FASTSIGNS - Case Study
FASTSIGNS International Inc is a global leader in the franchised signs, graphics, and visual communications sector. We launched in Dallas, Texas, in 1985. In 1995, we reached the UK. For over 30 years, we have operated a proven, B2B management franchise model, providing comprehensive solutions to help businesses attract attention, communicate their message and extend their branding.
We provide end-to-end visual communication solutions, including interior décor graphics, digital signage, banners, building signs and vehicle graphics. Our business model focuses on a diverse B2B customer base, across multiple sectors, ensuring a resilient and high-demand service offering.
The FASTSIGNS UK has 23 centres operating across the UK, with over 800 centres in operation across nine countries globally.
What value do you get from running the survey?
We find there is great value in running the survey as a primary research project. The confidential, independent and honest insight, directly from our network, is invaluable! Running the WorkBuzz survey allows us to validate our model. Everything our UK support team delivers ladders up to one of our four key strategic objectives. The responses to the survey provide an objective assessment of how well our franchise offering, business model, initial training and ongoing support are being received by the people who matter most—our franchisees.
Once we get the results, we sit down as a leadership team to assess the outcomes. The confidential nature of the survey ensures we receive an accurate picture of franchisee sentiment on critical factors such as support, culture and relationships. This feedback underpins the consistent effort and support we provide daily. We identify our strengths and weaknesses, using the information provided to continually refine our service to our network.
Was there a particular area you wanted to improve?
Our leadership team has several strategic objectives, but a core focus directly linked to the survey is improving franchisee satisfaction. We view satisfaction as the foundation for the success of the entire network. Our goal is to ensure that every franchisee feels supported and empowered to grow a profitable business.
This focus on satisfaction directly ties into our broader goals:
- Increasing average centre volume.
- Enhancing franchisee profitability.
- Strengthening the FASTSIGNS brand.
Undertaking the survey on an annual basis to measure satisfaction helps us to ensure that, alongside our other KPI’s, we are helping our franchisees build businesses that facilitate their lives and their satisfaction is of paramount importance.
How do you use the reports? How did this influence the plans they had in place as a franchisor?
We utilise the details in the WorkBuzz reports as a strategic planning tool for the coming year.
The report informs our strategy. The feedback allows us to turn qualitative sentiment into quantitative data, which is essential for refining our business strategy. For example, if a specific support area (e.g., technical training or local marketing assistance) scores lower, we immediately review our resources to enhance or restructure that particular programme, to help it meet our franchisees’ needs.
The report has often highlighted the importance of peer-to-peer collaboration, leading us to enhance initiatives like our monthly ‘Power Hour’ sessions and tiered-level board groups, which facilitate meaningful exchanges and drive continuous improvement across the network.
We’ve even taken the concept of the survey and created an in-house version, which we use to connect with our centre team members. The results of our internal survey formed a section on our annual convention agenda, to help our franchisees understand where they can improve their support to their teams!
How do you use the 5*award?
Since 2021, we’ve received the The 5-Star Franchise Satisfaction rating for five consecutive years! We use this award as a critical external validation tool that we use in three key ways:
- Recruitment and Trust: It serves as independent, third-party proof of the quality of our franchise opportunity. For prospective franchisees, seeing a 5-star rating based on confidential network feedback, provides immense confidence and trust that our promises of support are being delivered.
- Network Pride: The award is celebrated within our network as an acknowledgement of the strong, positive culture we’ve built together. It reinforces that the franchisor and franchisees are working towards collective achievement.
- Marketing and Branding: It differentiates us in the highly competitive franchise market. Being recognised as one of the UK’s best (e.g., as a finalist for the ‘Best Management’ Franchise Award multiple times) confirms the effectiveness of our support model to the wider industry.
% increases / decreases for KPIs, preferably linked back to their original problem
Franchisee Satisfaction: We have maintained the 5-Star Franchise Satisfaction rating for multiple consecutive years, demonstrating consistent excellence in the core area we sought to improve.
Network Growth & Profitability: This consistent satisfaction is a key driver of retention and recruitment. Our strategic focus on enhancing franchisee profitability has enabled our network to grow, with top centres achieving sales in excess of £1 million and our overall network expanding its reach across the UK.
Industry Recognition: Our continuous improvement efforts, informed by the survey, have resulted in us achieving Finalist status for various categories in the Best Franchise Awards numerous times, which is a key industry KPI for operational excellence.
“We wholeheartedly recommend WorkBuzz to any franchisor committed to excellence.
WorkBuzz provides an invaluable service: confidential, third-party validation, that is both independent and rigorous.
For us, the survey is more than an award—it’s a powerful internal tool that underpins our strategy and validates the immense effort we put into franchisee support, every day. If you want to know how your network really feels, and have a credible, objective metric to show prospective franchisees the quality of your support, WorkBuzz is essential.”