Franchise Guide: Trends - Franchising.com

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Trends

Recently, I spent several hours with Simon Sinek, a very creative New York marketing strategist.
  • Howard Putnam
  • 5,100 Reads 40 Shares
In this sluggish economy, home-based franchises--or businesses you can run out of a home office--are some of the fastest moving franchise opportunities out there.
  • Susan Morris
  • 6,145 Reads 107 Shares
As we've seen in high-definition in the past few months--from the natural and man-made disasters in Japan, to the rolling upheavals across North Africa and the Middle East, to the volatile whipsaws in food and energy prices--the factors that must be accounted for while structuring financial affairs are much more complicated than ever before.
  • Carol Clark
  • 7,405 Reads 1,023 Shares
Forecasting is a tricky business, involving equal amounts of data crunching, interpreting economic and general news events, common sense, and guessing.
  • Darrell Johnson
  • 7,108 Reads
In a perfect world, businesses would only be sold when they are healthy and attractive to buyers.
  • Domenic Rinaldi
  • 4,902 Reads 42 Shares
Do your employees know what makes your company radically different from all of your competitors?
  • Rick Barrera
  • 9,278 Reads 1,491 Shares
The Great Recession has shifted the thinking and behavior of consumers, forcing franchise brands to respond with changes of their own as they try to keep up with the new normal. Indeed, no discussion of franchise trends in 2011 and multi-unit operators' favorite brands can begin without a nod to the recent economic turmoil and its residual short and long-term effects.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 6,785 Reads 4 Shares
In 1991, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) issued regulations which allowed the use of service animals in public, including restaurants, hotels, retail establishments, theaters, and concert halls. The ADA's mandate caused little stir early on because service animals at that time were primarily "seeing eye" dogs highly-trained to help persons with blindness, deafness and some other disabilities while ignoring such distractions as food, strangers, and the presence of other animals.
  • Grace Y. Horoupian
  • 46,295 Reads 138 Shares
The goal of customer experience management is to move customers from satisfied to loyal and, ultimately, to be advocates for the brand.
  • Jack Mackey
  • 7,779 Reads 1,014 Shares
Our next financial concept? OPM (other people's money). As a former commercial banker, I've had the opportunity to see both sides of the "debt/leverage" issue. When you go to a bank for a business loan, your banker (whether they tell you or not) will quickly compute your debt-to-equity ratio. As bankers, we viewed debt as an equivalent of risk: the higher your ratio, the more debt you have in proportion to equity. Therefore, the higher your financial risk. Let me explain why this is so. It all goes back to the financial basics: Assets = Liabilities + Net Worth.
  • Steve LeFever
  • 9,357 Reads 1 Shares
Tom Kazbour doesn't believe the secret to success lies in studying the ABCs of business. He believes new franchisees can whiz on past most of the alphabet and focus on the letter "V."
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 15,038 Reads 1 Shares
Vocelli Pizza
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In 2008 we dodged an international financial meltdown. In 2009 we saw the technical end of the second-longest-running recession in U.S. history. In 2010 we are wrapping up the first year of the recovery in a less-than-robust fashion. Let's look ahead to 2011 and what is in store for franchising and, in particular, access to capital.
  • Darrell Johnson
  • 4,887 Reads 1 Shares
With the stock market on a run at the start of 2011, I began thinking about the similarities of how stock investors and franchisees choose an investment. The obvious consideration in both cases is whether to make an investment, but that's just the starting point.
  • Darrell Johnson
  • 5,698 Reads 1 Shares
In his book, Hire The American Dream, Dave Melton writes about his first boss, Frank Meeks. Melton writes of how Meeks was not only a personal inspiration but an icon within the community of Domino's Pizza. Meeks was the first franchisee inducted into the Domino's Chairman's Circle Hall of Fame.
  • Multi-Unit Franchisee
  • 6,784 Reads 1 Shares
On many occasions during the past year, I've seen and heard the past 10 years dubbed as "The Lost Decade." From a stock market perspective--with prices essentially flat between 2000 and 2010--it's not hard to understand why. Upon writing this article, the annualized return on the S&P 500 over the past 10 years was -0.68 percent, versus the average return of 6.28 percent since 1929 (according to FactSet Data Systems). Interestingly, over a similar time frame, aggregate corporate profits have doubled while total household net worth is about 50 percent higher.
  • Carol Clark
  • 5,012 Reads 14 Shares
Refugees from corporate America seeking capital to open a franchise business are tapping into their retirement plans to fund their fledgling businesses. So are multi-unit franchisees seeking to expand.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 8,795 Reads 1,023 Shares
Shiny objects marketing is a simple principle, ancient in origin and easy to apply. From open-air markets in Nepal to the local mall, everyone tries to make their product or service stand out. Yet many savvy entrepreneurs fail to grasp the full meaning of this elementary skill and run into difficulties when trying to put it into practice.
  • Dave LaBonte
  • 4,288 Reads 72 Shares
Being a part of YouTube is no longer something franchise businesses can control. Chances are, you're there, whether you created the content or not.
  • Lisa Wehr
  • 5,247 Reads 99 Shares
Jim Sullivan keeps an eye on business trends and market shifts. His livelihood depends on it. In fact, the very mission of his organization, Sullivision.com, is to design and deliver operations and leadership training programs for companies - including many franchises. He's worked with brands like McDonald's, Panera Bread, Regis Corp., Jiffy Lube, Applebee's, Domino's, and Dunkin' Brands.
  • Multi-Unit Franchisee
  • 4,669 Reads 1,023 Shares
For the past few years you have heard me note that the majority of franchised units in the U.S. are owned by multi-unit operators. With more than 400,000 franchised units in the country, multi-unit operators control about 53 percent of those units. That's impressive, and the percentage controlled by multi-unit operators is rising. This growth is a consequence of many brands focusing their development models on multi-unit development packages over single-unit programs.
  • Darrell Johnson
  • 9,316 Reads 324 Shares
In marketing, there are two basic ways to sell a potential customer. You can try to convince or argue them into buying your product (the classic salesman technique), or you can discover what it is that naturally appeals to them about your product or service, and use it to attract them, like a magnet. I call this latter approach, Shiny Objects Marketing. Everyone is attracted to shiny objects. We can't help it - it's in our DNA. The truly successful franchisee discovers the shiny object hidden in their product or service and puts it out in front of their customers, for all to see.
  • David LaBonte
  • 3,466 Reads 75 Shares
MSA Worldwide
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MSA Worldwide
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Just like any business, the franchising business is one that I have seen evolve tremendously over the past 30 years. While many of the cornerstones and crucial elements - product, simplicity, control, and support - remain the same, so much is changing.
  • Larry Feldman
  • 4,123 Reads
When a franchise unit or organization runs into trouble, what does your franchisor do to help? Unfortunately, according to several multi-unit operators we spoke with, not much, not enough, nothing at all--and sometimes worse, demanding future royalty payments for closed units, or refusing to allow franchisees to shut or relocate distressed units.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 6,754 Reads 1 Shares
It's often the case that the weaknesses of a system are not obvious until that system is catastrophically overloaded. That's when most breakdowns or failures occur. Overloaded electrical systems start fires, overloaded computer systems crash, and overloaded human beings suffer nervous breakdowns.
  • Mel Kleiman
  • 4,024 Reads 1 Shares
All franchise brands strive to deliver a remarkable customer experience. Why? Because that's how you win customer loyalty. Customer loyalty shows up in greater share of the customer's wallet and higher frequency of purchase. Loyal customers spend more per average transaction, and they send referrals to you through the enthusiastic stories they tell, based on doing business with you. You can market all you want, but in the end, customers believe and talk about what they experience.
  • Jack Mackey
  • 8,126 Reads 879 Shares
Gift cards can be an important component of customer loyalty programs. They can help attract customers, driving sales and brand awareness. New federal rules governing the use of gift cards have recently gone into effect. You certainly should be aware of and comply with the new laws.
  • Jan Gilbert and Suzie Loonam Trigg
  • 8,178 Reads 198 Shares
As noted in the last issue, investing is not for the faint of heart. It takes time and an ability to integrate an expansive range of information--as well as a steady head and a strong stomach. This combination often means that seeking outside help makes the most sense. But how do you go about finding an investment manager that's the right "fit" for you?
  • Carol Clark
  • 9,680 Reads 169 Shares
Franchising has flourished over the past two decades, adding tens of thousands of units and rising on a compound basis faster than most of the industries it operates in. Much of this growth was achieved by franchisee operators who began when they were in their thirties and forties. Today many of them are in their fifties and sixties and looking toward retirement.
  • Darrell Johnson
  • 4,348 Reads 4 Shares
Just like any business, the franchising business is one that I have seen evolve tremendously over the past 30 years. While many of the cornerstones and crucial elements - product, simplicity, control, and support - remain the same, so much is changing.
  • Larry Feldman
  • 4,010 Reads 1 Shares
Franchise Update Media Group (FUMG) the leading industry resource for franchise development, today announced the Multi-Unit Franchisee Conference Advisory Board will meet August 5-6 in Atlanta to plan the 2011 conference agenda. The 2010 event attracted multi-unit operators from food, retail, and service businesses that represented $2 billion in annual revenues.
  • PRESS RELEASE
  • 5,175 Reads 20 Shares
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