, through its ProTrade Net division, Dwyer franchisees learn which vendors and partners are positively impacting their business and which ones need adjustment, which directly impacts the buying power for franchisees. In addition, service has gone tech. Dwyer brand technicians are now armed with smartphone technology and tablets to use for job dispatches, point-of-sale and back-office integration. Each technician is also able to use this new technology to improve customer experience with the ability to show artistic renderings, graphics and photos so customers can become educated through a visual explanation of the parts needed and how they fit within their specific situation. “This integration of technology improves efficiency and helps our franchise owners across the country better manage business costs,” said Bidwell. “With more than 25 years of service-business experience covering the span of many sectors, we’re able to provide more than any other franchise system. Franchisees realize when they join one of The Dwyer Group brands that we put a major focus in integrating technology to help them become successful and profitable in the short and long-term.” 2013 Quarter One Success and Beyond The Dwyer Group closed out the first quarter of 2013 by breaking a record in franchise sales revenue with a gain of six percent over the previous record. “For The Dwyer Group, 2013 has already been very productive as it relates to franchise growth,” said Doug Dixon, Vice President of Marketing and Operations for The Dwyer Group franchise development division. “While this is only the first step toward attaining our growth goals as an organization this year, we are encouraged and proud to have achieved this record output to-date. We look forward to continuing the trend through the year.” The first quarter brought in 69 new franchises across all seven brands under The Dwyer Group’s umbrella of companies. The quarter also marked the addition of eight new franchise contracts for the Aire Serv brand, seven for Mr. Appliance, 11 for Mr. Electric, six for Mr. Rooter, 14 for Rainbow International, three for Glass Doctor and 20 for The Grounds Guys. With building contractors, services to buildings and other specialty trade contractors listed among the top 10 fastest-growing industries for small business in a report by Entrepreneur Magazine, The Dwyer Group’s franchise brands are primed to find continued success in the commercial and residential service industries. This trend means increased dollar output and employment growth for service brands, and positions The Dwyer Group to continue its strong growth through the rest of the year. The Dwyer Group plans to continue its growth in 2013 and 2014, expanding its presence in major metropolitan areas such as Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Toronto, Washington, D.C., Boston, Charlotte, and many other markets throughout North America.