Franchise Development

From a vast and growing proprietary data set of U.S. franchise prospects, startup and business-for-sale inquiries, we use the tools of data science to discover franchise development trends and explore the impact of buyer location and demographics on franchise lead generation. Further, we survey franchise prospects and franchise systems periodically to gather buyer behavioral and benchmarking insights.

Our focus is on the growth of franchise systems through the acquisition of franchisees, particularly benchmarking in the lead generation aspect of franchise development, which includes franchise portals, search marketing, email, and social media, along with best practices for franchise development sales teams.

Franchise Buyer Research and Behaviors

  • Motivations - From monthly surveys, we glean what motivates franchise buyers, with "being your own boss" a perennial favorite.
  • Preference for Franchises - We ask them about their preferences for franchises over pure startups or established businesses that are for sale.
  • Desired Franchise Characteristics - We regularly aspiring business owners to discover and share rankings among several characteristics they might desire in franchises.
  • Expected Sources of Franchise Funding - These range from loans of various types, equity, and many forms of personal capital.
  • Why Portals Generate Significant Leads at Franchise Development Websites - Surveys show consistently that consumers researching franchises are interested to know more before talking with a franchise representative, highlighting the role and value of the frandev website and the importance of telling a clear brand story therein.
  • Franchise Prospect Strengths - Aspiring franchise owners share with us the attributes they believe they possess which would qualify them for business ownership. Factors such as "grit" and "willingness to follow a proven system" are consistently at the top of the list.

Geographic Franchise Development Trends

  • Franchise Interest by State - Demographics, population and perceptions about local business conditions are among the factors that give some states interest for new locations disproportionate to population.
  • Migration of Franchise Interest Over Time - using large volumes of lead flow data, we see patterns in geographic interest for the location of new franchise locations.

Franchise Development Marketing and Franchise Lead Generation

  • Franchise Lead Generation - "Top Ten" Lead Generation Topics
  • Getting Prospects to Franchise Development Websites - among paid sources, franchise portals aid in the discovery and consideration of franchise brands, but moreover generate a significant source of franchise development website traffic and leads.
  • Lifetime Value of a Franchise Lead - When calculating the return on investment of an advertising alternative, it is important to look at the conversion rate over a relevant time period.
  • Paid Search and Social Media - We try to stay abreast of these prolific sources of franchise leads, and find ways to navigate the changing privacy constraints and impact on Google, Meta and LinkedIn.

What Franchise Prospects Say about the Franchise Sales Process

  • Preferred Initial Contact Channels - How do they want to be reached? While we survey monthly, a wealth of data shows that email, text, then voice is the most effective sequence.
  • Prospect Feedback - by categorizing open-ended responses, we arrive at suggestions, some of which are obvious - like following up as agreed upon, and others that reflect the style of approach that various sales teams have chosen.

Periodically we use inferences from our own data industry sources to make predictions for franchise development towards preparing growing franchise systems for threats and opportunities on the horizon.

Texas, Illinois and New Jersey Gain the Most In Franchise Interest as California Decreases

November 20, 2024 – In a year-over-year analysis, interest in franchises migrated eastward and selectively southward according to new data from FranchiseInsights.com. By comparing quarterly shares by state of inquiries about franchises for the third quarter of 2023 to the third quarter of 2024, there was a continuation of the shift in the mix of where aspiring franchisees were expecting to locate franchises

Franchise Development Prospects Share Their Perceived Strengths

November 13, 2024 — Almost 57% of franchise prospects in recent surveys attested to their “willingness to follow a proven system”, an essential ingredient for succeeding at franchise ownership.  Grit, or “persistence towards a goal despite obstacles” was cited by over half (53.2%) of respondents, followed by “team leadership experience” at almost 40%.

Most Franchise Prospect Journeys Begin With A Narrow Focus On Just A Few Concepts

October 30, 2024 – One consistent observation on franchise buyer behavior over almost five years of website journey analysis is how quickly researchers parse among many options to narrow their focus to a few for further inquiry. Most prospects only focus on a single concept when requesting information about franchises, despite the thousands of offerings across dozens of categories in the franchise directories of the Franchise Ventures lead generation platform.

With A Billion Political Texts Per Week, How Are You Most Likely to Reach Prospects?

October 23, 2024 – Both political parties have discovered the effectiveness of blanketing mobile phones with fundraising texts. According to YouMail, which offers call and text-blocking apps, political texts alone may be approaching one billion per week in October 2024. How do legitimate franchise representatives get through to sales prospects who want to hear from them?

Insights Into the Buyer Search Path to Franchise Development Websites

October 16, 2024 –We routinely ask prospects why they visited franchisor site(s) after submitting an inquiry at a franchise directory website, or portal, to gain insight into this behavior. The overwhelming response, at 49.4%, was “I was very interested and just wanted to learn more.” Another 34.2% wanted to “prepare before having a conversation” with franchise representatives.

Prospects Sound Off on Their Satisfaction With the Franchise Sales Process

September 25, 2024 – Persons inquiring about franchises were mostly satisfied with their experiences, according to recent franchise prospect surveys over the five months ending in September 2024. Almost half (43.5%) said they were either “satisfied “or “very satisfied”, and only 19.2% said they were “unsatisfied or very unsatisfied.” 

Many Franchise-Seekers Already Own Businesses

September 18, 2024 – Data from over five years of surveying aspiring franchise owners shows  that about 15-20% already own at least one business. The percentage has varied month-to-month over this time span, which includes the pandemic-affected years, but consistently represents a significant slice of aspiring candidates for franchise development. 

Franchises Preferred Over Startups from Scratch or Legacy Businesses For Sale

September 10, 2024 – Individuals interested in business ownership preferred the option to “buy a franchise” over acquiring an existing business by a significant margin in the August business buyer survey. While almost 60% indicated interest in the franchise purchase option, only 42.3% were interested in buying an existing business for sale.

With Lots of Options to Choose From, How Do Prospects Find Your Franchise Brand?

August 28, 2024 — Only about seven percent of aspiring franchise owners are already “very familiar” with the franchises they inquire about on franchise portals, and another 19% are “already somewhat familiar” with them, according to recent surveys of interested franchise seekers on the FranchiseVentures lead generation platform in July 2024.

More than Financial Rewards, ‘Being My Own Boss’ Motivates Franchise Seekers

August 14, 2024 – What motivates franchise seekers? Since we last reported on the motivations of aspiring franchise owners at the end of 2023, wars in Europe and the Middle East have continued, and concerns about political change have risen among individuals wanting to own their own businesses. But the primary drivers for business ownership have changed little.

Two Strong Months of Prospect Contact Attempt Rates Precede a Dip in June

July 17, 2024 – After two successive months of higher prospect initial contact attempts, rates dipped  as reported by the latest FranchiseInsights.com “mystery shopping” survey in June 2024.  More than half of respondents say they were contacted by all of the franchises they inquired about in April and May, at 50% and 57.1% in April and May, respectively. 

Today’s Franchise Development Prospects Desire to Follow a Proven System

July 2, 2024 — In our June 2024 survey, almost two-thirds (66.3%) of respondents claimed  “willingness to follow a proven system”, an essential characteristic for succeeding at franchise ownership.  Grit, or “persistence towards a goal despite obstacles” was cited by over half of respondents (50.6%) of respondents, followed closely by “team leadership experience” at 47%.

Franchise Interest Resumes Migration To The South and East for Franchise Development

June 26, 2024 – In a year-over-year analysis, interest in franchises shifted to the south and east according to new data from FranchiseInsights.com. By comparing quarterly shares by state for the first quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024, there was a continuation of the shift in the mix of where aspiring franchisees were expecting to locate franchises.

Franchisee Prospects Continue to Focus on Just a Few Concepts for Research

June 19, 2024 – Franchise buyer behavior has changed in many ways in the four years since the global pandemic began. One aspect, however, has stayed the same: most prospects still only focus on a single concept when requesting information about franchises, despite the thousands of offerings across dozens of categories in the franchise directories of the FranchiseVentures lead generation platform. 

Do You Know Where Lead Referrals to Your Franchise Development Website Are Coming From?

May 29, 2024 — Cost per lead is often a key decision factor when evaluating franchise directory websites (portals), assuming quality standards are met. But leads submitted at franchise  directory websites also result in substantial referral visits to franchisor websites, in addition to being a significant source of leads submitted at development websites…

Franchise Lead Generation Search Results Get an AI Facelift

May 22, 2024 – “AI Overviews” have arrived for Google search results, after months of testing. Announced at Google’s I/O conference May 14, the experience will become available for most searchers over the next few months. The impact on Google’s $200 billion advertising is unknown, but presumably they would have thoroughly tested the impact on paid search revenues.

Can the Franchise Sales Process be Improved? Just ask Prospects.

May 15, 2024 – Persons inquiring about franchises were mostly satisfied with their experiences, according to recent mystery shopping surveys over the six months ending in April 2024. Over  half (50.9%) said they were either “satisfied “or “very satisfied”, and only 17.4% said they were “unsatisfied or very unsatisfied.” 

What Kinds of Businesses Do Aspiring Franchisees Already Own?

May 8, 2024 – From over four years of surveying aspiring franchise owners, data show that between 15-26% already own at least one business. The percentage varied over the pandemic years and exhibits some seasonality, but consistently represents a significant slice of aspiring franchisees. 

A Best Practice For Better Contact Results With Franchise Prospects

April 24, 2024 – In four months of survey data from January to April 2024, only 14.4% of respondents are “very likely,” and another 15.4% say they are “likely” to take a cold call from you. The traditional “call first” approach will likely lead to your frustration with about one third of franchise leads, and reduce the chances of more productive conversations with informed prospects.

Employment Data Bodes Well for Franchise Development – Fewer Applicants Coming From Full Time Jobs

April 10, 2024 – Franchise developers have been swimming upstream against a tide of employers clinging to full-time workers since the post-pandemic return to work. Over the last year, fewer aspiring franchise owners were leaving full-time jobs. In our March 2024 Small Business Startup Sentiment survey, franchise seekers who say they are leaving full-time jobs reached a four year low at 36.9%, as U.S. employers shed full-time workers.

Franchise Prospects Indicate Preferred Sequencing for Initial Contact Channels

March 27, 2024 – Most franchise prospects (42.4%)  prefer to be emailed on initial contact by a franchise they have expressed interested in according to fresh data in the March 2024 Franchise Insights Mystery Shopping survey. Another 30.6% indicated a desire for a phone call for the initial contact. This order preference is consistent with prior monthly “mystery shopping” surveys, including when we last shared franchise prospect contact preferences data.

Best Practices For Initial Response to a Franchise Informational Inquiry

The optimal order for following up with franchise prospects is about playing the odds. Segments of the pool of franchise leads prefer one of the nine permutations of three contact methods (email, voice and text), but to have the highest expectations of fruitful contact, especially given the 24/7 nature of lead flow, it pays to listen to what prospects want overall. 

Aspiring Business Owners Choose Franchises Over Startups or Businesses For Sale

March 13, 2023 – In a February 2024 survey, aspiring business owners preferred the option to “buy a franchise” over buying an existing business by more than a two-to-one margin. While 65.3% indicated interest in the franchise purchase option, only 31.6% indicated an interest in buying an existing business for sale.

Franchise Development Teams Expect to Increase Google Spending More than Meta and LinkedIn in 2024

February 28, 2024 – When asked about advertising plans for 2024,about a third of franchise development teams expected to increase their spending somewhat or significantly at Google, Meta or LinkedIn. This is following 2023 wherein, despite tumultuous business conditions and shocking news headlines, more than 58% of franchisors surveyed either stuck to their growth plans (50.0%) or increased them.

Middle Tiers of Franchise Systems Revved up Their Expansion Plans the Most in 2023

February 21, 2024 – Despite sagging consumer confidence, tighter credit and labor, and a volatile year in the financial markets, most franchise systems either stuck to their growth plans and ad budgets for 2023 according to a December survey by FranchiseInsights.com. But the adjustments to expansion plans varied significantly by the size or maturity of the franchise system.

Franchise Development Teams “Lean In” To LinkedIn for Franchise Lead Generation

February 14, 2024 – Signs from a number of metrics (time spent, monthly active users) and media reports are that we may have reached “peak” social media as measured by postings, monthly active users and time spent. The Wall Street Journal posits in a recent article that users are doing a lot more lurking than posting these days and foresees more of the same in this election year, along with mounting concerns about privacy.

Small Business Startup Sentiment Surges to Highest in Over a Year

February 7, 2024 – Prepare for launch! January startup sentiment data show 84.5% of aspiring franchisees plan their launches in the next twelve months, the highest percentage seen since December of 2023. The first of our Predictions for Franchise Development and Lead Generation for 2024 is looking very much on target.

Predictions for Franchise Development and Lead Generation for 2024

January 31, 2024 – The most reliable options for franchisors to directly acquire prospects in recent years – email and text marketing, paid search and social media – are all undergoing significant change, as are the dominant mobile and desktop platforms offered by Google and Apple (and a few others hardly worth mentioning).

Franchise Development Teams Face Growth Headwinds in Paid Search

January 24, 2024 – In our last article, we highlighted some of the headwinds facing advertisers who generate franchise leads from Google. Traffic exclusivity from Apple, antitrust and regulatory court proceedings threaten Google in 2024, along with greater competition by other players like Microsoft who aim to use artificial intelligence to get a bigger piece of the search marketing pie.

A Pivotal Year Ahead For Google’s Role in Franchise Development

January 17, 2024 – One of the most reliable pathways to filling the franchise sales funnel is under siege in 2024. Not only has it fallen to second place behind Microsoft in consumer “mindshare” regarding AI, it faces potentially disruptive regulatory threats, while committing unforced errors of its own in the name of privacy.

How “Peak Social Media” May Impact Franchise Development

January 10, 2024 – Signs are that we may have reached “peak” social media as measured by posting activating and consumer surveys. The Wall Street Journal posits in a recent article that users are doing a lot more lurking than posting these days and foresees more of the same in an election year along, with mounting concerns about privacy.

Top Ten Topics In Franchise Lead Generation

December 28, 2023 – From a review of web traffic to content viewed over the past year, we developed a “Top Ten” list of the most popular topics among our insights in 2023 based on the readership of articles by category. 

Among Motivations for Franchise Ownership, Being Your Own Boss Gains to a Record High

December 20, 2023 – Since we last reported on the motivations of aspiring franchise owners in July, war has broken out in the Middle East, mortgage rates topped 8% and stock markets plummeted, among other shocks. But by the time of our November Small Business Sentiment survey, optimism about startups rose to the highest in fifteen months.

Surveys Show Franchise Prospect Initial Contact Rates Improve in October. Is Live Voicemail Helping Franchise Development Teams?

November 29, 2023 – Prospect initial contact rates are up, as reported by the latest FranchiseInsights.com survey in October 2023. Almost 52% percent of respondents say they were contacted by all of the franchises they inquired about, up from 46.2% in June when we last reported this data. Aside from the efforts of franchise sales teams, what could be driving this improvement?

Post-Pandemic Migration of Prospect Interest Northward and and Eastward for Franchise Development

October 25, 2023 – The migration of interest in franchises continues to shift northward and eastward according to new data from FranchiseInsights.com. By comparing quarterly shares by state for the first quarter  of 2022 to the third quarter of 2023, there was a continuation of the shift in the mix of where aspiring franchisees were expecting to locate franchises – from south to north, and west to east.

A Reliable Source of Lead Referrals to Your Franchise Development Website

September 27, 2023 — When evaluating franchise directory websites (portals), cost per lead is often a key decision factor, assuming quality standards are met. But leads submitted at franchise  portals also result in substantial referral visits to franchisor websites, in addition to being a significant source of leads submitted at development websites

Prospects Give Feedback on Improving the Franchise Sales Process

August 23, 2023 – Aspiring business owners engaging with franchise sales teams were largely satisfied with their experiences, according to recent mystery shopping surveys over the last six months ending in  August 2023. Almost half (43.3%) said they were either “satisfied “or “very satisfied”

Coming Apple Feature May Help Overcome “Silence Unknown Callers” Barrier to Initial Prospect Contact

July 26, 2023 – Apple announced a new “Live Voicemail” feature for its anticipated September iOS 17 iPhone software update. Rather than banishing the caller directly to voicemail without ringing, as the “silence unknown callers” feature does, the first several seconds of the caller’s message is presented in text on the home screen, giving the call recipient an option to pick up the call.

How to Initiate Conversations With Prospects and Achieve Better Results

Norfolk, VA, May 10, 2023 – Research shows that only a fraction of franchise prospects are likely to return your call before receiving an introductory email from you. In an April 2023 survey, only 12.9% of respondents are “very likely,” and another 22.6% say they are “likely” to take a cold call. The traditional “call first” approach will likely lead to your frustration with at least a third of franchise leads.

Franchise Inquirers Give Feedback on Improving the Buying Process

March 15, 2023 – Aspiring business owners talking with franchise sales teams were largely satisfied with their experience, according to recent mystery shopping surveys over the last six months ending in February 2023. Almost half (48.7%) said they were either “satisfied” or “very satisfied”, and only 12.4% said they were “unsatisfied” or “very unsatisfied.”

The High Cost of Not Following Up Promptly With Franchise Prospects

Kudos to the franchise sales teams who reached out to all of the inquirers who requested information from them in February 2023. There is no doubt that they will be finding new franchisees, unlike those teams that did not follow up with an initial contact within seven days. 

Top Ten Franchise Lead Generation Insights

January 18, 2023 – Analyzing our content viewed over the past year, we developed a “Top Ten” list of the most popular topics among our insights in 2022 based on the readership of articles in topic categories. Along with each topic, ranked in descending popularity, are a few key and most recent articles that address each particular subject.

Top 2023 Predictions For Franchise Lead Generation

January 11, 2023 – It’s a new year, with new opportunities for franchise growth ahead. Yes, there are economic, legislative and regulatory headwinds, but who would bet against the collective entrepreneurial spirit, creative energy and grit of the franchise community?

A Costly Paradox: After Near-Record Contact Attempt Rates in August and September, a Disturbing Trend Emerges in Outreach to Franchise Prospects

November 16, 2022 – This month a shocking and record low percentage of inquirers about franchises for sale were contacted by all of the franchise systems they requested information from, according to the FranchiseInsights.com monthly “Mystery Shopping” survey. Only 42.2% of inquirers to franchises reported that they were contacted by “all of the franchises they …

Franchise Systems Continue to Pursue Growth in 2022 Despite Business Conditions

October 11, 2022 – Despite soaring interest rates, volatile financial markets, declining consumer confidence and increasing lead costs,  none of the U. S. franchisors responding to a recent survey say they have cut back their development budgets significantly for 2022. Moreover, one third (33.3%) have actually increased their expansion plans for this year.  There was …

A Best Kept Secret in Franchise Lead Generation – Lifetime Value (LTV)

NORFOLK, VIRGINIA — September 21, 2022 — In comparing lead sources, “price”, and even the holy grail – “cost per sale” – are incomplete, if not misleading. There are two other critical variables in assessing return on your investment in franchise portals or other third party lead suppliers. In a prior article, we quantified the …

Referrals and LTV – The Best Kept Secrets in Franchise Lead Generation

September 14, 2022 — In comparing lead sources, “price”, and even the holy grail – “cost per sale” – can be misleading. There are two other critical variables in assessing return on your investment in franchise portals or other third party lead suppliers. In this article, we discuss the first one. What happens after a …

Franchise Lead Generation Portals Drive Discovery and Consideration of Options

August 24, 2022 — A minority (6.2%) of aspiring franchise owners are already “very familiar” with the franchises they inquire about, and another 20.8% are “already somewhat familiar” with them, according to surveys of interested franchise seekers to portal sites collected from May through July  2022. They come to franchise directory sites for the convenience …

The Role of Franchise Lead Generation Portals in Awareness and Consideration

June 8, 2022 — A minority (6.4%) of aspiring franchise owners are already “very familiar” with the franchises they inquire about, and another 23% are “somewhat familiar” to them according to surveys of interested franchise seekers to portal sites collected January through May 2022. They likely come for the convenience of comparisons in one place, …

Despite Record Inflation, Initial Franchise Fees Are Holding Steady

May 25, 2022 – Despite March’s largest increase in U.S. inflation in more than forty years, the majority of U. S. franchisors have no plans to increase initial franchise fees, according to a benchmarking survey by Franchise Insights in April 2022.  A minority (13.5%) of respondents do expect franchise fee increases in 2022 in the …

Update on Decline in Facebook (Meta) Franchise Lead Generation

May 18, 2022 — Since February 2022 when we last wrote about the decline in Facebook (Meta) Lead Generation after Apple’s iOS 14.5 release, three more months of data show that advertisers for lead generation shouldn’t expect results to improve any time soon. Meta’s own CFO estimates that consumers opting out of tracking will cost …

Decline in Facebook(Meta) Franchise Lead Generation Explained. Now What?

February 23, 2022 — If you have not heard about the $300 billion drop in the market value in Meta Platforms (formerly known as Facebook), perhaps it is because you have had to work double-time to mitigate the volume dip and effective cost of franchise leads to achieve your franchise system growth goals.  The introduction …

Franchise Lead Generation Portals Drive Discovery and Consideration

January 26, 2022 — Even though over 28% of franchise prospects in January 2022 reported being already “somewhat familiar” or “very familiar” with the franchises they considered, they chose to inquire about them at franchise portal sites among hundreds of other listings. These findings are consistent with our prior data from August 2021.  When you’re looking …

Franchise Leads Lagging Behind Employment Recovery in the U.S.

December 16, 2021 — In a dramatic recovery, employment in the U.S. reached 95.8% in November, as the unemployment rate dropped to 4.2%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Indexed to January 2020 before the pandemic emerged, November employment at 95.8% was back to 99.4% of the employment rate seen in January 2020 (96.4%). …

Benchmarking Shows 62% of Franchise Lead Generation Budgets Growing in 2022

December 9, 2021 — In a survey conducted December 1-8, 2021, 61.7% of franchises responding say they expect to spend “more” or “much more” on franchise leads in 2022. Confidence in a better 2022 is seen in franchise systems in all stages of growth. Active U.S. franchises responding to the benchmarking survey hailed from a …

Benchmarking Forecast Shows Franchise Fees Increasing in 2022

November 23, 2021 – While over 60% of active U.S. franchisors surveyed by FranchiseInsights.com reported no changes planned for their fees in 2022,. one-third (33.3%) increased fees in 2021, and 40% plan to increase initial franchise fees in 2022. Three times as many franchises plan to increase their fees by more than 50% (4.8%) than …

Benchmarking 2021: Franchise Fees Were Mostly Unchanged

November 17, 2021 – Almost two-thirds (64.9%) of active U.S. franchisors surveyed by Franchise Insights in November, 2021 reported no changes to their fees in 2021. Exactly one-third (33.3%) increased fees in 2021, and a small percentage (1.75%) actually reduced their initial franchise fees this past year. More franchises increased their fees by more than …

The Franchise Lead Generation Demand Gap: What it Means

November 11, 2021 — Are you seeing more competition for the best franchise prospects, or finding it harder to identify the number of prospects you need to achieve your franchise development goals? Are you experiencing soaring franchise lead costs in filling your pipeline? The flow of aspiring business owners took the biggest hit in the …

Impact of Facebook’s Outage on Franchise Lead Generation

October 13, 2021 — Over the past few years, paid Facebook advertising has become an attractive source of paid franchise leads for development teams, given its broad reach and extensive targeting options. But 2021 has become a challenging year for this resource. On Monday, October 4th beginning just before 12 pm Eastern time, Facebook and …

Online Portals Drive Discovery and Consideration in Franchise Lead Generation

September 15, 2021 – When you’re looking for information on an unfamiliar subject, you might “Google it.” But what if you don’t know what you are looking for, or what criteria to use to compare the choices, or what options are available in a geography or category or price range? How do you satisfy yourself …

Apple Call-Silencing Feature Underscores Importance of First-Touch Channel

June 30, 2021 – Apple launched a “Silence Unknown Callers” feature in its September, 2019 launch of iOS 13, but the April 26, 2021 release of iOS 14.5 featured prompts to set it up when viewing the “recent” call list as seen in the graphic above. This development means that many consumers are not going …

Franchise Development Contact Attempt Rates Are the Highest Since October 2020

June 23, 2021 – In June, franchise sales teams performed at the highest levels in over eight months according to results from the FranchiseInsights.com Mystery Shopping survey. Respondents reporting that they were contacted by “all of the franchises they inquired to” reached 63.5%.  Further, those who reported being contacted by “none of them” dropped to …

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