Mystery Shop
“ At the end of the day, it doesn’ t matter what their net worth or liquidity is. If they submit a lead, I’ m going to call them. Sometimes, people don’ t know what their liquidity is or truly understand the definition. It’ s my job to establish that relationship and let them understand what those prequalifications are.”
He points to changing media habits and shrinking attention spans as reasons why video content is now fundamental.“ Short-form videos are really taking hold. People like to capture information quickly,” he says.
Videos don’ t need to be long. They can range from 15 to 60 seconds. They also don’ t need heavy production values. An iPhone or Android phone can get the job done without making the finished product feel overly staged. Authenticity, Redd says, is more important than production value.“ It doesn’ t have to be a full-out production of a video that costs thousands of dollars,” he says.
When it came to investment details, Redd found that 38 companies included Item 7 information from the FDD. In addition, 56 of the sites included candidate information.“ It allows people to disqualify themselves,” he says. For example, Celebree School requires a passion for working with children, which helps filter out those unsuited to its business model. In addition, clear financial requirements can save time and improve lead quality.
But there’ s nuance.“ At the end of the day, it doesn’ t matter what their net worth or liquidity is. If they submit a lead, I’ m going to call them,” he says.“ Sometimes, people don’ t know what their liquidity is or truly understand the definition. It’ s my job to establish that relationship and let them understand what those prequalifications are.”
Redd found that 77 of the 101 sites included available territories, a key piece of information for serious candidates. All of the active sites also included an inquiry form.“ Essentially, everybody had an inquiry form, which is a good thing,” Redd says.
For Redd, the best websites are simple, transparent, and easy to navigate.“ This is part of the customer experience journey. If you make it complicated or you make things buried, it’ s difficult to find,” says Redd, adding that he plans to use what he learned to update Celebree School’ s website.
Direct calls
Not all brands have telephone numbers on their websites. Last year, it was decided to use call responses in the event of a tie for a STAR Award. The rule was also followed this year. Pearl and his team at ServiceScore looked for phone numbers on 102 websites and made the calls.
“ Phone calls are important when it’ s a considered purchase. A considered purchase is where it’ s urgent, expensive, or complicated,” Pearl says. In such cases, people often want to speak with an expert on the phone rather than do more research on their own or interact with a chatbot.
Here’ s a breakdown of the results:
• 55 % of participating brands had a phone number. In 2024, it was 67 %. The 2023 number was 62 %.
• 34 % of those answered when called in 2025, a drop of 3 percentage points from 2024.
• 18 % had someone who answered the phone and could handle an inquiry. It was 20 % last year.
• 16 % had someone answer and take a message. The number was the same in 2024.
• Of the 66 % of calls that weren’ t answered, 16 % did not go to voicemail, and that was the same in 2024.
• The remaining 50 % of calls from that 66 % that weren’ t answered went to voicemail, a 2 percentage point increase from last year.
• Of those that went to voicemail, 54 % were called back within 24 hours. It was 30 % in 2024.
Key takeaways
By some measures, franchisors must market their opportunities to five generations. Each group has its own media habits and preferred ways of communicating.
“ The goal is to reach people in the style they prefer,” Pearl says,“ and make it easy for them to take that next step.”
Successful franchise development during uncertain times is about executing the fundamentals with consistency and care. That means easily navigable websites, authentic content that connects with prospects, and quick and thoughtful follow-ups. •
54 | Franchise Update | Issue 4, 2025