Collaborative CX: FCXC Shines Light on Loyalty, Departmental Synergy, and Tech Innovation

By: Kerry Pipes | 6 Reads |

Featured in: Franchise Update Magazine: Issue 3, 2025

Franchise marketing leaders gathered in June at the InterContinental Buckhead hotel near Atlanta for the annual Franchise Customer Experience Conference (FCXC) hosted by Franchise Update Media and the International Franchise Association. The conference serves as a crucial forum for the latest in customer experience in franchising. Operations, technology, branding, and consumer marketing were key areas of focus throughout the event, and leading minds in franchise marketing both shared their extensive expertise and gained valuable insights to take home to their brands. This year’s conference platinum sponsors were AnswerConnect and Cinch.

Day 1

As always, the first day of FCXC kicked off with morning coffee and a chance to network.

The morning’s meetings got started with the CEO Summit, “The Future of Loyalty—Innovating for Sustained Business Excellence.” Led by Therese Thilgen, co-founder of Franchise Update Media, a panel of industry leaders, including Doug Flaig (Stratus Building Solutions), Todd Houghton (Homewatch CareGivers), Richard Huffman (Celebree School), and Justin Waltz (The Junkluggers), explored innovative strategies for cultivating both customer and franchisee loyalty with a focus on long-term success. Discussions centered on emerging trends, cutting-edge technologies, and leadership insights crucial for building authentic connections, leveraging data-driven personalization, and empowering franchise networks for the future.

Meanwhile, the CMO & COO Leadership Summit, “Driving Customer Experience Together,” provided a dedicated forum for marketing and operations leaders. This one was facilitated by Kristin Kidd (Head to Toe Brands) and Bill Palliser (CertaPro Painters) and focused on the vital partnership between marketing and operations in delivering exceptional customer experiences. Attendees delved into strategies for effective collaboration, addressing potential hurdles in aligning priorities, bridging communication gaps, and integrating customer-centric initiatives.

Adding to the morning’s already robust agenda were two “Mind Opening” sessions. The first, “Building a Franchise Brand CX Plan—Integrating Marketing, Operations & Technology,” provided franchise executives and teams with the tools to create comprehensive CX plans. Experts, including Roxanne Conrad (Premium Service Brands), Amy Mosley (DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen), Allison Tsomos (Celebree School), and Curtis Wiederin (Homewatch CareGivers), guided attendees through creating the ideal customer journey, developing actionable KPIs, and implementing strategies to enhance brand visibility, streamline operations, and leverage technology.

The second “Mind Opening” session, the “Technology Summit on Mission-Critical Systems, AI, and Strategic Tech Decisions,” addressed the rapidly evolving technological landscape. Led by Greg Cory (CTO Nation), David McDougall (We Sell Restaurants), and Loren Eckart (Diligence), this workshop offered actionable strategies for designing and sustaining critical systems. Key discussions revolved around ideas such as build-versus-buy decisions, leveraging the power of AI for data intelligence, and developing robust support frameworks for scalability and reliability.

A break from the action allowed attendees to gather for lunch and networking.

Franchise Update’s Thilgen and IFA Vice President of Marketing Anna Kittleson took the stage to welcome attendees, share industry and event numbers, and thank sponsors. The first keynote followed. Steve Brown is an AI expert and futurist as well as a former executive for Google DeepMind and Intel. He brought the latest insights into the ongoing development of AI, its uses, and impact while discussing the future of technology and business.

“Today’s data is the rocket fuel for tomorrow’s AI. Ask yourself, ‘What is my data strategy? How do I organize it? How do I keep it secure?” said Brown, who told the assembled franchisors and vendors that AI will deliver more changes in the next five years than have taken place over the past 50 years.

The keynote was followed by a panel discussion called “Navigating the Intersection of Legislative and Economic Forces in Franchising.” Clarissa Bradstock, CEO of

Any Lab Test Now, Sarah Davies, general counsel and VP, legal and government relations for IFA, and FRANdata CEO Darrell Johnson discussed how the evolving economic and political landscape is impacting franchise operations, marketing, and technology.

The next general session panel, “Delivering Next-Level Customer Experiences in Challenging Times for Franchise Brands,” brought together Sean Fitzgerald, president of TruBlue Home Service Ally, Dawn Perry, CBO of CertaPro Painters, and School of Rock President Stacey Ryan. They explored how leading franchise brands are innovating customer experience using strategies like human-centric AI, hyperpersonalization, and community engagement. The ultimate focus was on driving franchise growth and customer retention while maintaining brand consistency.

One final session, “Create Customer Experience Programs for High-Performing Teams,” rounded out the day before attendees adjourned for a cocktail reception in the Sponsor Networking Area.

Day 2

A continental breakfast with more coffee and conversation kicked off the second full day of the conference.

Thilgen and Kittleson once again took the stage to open the second day, welcoming attendees and expressing gratitude to the sponsors before the first general session, “Franchise Case Study With Edible Brands—Driving Success Through Cross-Functional Collaboration.”

MassageLuXe President & CEO Kristen Pechacek moderated the panel, which included Edible CTO Faraz Iqbal, CMO Kevin Keith, and Chief Legal & Compliance Officer Doug Knox. The panelists discussed how they used a cross-functional approach where operations, marketing, tech, and CX teams collaborated to get better results. They spoke of the challenges they’ve faced, growth opportunities, and finding ways to improve efficiencies.

Next up were the “Franchise Marketing Innovator of the Year Finalists Presentation” and “Franchise Operations & Technology Innovator of the Year Finalist Presentation.” ServiceScore President Jayson Pearl moderated a look at the finalists for each award. Representatives from each brand had the opportunity to explain how their innovations were developed, deployed, and what the results were. (See pages 46 & 48.) This year’s award sponsors were Thryv and ChoiceLocal.

Next up was the first look at the 2025 Annual Franchise Marketing Report (AFMR) Topline Results. The AFMR has become a key resource for marketing executives looking to benchmark franchise marketing and development efforts. This year’s report pulled data from 128 brands and updated findings in areas such as lead generation, recruitment budgets, cost per lead, closing ratios, and AI. (See page 32.)

Lunch in the general session area allowed attendees to refuel and network.

The afternoon kicked off with the day’s keynote speaker, Brittany Hodak, an award-winning entrepreneur, customer experience expert, and author of . Hodak explored key areas like transforming ordinary customer moments, strategically leveraging AI in CX, and differentiating brands to boost reputation and revenue.

After explaining that “experience is everything and everything is experience,” Hodak spread the responsibility, saying, “Every single person has to be the acting chief of experience.”

This year’s keynote speaker sponsors were Alphagraphics and LeashedAI.

Following a quick snack break, the first of two supplier “Meet Your Match” speed dating sessions took place. The fast and furious networking experience gave suppliers three minutes each to pitch their services to franchisor executives. The quick connections offered a platform for discovering innovative solutions tailored to franchise growth and success.

Multiple breakout sessions took up most of the rest of the day. These sessions covered topics like “Humanizing CX—The Power of Personal Connection: Mastering the Art of Connection in Franchise Brand Experiences,” “Unlocking Exceptional Customer Experiences Through Data-Driven Insights—Empowering Connections With Technology To Elevate FBC and Franchisee Engagement,” “Humanizing CX—The Power of Personal Connection: Creating Personalized Experiences Through Multi-Channel Engagement in Franchise Brands,” and “Unlocking Exceptional Customer Experiences With Data-Driven Insights—Harnessing Technology To Empower Franchise Teams and Delight Customers.”

Attendees had one more chance to meet with suppliers over cocktails in the networking area before gathering for the evening’s big event, the Franchise Innovation Awards presentation, celebration, and cocktail reception. (See page 38.)

Day 3

The final event of the conference was on Thursday morning. The closing workshop, “Build Your Customer Experience Communications Plan—Employees, Franchisees & Customers,” looked at how effective communication is the backbone of delivering an exceptional customer experience.

Larisa Walega, SVP & CGO of Ziebart International, led attendees through an interactive workshop focused on developing comprehensive CX communications plans that align messaging for employees, franchisees, and customers. They discussed strategies for empowering employees, engaging franchisees, and creating customer-focused messaging that builds loyalty.

FCXC attendees seemed pleased with their investment to attend the conference:

“I’ve loved all the content and the sharing that’s been occurring between different brands and different vendors, and especially, I loved the focus on AI,” said Amanda Maquet, CMO, Moran Family of Brands.
“If you’re a franchisor, you need to be here to hear about this, and then being here with all these different suppliers and hearing about the solutions they have is really key in making sure that you are getting the right partners to really grow and drive your business,” said Doug Flaig, CEO, Stratus Building Solutions.
“This is my first time here, and I’m having a lot of fun, made a lot of connections already. Definitely come with an open mind, ready to learn, ready to meet a lot of people, and it’s a lot of fun,” said Allison Russell, communications manager, Weed Man.
“I love connecting with other people and talking about things that are really important. If you are in franchise operations, marketing, technology, this is my favorite conference to come to,” Kristin Kidd, COO, Head to Toe Brands.

Next year’s FCXC will be June 2–4 at the InterContinental Buckhead in Atlanta. You can find out more about the event on franchising.com.