Franchise Prospects Now More Likely to Respond to Voice or Text for Initial Contact, But Email Plays Important Role
By: Michael Alston for Franchise Insights
June 17, 2026 – Since our last review of preferred initial contact channels in July 2025, more franchise prospects are saying they prefer a phone call for initial contact, and marginally fewer franchise prospects have been indicating that they preferred to be emailed first by a franchise they have expressed interest in. This preference is seen in surveys from January to May 2026 by Franchise Insights.
On the other hand, while over 38% of respondents indicated the desire for a phone call for an initial contact from the franchise, the same percentage, 38%, said that a phone call was their third choice. And 32% still say that they prefer an email for initial contact.
In this same data set, receiving a text was the clear winner at 52% for the second most preferred choice for initial contact about a franchise they are interested in learning more about.
Getting a text was least preferred as first contact at 30%. Given these preferences, the most likely productive sequence is an introductory email followed by a phone call, and then a follow-up text.
The most likely productive sequence for initial contact now appears to be an introductory email prior to a quick phone call or follow-up text to set up a time to talk further.
Email was the third choice for initial contact for 44% of the respondents. It is clear that there are multiple segments with different preferences – some who desire immediacy, and others who want time for consideration, so our recommendation follows the path of least resistance for the majority of respondents.
Key in our recommendation is the consideration of Apple’s “silence unknown callers” feature which sends unknown callers to voice mail. Just sending an email (or text) prior to calling allows you to ring through to the call recipient.
Over 47% of respondents said they were “unlikely or very unlikely to accept a phone call from a franchise” if they had “not previously received an email or text message from that company with more information.”
Further, in the same survey period, 47.1% of respondents said they were “unlikely or very unlikely to accept a phone call from a franchise” if they had “not previously received a text message or email from that company with more information.”
So email remains an effective channel for initial contact, followed up by a quick call or text to schedule a convenient time for a longer voice call.
The Franchise Insights “mystery shopping” survey is conducted monthly among aspiring business buyers inquiring about franchises at the brands of Franchise Ventures.
Franchise Ventures is the leading franchise lead-generation platform for potential franchisees to thousands of growing franchise systems in the United States and Canada. Its franchise lead generation brands include Franchise.com, Franchise Solutions, Franchise Gator, Franchise Opportunities, Franchise For Sale, SmallBusinessStartup.com and BusinessBroker.net, and together they provide the largest aggregation of prospective franchise buyers in the U.S.
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Published on Wednesday, June 17th, 2026.