Google Search Trends Show Increased Interest in Franchising
As the unemployment rate hovers in the double digits, more entrepreneurs are beginning the franchise journey.
Ever since the coronavirus crisis prompted mass layoffs in the spring, franchise professionals have been predicting a spike in inquiries from new prospective franchisees. A new report from Franchise Insights suggests that spike may have already begun.
Over the past two months, Google searches for franchise opportunities have been “rising steadily.”
The Google search data shows growing interest in both franchise-specific and broader business-startup categories.
- Franchise ownership searches for phrases like “franchise opportunities”, “franchise for sale” and “buy franchise” saw a sharp drop in their share of searches in late February and March, followed by a similarly sharp rebound in April and May. Search trends are holding steady in June at levels close to the 2019 average. Franchise searches are indicative of potential buyers who are aware of the different types of business ownership, and are exploring the franchise model to start their next business.
- Business startup searches for phrases like “start a business” and “business for sale” represent a range of interest from entrepreneurs who are exploring multiple options in their search – in some cases, they might still be deciding whether to start a business from scratch, buy an existing operation, or open a new location for an expanding franchise. This group also saw a sharp drop and rebound in relative search interest over the past few months. It is noteworthy that these searches started 2020 at higher volumes than the prior year, and that search interest is climbing to new heights in the first weeks of June.
With an unemployment rate hovering above 13 percent months after an initial surge of COVID-related layoffs, it’s little wonder why more people are looking for new business opportunities, particularly opportunities that offer more control over their career. The question now is, how can franchise brands take advantage of a large new field of prospects? The answer starts with storytelling.
“In order to effectively tap into that growing pool of qualified franchisee candidates, franchisors need to be able to tell a story that stands out from the thousands of other franchise brands hoping to convert the same leads,” we wrote in June. “And the stories that will attract this new class of prospects will be stories of resilience, support, durability and flexibility.”