Franchise Development Leaders: Alison Satriana of Teriyaki Madness

Alison Satriana’s worked in sales and marketing in the outdoor industry for five years before she was introduced to the franchising industry. “Although I loved my work, I was ready to grow and learn a new industry, and stumbled into franchising as a B2C marketing assistant,” Satriana recounted. 

From there, she found her niche helping brands grow by matching them with their ideal candidates. In her current development role with Teryaki Madness, Satriana has been able to engage this passion for large-scale growth with intention; Teryaki Madness has experienced tremendous growth during her tenure, with more than 30 locations opening so far this year, including shops in Mexico and Canada.

1851: What do you love about the industry?

Satriana: I love that the marketing and sales industry seems bigger than it is. The tight-knit community is full of people willing to throw ideas around and encourage development. As far as the franchising industry as a whole is concerned, I love seeing the growth that the community has from a business and the opportunity it provides for your next-door neighbors. 

1851: What do you wish that you could change about the industry? 

Satriana: While there is a good deal of transparency on the development side of the industry, it would be nice to have even more communication in regard to understanding what works best for brands across the industry at large. For example, within the restaurant industry, when I am doing my research to see what works well, it is hard to find food-related concepts that have discussed their successful strategies. While franchising conferences can be great, it is hard to find helpful, open forums on the internet that aren’t webinars.

1851: What is the biggest challenge franchisors are currently facing in franchise development and what are you doing to overcome it?

Satriana: The No. 1 challenge franchisors are facing today is the discrepancy between the number of concepts that are franchising and the number of candidates interested. In other words, there are way more franchisors nowadays, but the same number of prospective franchisees. It is extremely important for brands to get their name out there so that when candidates think of franchising, they think of your brand first. 

1851: What do you think the biggest trend in franchise development will be in 2020?

Satriana: Hopefully, as I stated before, the biggest trend in franchise development will be a greater level of transparency, with brands being more open to sharing their Item 19 and quarterly reports. At Teriyaki Madness, we are in the process of growing our database in order to get a better handle on developing our own leads and recruitment system. Instead of a classic portal, we are hoping to talk directly to these candidates through a more interactive platform, such as a newsletter.

1851: What makes a great franchisee?

Satriana: A great franchisee is a partner that the company trusts—and a partner that trusts the company. It is somebody who is passionate enough about our concept to fry some chicken if they have to. The ideal franchisee also knows the operations manual like the back of their hand. Perseverance is key—a top franchisee is willing to work hard and reap the benefits.

1851: What's the No. 1 thing that sells franchises?

Satriana: Trust in the franchisor. Even if the customers love the product and the system, they have to trust and believe in the brand. For franchisees, trust in the franchisor is established through the education process and through learning about the system. Candidates are able to validate with other franchisees during discovery day, as well as talk one and one with the department heads to build confidence in the support system.