How to Build a Strong Corporate Brand with Michael Hyam of Franchise Assembly

What Are the Secret Strategies for Growing a Franchise into a Strong Corporate Brand?

On a recent episode of the Business Growth Show, host Ford Saeks sat down with Michael Hyam, CEO of Franchise Assembly, to discuss that question. Franchise Assembly is focused on continuing education for franchise development, providing tactical training through conferences and events to help franchise brands accelerate growth.

Their inaugural conference, Let’s Grow, covers 30 educational classes over 2.5 days on topics ranging from sales tactics and legal issues to construction, marketing, and technology. As Hyam points out, “If you’re not continuing upgrading your education, you’re not going to get there.”

How to Build a Strong Corporate Brand:

• Optimize for Local Search Traffic – Franchises live and die on foot traffic to locations. Optimizing for local SEO helps franchisees rank higher in search results for their geographic area. Providing localization training and tools is key for brands.
• Leverage Paid Search Campaigns – Paid search done right can deliver highly targeted website leads on demand, helping franchises identify and vet quality candidates looking to open new locations. Align campaigns with your expansion strategy.
• Build Online Reputation – In the digital era, franchise brands can no longer ignore online reviews and reputation management. Monitor and continue improving feedback on sites like Google, Facebook and Yelp, which influence buying decisions.
• Offer Ongoing Education – As Hyam emphasized, brands must commit to continuously educating executives and franchisees as a competitive advantage. Events like Let’s Grow help condense years of knowledge into just days.
• Structure Your Growth – Rapid, uncontrolled growth will cripple franchise brands, over-extending operational support and destroying culture. Smart infrastructure and processes must precede expansion efforts.

The franchise industry provides huge opportunities, but scaling a nationally dominant brand requires a strategic focus across many fronts – something educational conferences are uniquely positioned to address. However, simply attending a conference is not enough.

Franchise brands need to apply learnings, tools, and connections gained at events like Let’s Grow into concrete action to fuel sustainable growth after returning home. This means integrating insights into operations, launching new initiatives with accountability, and tracking results to quantify impact over time. Without application, conferences deliver little ROI. Industry events serve as springboards for growth, not solutions in themselves. Franchise brands unwilling to continue upgrading their education through conferences and the hard work beyond them will get left behind.

For more expert advice in business, sales, marketing, life, and everything in-between, tune in to future episodes of Fordify LIVE! every Wednesday at 11AM Central on your favorite social media platform, or you can listen to new episodes of The Business Growth Show Podcast every Thursday on the podcast network of your choice.

Michael Hyam has a background that includes computer science, networking and system analysis. An established expert in the field of franchise lead generation. With over 20+ years of sales experience, he assists franchisors market their brand to the public.

Most recently he has assisted over 1000 franchise brands with their business development through operating a franchise trade show circuit, successfully producing hundreds of franchise expos across North America.

Find him at LetsGrow.FranchiseAssembly.com