Here we provide data and analysis of the motivations of buyers, behaviors during the franchise search process, and preferences for contact and communications. In summary, it is all about what we can observe about the actions that business and franchise buyers take before purchase.
December 18, 2024 – In almost five years of surveying for characteristics that make franchises attractive, “low cost of entry” and “higher earnings potential” have consistently been ranked most important by individuals seeking business ownership. ‘Extensive training and support’ edged out “ability to work from home’ in the November survey.
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
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.”
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.
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.
June 12, 2024 — Most prospects who request information on franchise portal sites end up visiting the franchisor’s website afterward. Why does this happen? To answer this question, we surveyed prospects who submitted an inquiry on a franchise portal and then visited the franchisor’s website.
March 20, 2024 — While “low cost of entry” and “higher earnings potential” were ranked most important by individuals seeking business ownership, more individual and nuanced drivers appear below the surface.
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.
November 22, 2023 — Most franchise inquirers believe they demonstrate three important characteristics for succeeding at business ownership. Grit, or “persistence towards a goal despite obstacles” was cited by 53.0% of respondents in the October 2023 Startup Sentiment survey by Franchise Insights.
November 1, 2023 – As we have observed many changes in franchise buyer behavior in the three years since the global pandemic began, one aspect changed very little. Despite the thousands of offerings among dozens of categories in the franchise directories at FranchiseVentures online brands, most prospects still narrow their focus to a single concept on a visit to request further information about franchises.
October 18, 2023 – In a September 2023 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 65.5% indicated interest in the franchise purchase option, only 29.8% indicated an interest in buying an existing business for sale.
August 30, 2023 – As we’ve seen in four years of surveying small business startup sentiment, control over one’s destiny continues to propel entrepreneurs towards owning their own business in America.
July 19, 2023 — The majority of franchise inquirers profess having two of the most important characteristics for succeeding at franchise ownership, according to the June 2023 Startup Sentiment survey by Franchise Insights. “Willingness to follow a proven system” was reported by 60.7% of respondents
June 21, 2023 — A substantial flow of leads to franchise development sites comes from prospects originating on portal websites that are used to discover and compare franchise opportunities. According to surveys over the past year, the most recent data, about 71% of prospects who submitted an inquiry on the portals subsequently visited the franchise website. Why?
June 14, 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 lead to substantial referral visits to franchisor websites, in addition to being a significant source of leads submitted at development websites, as we first reported in September 2022.
In a recent survey of aspiring business owners, 18.4% indicated a preference for the option to “buy a franchise” over buying an existing business. While 39.5% indicated interest in the franchise purchase option, only 21.1% indicated an interest in buying an existing business.
April 19, 2023 – Control over one’s destiny continues to propel entrepreneurs towards owning their own business in America. Consistent with our large sample of interested franchise buyers over the past three years, “being one’s own boss” remains the primary motivator cited by entrepreneurs researching franchise ownership.
February 01, 2023 — Given three choices and the opportunity to enter their own “other” reason, over 56% indicated that they were “very interested and just wanted to learn more.” Another 28.4% “wanted to prepare before having a conversation with the franchise representative.”
January 25, 2023 — When evaluating franchise directory websites (portals), cost per lead is often the key decision factor, assuming quality standards are met. But leads submitted at portals also lead to substantial referral visits to franchisor websites, in addition to being a significant source of leads submitted at development websites, as we first reported in September 2022.
December 28, 2022 – Headlines about war, surging inflation and interest rates, and imminent economic slowdown were no match for the entrepreneurial instincts of Americans in the final months of 2022. The control over one’s destiny continues to propel entrepreneurs towards owning a business in America.
Willingness to follow a proven system, and ‘Grit’ are cited by most franchise prospects surveyed. By: Franchise Insights December 14, 2022 — Two-thirds of franchise inquirers profess having both of the two most important characteristics for succeeding at franchise ownership, according to the November 2022 Startup Sentiment survey by Franchise Insights. “Willingness to follow a …
August 10, 2022 – While many changes in franchise buyer behavior were noted over the last few years during the height of the pandemic, some things remained relatively constant. Despite the availability of hundreds of franchise offerings among dozens of categories in the directories at FranchiseVentures digital brands, most prospects still narrow their focus to …
July 27, 2022 – In a June 2022 survey of aspiring business owners, 18% indicated a preference for the option to “buy a franchise” over buying an existing business. While 38.5% indicated interest in the franchise purchase option, only 20.3% indicated an interest in buying an existing business. While reasons for the preferences were not …
July 6, 2022 – Despite pandemic , war, and economic headwinds, the control over one’s destiny continues to propel entrepreneurs towards owning a business in America. In a very large sample over multiple years, “being one’s own boss” remains the main motivator cited by entrepreneurs researching business ownership across FranchiseVentures, the leading network of online …
March 23, 2022 — There seem to be at least two market segments or distinct buyer groups reflected in the FranchiseInsights.com Small Business Startup Sentiment survey in their preferences for franchises. Respondents were asked to rank eight franchise characteristics in order of importance to their ultimate selection, along with a “not important to me” option …
March 10, 2022 — In the February FranchiseInsights.com Small Business Startup Sentiment survey, respondents were also asked to rank eight franchise characteristics in order of importance to their ultimate selection, along with a “not important to me” option for each. On the surface, “low cost of entry” and “higher earnings potential” were ranked highest, on …
January 20, 2022 — Despite the disruptions to normal human behavior due to the global pandemic, the control over one’s destiny and financial independence continue to be the most powerful motivations for owning a business in America. In a very large sample over multiple years, working for oneself remains the main motivator cited by entrepreneurs researching …
October 20, 2021 — In September, we shared that the uncertainty and disruptions of the global pandemic did not significantly change the mix of drivers toward business ownership as seen in our large monthly sample set. Desire to “be your own boss” is consistently the top motivator. But what is it about being your own …
September 22, 2021 – Preliminary results from the University of Michigan’s September 2021 survey of consumer confidence as reported by Business Insider show that the lowest percentage of consumers in four decades think that “now is a good time to buy a home.” High prices and low inventory have taken a toll on consumer enthusiasm …
September 1, 2021 — Some things haven’t changed, despite the global pandemic. The control over one’s destiny and financial independence remain the most powerful motivations for owning a business. In fact, working for oneself remains the main motivator cited by entrepreneurs researching business ownership across the leading network of online franchise information directory brands. “Be …
May 12, 2021 – Despite the availability of dozens of franchise categories and hundreds of franchise options at FranchiseVentures digital brands, most prospects narrow their focus to a single concept when requesting further information. In looking at data for more than ten thousand prospects in April 2021, almost 46% selected a single franchise opportunity for …
April 13, 2021 – A year of global pandemic has not significantly changed the primary drivers of business ownership. Financial independence and controlling one’s own destiny remain the most powerful motivations for owning a business. In fact, working for oneself remains the No. 1 reason cited by entrepreneurs researching business ownership across the leading network …
March. 31, 2021 – In a recent survey of aspiring business owners, almost two thirds indicated their interest to “buy a franchise” over the other paths to business ownership. Less than one third (32%) indicated an interest in buying an existing business. While reasons for the preferences were not solicited, the benefits of a network …
October 8, 2020 – One clear trend this year is that prospective franchise buyers have become more focused on one or two businesses during the discovery phase of their search. The share of prospects narrowing their research to one or two concepts in any given month rose from Q1 2020 to Q2, and remained higher …
July 22, 2020 – The pandemic has not changed the primary drivers of business ownership — independence and controlling your own destiny remain the most powerful motivations for owning a business. In fact, working for oneself is the No. 1 reason cited by entrepreneurs researching ownership across the leading network of online franchise information directory …
June 18, 2020 – Interest in franchise and business ownership has been rebounding in Google search trends over the past two months, rising steadily after a steep slide during the early weeks of coronavirus uncertainty and mandated state and city shutdowns. The search gains are confirmed by positive sentiment and increased investment inquiries from prospective …
Dec. 12, 2019 – Owning a small business is not always a full-time venture – in fact, half of potential business buyers say that one of their motivations is owning a “side business for supplemental income.” That’s according to an ongoing survey of potential business buyers across the Franchise Ventures demand generation platform. Side-business income …
Dec. 5, 2019 – Owning a small business can give you the freedom and flexibility to match different lifestyles, and that’s important to more than half of entrepreneurs answering a survey across the Franchise Ventures demand generation platform. More than half, or 56.5%, say “lifestyle rewards” are one of their top motivations as they think …
Nov. 25, 2019 – While a desire to “by my own boss” is the No.1 motivation for people thinking about buying a business, the potential to earn more money ranks a strong No. 2, according to the business-buyer survey across the Franchise Ventures demand generation platform. Nearly three-quarters of respondents, or 72.5%, cite “income potential” …
Nov. 18, 2019 – More than one-third of potential business buyers are motivated by a desire to stop “climbing the corporate ladder,” according to the survey across the Franchise Ventures demand generation platform. “In many cases, experienced managers and executives are ready to run their own show,” said Michael Alston, president of Franchise Ventures. “That …
Nov. 11, 2019 – The No. 1 reason that budding entrepreneurs want to own their own business is to “Be your own boss,” according to the survey across the Franchise Ventures demand generation platform. A full 87% of users starting a franchise search said that being the boss was a primary motivation for them, beating …
March 20, 2019 – With so many different franchise options available to a local investor, it’s easy to assume that a typical franchise prospect is talking to lots of different franchisors at the same time. But that’s a wrong assumption. The largest analysis to date of prospective franchise buyers shows the majority are focused on …