FBR Issue 4 - 2018

FBR SPECIAL REPORT
Above: Two Shack Shine Technicians Setting up a Christmas Light Job
Right: Mike Sweat, Regional Director, Baltimore, MD with Team
What Worked Yesterday Isn’t
Always Going to Work Tomorrow:
Lessons from Today’s Most Innovative Franchise Brands
Remember Polaroid and Kodak, Blockbuster
and Blackberry? While all these brands witnessed
massive success in their day, they
were unable to adapt to changing consumer
demands. They fell behind and ultimately
became defunct, losing to more innovative,
forward-thinking brands like Apple, Google
and Amazon.
It’s something that every company worries
about—from the small business down
the street, to the largest and most successful
companies in the world. Sheryl Sandberg,
the COO of Facebook, once told Business
Insider, “What Mark worries about the most
is the lack of change, the lack of innovation,
becoming the innovator’s dilemma company
that gets big and stops moving and stops staying
ahead.”
JP Hamel, executive vice president at N2
Publishing may have said it best, “What
worked yesterday isn’t always going to work
tomorrow. As a company with our eyes set on
continued growth, as well as on improving
the franchise experience of our current team
members, we must keep innovating in order
to sustain and enable this growth.”
Innovation matters in that it could be what
separates the best, most viable companies
from the rest. For prospective franchisees,
gaining insight into the franchise brands
focused on innovation, and consequently
long-term relevancy, is an important step in
choosing the right franchise brand.
Over the last 18 months, we’ve surveyed
over 24,000 franchise owners, representing
more than 280 brands. We asked them how
creative and innovative they think their
corporate franchise team is, and if their leadership
has a clearly defined vision for where
16 | For more information on this report, visit: www.FranchiseBusinessReview.com