Industry Supplier Spotlight: 3 Questions With Franchise Business Review (+ New Research!)

In the past several months, our spotlight series has focused on franchise brands you know and love like Dickey’s, PuroClean, Kiddie Academy and Perspire Sauna Studio.

Continuing our series, we’re now branching out into the world of franchise industry suppliers. There are so many worthy mentions within our space of colleagues and friendly competitors, we wanted to help shed light on the companies driving publishing, media and business intelligence of the industry.

Today's spotlight is with veteran publisher Franchise Business Review. We spoke with Michelle Rowan, CFE, President & COO:

2020 has been a year of changing, adapting and learning for everyone in franchising. What are some lessons FBR took away from the last six months?

I own a tasting room and brewery with my husband, which is not part of a franchise. Going through the first few months of COVID really shined a lot on the benefits of being a franchisee and part of a franchise brand, vs being in business on your own. 

Several franchisors really stepped up support by providing leadership and guidance for their networks trying to navigate uncertain territory. They led the charge in helping to get PPP money to their networks, and most importantly, franchisors and franchisees quickly aligned to make changes to the business model to keep everyone they could up and running and some kind of revenue coming in.

FBR is the only franchise rating based solely on franchisee satisfaction and performance. What trends have you noticed in the past year within the industry?

The relationship between franchisor and franchisee continues to become more collaborative. The franchisor is still in control of the brand, and responsible for the long term growth and opportunity of the brand, but franchisees are being more involved in the decision-making process, and there is better understanding that things might work differently in different markets or situations. 

Training & Support and Communications have become two areas where the top brands shine, and really differentiate themselves from the rest of the pack.

Now that we're into Q4, what recommendations would you give to franchisors and franchisees to thrive in 2021?

Franchising will continue to be a strong business model when it's done right. Balancing the opportunity and success of the franchisor and franchisee in the decisions being made can make it profitable for all. 

Franchisors cannot grow unless franchisees are validating well, and franchisees can't thrive without the franchisor driving the plan. It's a relationship like all others. Satisfaction will ebb and flow, but a foundation of respect and constructive feedback will get you through the lows.

Thanks to Michelle from Franchise Business Review! Be sure to check out their resource center, along with this insightful survey around franchise satisfaction.