Prospective Franchisee Survey Results 2017

Franchise Direct periodically conducts surveys to gather demographic information and motivation factors behind franchise investment.

The latest survey took place over six weeks between the end of March 2017 and the middle of May 2017. The anonymous survey provided a profile of the users that visit Franchise Direct looking for a franchise opportunity to invest in. It was comprised of 25 questions covering areas such as: the respondents’ demographic information, research process, franchise areas interested in, and budget.

This 2017 survey tallied 210 respondents. The feedback is summarized in the statistics and graphs that follow.

Demographics of Website Visitors

Per this year’s survey results, the “most common” franchise seeker on our website is a white male between 36 and 55. He is likely employed by another company at the moment with some management experience, possibly with a stint of business ownership on his resume as well.

Motivations for Wanting a Franchise

The adage of wanting to in business for yourself, but not by yourself still holds true. Approximately 41% of the survey respondents said they’re turning towards franchise ownership primarily because they want to be their own boss, but don’t want to come up with their own business idea. However, the number of respondents mainly seeking supplemental income is close behind. Last year, the difference was 8%. This year, only 5% separated the two reasons.

Current Knowledge Level and Sources of Info

A sizable number or respondents (approximately 63%) have been looking for a franchise for less than 2 years, which may be why over half claim to have little to no knowledge of the franchise application process. In addition, over 50% haven’t made initial contact with a franchisor at this time. Many are or expect to engage the services of a franchise consultant to help them.

Interestingly, over half (52%) have used a video channel such as YouTube to find out info and 70% of respondents said they are interested in seeing more franchise introduction via video.

Respondents could choose more than one for the question above.

But the financials still dominate what prospects are looking for first when they begin their franchise search. In fact, several wrote in open answer sections of the survey that they are interested in even more detailed, franchise unit level data than what they’re finding currently. Respondents also cited a desire for more potential earnings data.

Desired Franchises

Respondents could choose more than one for the question above.

Once again food leads the way in interest level (in every category it was presented). Also seeing strong interest are vending machine opportunities, business services franchises, as well as computer and internet franchises. Also, interest in franchises that allow for home-based operation is steady.

The Money Questions

Respondents could choose more than one for the question above.

When it comes to the initial investment into a franchise, most respondents are seeking lower cost options and planning on using at least some of their savings and/or retirement fund to finance. 70% are also planning on the possibility of securing a bank loan to supplement.

Thank you for reading the results of our 2017 Prospective Franchisee Survey! We hope these finding have been as enlightening to you as they have been to us.

About the Survey Selection

Respondents to this survey were not selected on a random basis. Participants for the survey were invited through announcements sent via company newsletter mailing lists. This method does not qualify as a random sample of the whole prospective franchisee population and, as such, the results from this survey cannot be generalized to the entire prospective franchisee population. Instead, these results are representative of the opinions of the prospective franchisee population in a certain segment.

For more information about the results of this survey and how the survey was conducted, please contact Franchise Direct at info@franchisedirect.com.