It’s Franchise Friday and we’re talking to Heather McLeod, Chief Marketing Officer at Authority Brands.

Heather sees Online Reputation as the new “Lift” medium: if you have strong reviews online, then all other marketing will perform better and consumers will be more likely to convert. Heather shares many great tips on using reviews to gain an advantage over your competitors on Google and other places.

Bonus! Today we have an update on the current Franchise Economy from Tom Epstein at FPN. And we’ll spotlight some Health and Safety best practices from Northeast Color including stories from Footprints Floors and 360° Painting!

Thanks to Social Joey, Franchise Payments Network, POLN8, and Northeast Color.

The Franchise News Podcast for Wednesday, August 26, 2020.

In the news this week:​

Small Business Roundtable, Rhett Buttle, John Standford

International Franchise Association, Robert Cresanti

Franchise Update Media

Capriotti's

Jersey Mike's Subs

Goldfish Swim School

Primrose School

Epcon Franchising

Jamba

Snap Fitness

Woofie's

Edible, Cheikh Mboup

Quaker Steak & Lube, Bruce Lane

Clean Juice, Amanda Hall

Sport Clips, Martin Lee

The Vitamin Shoppe, Laura Coffey

Michael Diamond, The Michaels Companies

Pizza Hut, Charlie Short

Pieology, Adrienne Berkes

Lift Brands, Ty Menzies

Beth Dailey

Authority Brands, Heather McLeod

Thanks to Benetrends and Social Joey

The IFA Women’s Franchise Committe presents:

Her Success: Stories of Female Franchise Leaders

Amy Cheng concentrates her practice in domestic and international commercial transactions, general corporate, and franchise, licensing and distribution law. Representative clients include leaders in the restaurant, retail, fitness and home services industries. With her broad range of experience, Amy essentially acts as general counsel to her clients, collaboratively maturing their businesses from infancy to prominence within their various industries. Amy’s unique combination of corporate and franchise experience provides clients with comprehensive legal services to expand their franchise portfolio. Her experience includes representing private equity in acquiring and selling franchise companies of all sizes and in a myriad of industries. Amy won the Crystal Compass award in 2016. She was interviewed by fellow Crystal Compass award honoree Emma Dickison, CFE, CEO and President of Home Helpers Home Care.

On this Franchise Spotlight, we’re chatting with Derrick Ableman, the Marketing Manager at Northeast Color who shares tips for building a brand inside franchisees' locations.

Derrick shares that branding for franchise systems is an intangible feeling customers have interacting with your business that now needs to include a trust factor.   

Shout outs today to California Tortilla and Rita's!

Thanks to Social Joey and AnswerConnect

The Franchise News Podcast for Wednesday, August 19, 2020.

In the news this week:​

Democratic National Committee

International Franchise Association, Matt Haller

Express Employment Professionals 

FAT Brands, Fat Burger, Johnny Rockets

Andy Wiederhorn

US Small Business Administration

Karen Pence

US Chamber of Commerce

John Francis

QDOBA, Eric Williams

Checkers & Rally's

Lenny Comma

Huddle House, Scott McIntosh

RE/MAX, Amy Lessinger

Dave's Hot Chicken, Jim Bitticks, Shannon Swenson

FranConnect, Andrew Volkmann

Northeast Color, Derrick Abelman

Thanks to Benetrends and Social Joey

It’s Franchise Friday and we’re getting some advice from Mary Ann O’Connell, President of FranWise, and host of the upcoming podcast series, “What’s Your F-ing Business?!” 

MAO says brands who understand their core the best, are faring the best. And, there’s never been a better time for a franchise system to provide value to small business owners. 

Thanks to Social Joey, Better, and VetFran.

The Franchise News Podcast for Wednesday, August 12, 2020.

In the news this week:​

Driven Brands

Self Esteem Brands, Dave Mortensen, Chuck Runyon

Roark Capital Group

Seniors Helping Seniors, Daniel Jan

Kiddie Academy, Greg Helwig

Chicken Salad Chick, Jim Thompson, Tom Carr, Terry McKee

Carrie Evans, Mary Lou Atkins

Buffalo Wild Wings, Rita Patel

Pancheros, Erik Ivey, Saul Muñiz

GYMGUYZ, Stacey Cooper

ServiceMaster, Brett T. Ponton

Domino's, Stu Levy

The Vitamin Shoppe, Muriel F. Gonzalez

Mary Ann O'Connell

​

Thanks to AnswerConnect  and Social Joey

Dawn Weiss is the owner of Markonnect Franchise Marketing & Communications. Dawn shares some advice that franchisors need to hear for the rest of 2020 including: 

Thanks to Social Joey and MFV’s Online Franchise Expo!

The Franchise News Podcast for Wednesday, August 5, 2020.

In the news this week:​

Aaron's Inc, John Robinson, Douglas Lindsay, Steve Olsen

The Local Culinary, Alp Franko

Childrens Lighthouse Schools, Michael Brown

Auntie Anne's, Heather Neary

Domino's, Art D'Elia

Terminix, Alex Ho

Two Maids & A Mop, Paul Ebert

Juice It Up!, Susan Taylor

AR Homes, Chap Tippin, Mitzi Hatori, David Barin

Focus Brands, Dawn Ray

Code Ninjas, Justin Nihiser

International Franchise Association, Haider Murtaza

Angela Coté

Dawn Weiss

Thanks to Benetrends and Social Joey

In this episode, we interview Mary Kennedy Thompson, CFE, Chief Operating Officer of Neighborly. 

As chief operating officer (COO), Mary oversees the ongoing business operations within Neighborly. Working hand-in-hand with 13 brand presidents, she leads the execution of strategies. Prior to her appointment as COO, Mary served as executive vice-president of Neighborly and president of Mr. Rooter® for nine years. Mary served eight years in the U.S. Marine Corps as a logistics officer. She began franchising 25 years ago as a multi-unit franchisee at Cookies by Design. After successfully selling her franchises, Mary joined the corporate headquarters to build their field support program, eventually leading the brand as its president. As president of Mr. Rooter®, U.S. Business Review selected Mary as one of its Editor's Choice Executives of the Year. The International Franchise Association (IFA) awarded Mary the Bonny Levine Award, IFA’s highest award for women who have made an impact on franchising and the Crystal Compass award for extraordinary leadership in franchising. A certified franchise executive, Mary serves as a trustee for the IFA’s Educational Foundation.

Interviewed by Katherine LeBlanc, Chief Marketing Officer at Painting with a Twist.