A franchise business consultant for more than 30 years, Mark Siebert is the founder of the iFranchise Group and author of Franchise Your Business: The Guide to Employing the Greatest Growth Strategy Ever (Entrepreneur Press), as well as the author of numerous articles on franchising. He has worked with hundreds of franchisors from a variety of industries. His expertise is in evaluating companies for franchisability, structuring franchise offerings and developing franchise programs. During his career, Siebert has personally assisted over 30 Fortune 2000 companies and over 500 startup-franchisors.
The iFranchise Group’s consulting services for both emerging and established franchisors have earned the firm international renown. With more than 500 years of collective expertise in franchise strategy, operations, marketing, and sales, Siebert and his team of franchise consultants have worked with many of the nation's top franchises.
He holds a B.S. in Advertising and an M.B.A. from Northern Illinois University, and has taught undergraduate and post-graduate courses in business and in franchising at several Chicago-area universities.
From the Outside Looking In: Building Your Franchise Dream Team through Outsourcing
When potential franchisors ask me if they can develop their franchise program without outside help, they are often surprised to hear the answer: Of course they can. The problem is they’re asking the wrong question. The more important question is whether they should go it alone...
Know Your Story: Set Your Franchise Apart with a Uniquely Positioned Brand Story
When you think about what keeps customers coming back to their favorite brands week after week, the answer usually lies in the right mix of quality and consistency. But building a loyal customer base is not always about flash, free giveaways, or wall-to-wall advertising. It’s building connections by identifying and communicating with the audience, often through storytelling.
Courting Franchise Brokers
The world of franchising frequently touts franchise brokers as a valuable resource for achieving franchise sales goals. Given their credibility with buyers, franchising knowledge, and local presence, it simply makes sense, for many franchisors, that engaging a broker network is a smart strategy for generating franchise sales. But getting to the sale is not as simple as just deciding to “hire” a broker network. It’s more like a courtship.
Beware of The Fox in the Henhouse
An acquaintance of mine recently told me about an expensive mistake he made that taught him a valuable lesson. This business executive spent quite a bit of money on pay-per-click lead generation when a representative for the media resource reached out. The media rep promised a much more sophisticated campaign designed to deliver a far greater number of leads. And, as an expert in the field, the businessman trusted their capabilities. A few months later, the results started coming in and, indeed, this strategy delivered a substantially greater number of leads. But as time continued to pass, the businessman realized that these leads resulted in far fewer conversions and sales than expected. In the end, eyeing only the large six-figure marketing budget and not the company’s overall needs and strategies, the fox had snuck into the henhouse and my acquaintance paid the price.
5 Reasons Why Franchised Units Can Perform Better Than Company-Owned Locations
There is a myth about franchising that goes something like this: franchisor-owned corporate stores will outperform franchised stores because franchised stores cannot meet the high level of quality that corporate stores do. This misconceived notion is fueled by the idea that by giving up some level of operational control in awarding a franchise, the franchisor is almost necessarily giving up some measure of quality control.
As a Franchisor, Are You Broker-Ready?
March 2021
The Silver Lining of Franchise Marketing and Operational Shifts in 2020
When COVID-19 lockdowns and travel restrictions went into effect in March 2020, franchise professionals needed to pivot quickly to alter lead generation efforts which focused on leading candidates toward in-person meetings. Now that we have implemented several months of modified franchise marketing and sales tactics, we can see that some of these changes are actually systemic improvements that may well become a part of the franchise marketing process even post-pandemic.
The Table is Set for Franchise Restaurant Expansion in 2021
It is actually not too hard to see why we should be optimistic about the future of restaurant franchise sales, even as this pandemic lingers and restaurant closings continue. If you consider the ingredients which, when combined, can lead to a resurgence in franchise sales, you can see why the coming year might just be a banner year for franchise sales in the restaurant franchising sector.
Franchising in the Post COVID Shutdown Era: The Time is Now to Change the Future
The pandemic has brought many changes across all industries, franchising notwithstanding. People have been displaced, projects put on hold, and in some cases business owners have had to rethink how or if they will be able to operate their businesses. As contrary as it may seem, however, now is the ideal time for potential franchisees to consider business ownership through franchising. And, therefore, it’s an important time for franchisors to provide compelling reasons for franchisee candidates to consider them. As individuals have taken the time to reflect and plan for their futures during the shutdowns and in the subsequent reopening periods, smart franchisors have also stayed busy making their concepts relevant and attractive – not just for consumers, but also for potential franchise buyers.
