The Advisory Board | Expert Franchising Advice for Franchise Leaders

About The Advisory Board | Expert Franchising Advice for Franchise Leaders

Every franchise needs expert advice. So, we're bringing the business strategy, marketing, sales, and franchise growth experts to you. Join franchising gurus to learn best practices in FranDev, franchise software, franchise marketing, franchise operations, and even motivation and franchisee relationship management. We'll deliver actionable, valuable insights each podcast from true experts in franchising that are really doing what they talk about, rather than just talking about it. It's a subtle but important difference that you'll feel when you tune in. This is a no chest-beating podcast as well. There are plenty of those available. We focus on what we know will help emerging, growing and even well-established franchise systems take the next step toward franchising nirvana. We'll publish a new episode every 10 days, and episodes should last between 25 and 40 minutes. Thank you to our sponsor ClientTether, the top Franchise CRM - www.clienttether.com Enjoy!

Publisher

Dave Hansen

Category

business · business · technology

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

5 May 2020

Latest episode

15 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

179 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   15 Oct 2026

   5 Marketing Mistakes Your Franchise Brand Is Making Today | What to Fix Before They Get Expensive

   A marketing program can look great at headquarters and still fall apart in the field. A brand fund can report strong immediate returns while leaving long-term brand building underfunded. What should franchise leaders do differently? On The Franchise Advisory Board, ClientTether CEO, Dave Hansen sits down with Katherine LeBlanc, Fractional CMO and founder of Apollo CMO, to examine five costly franchise marketing mistakes: setting the wrong expectations for brand funds, disconnecting marketing from operations, allowing exceptions to brand standards, depending too heavily on digital, and overwhelming franchisees with communication. Katherine brings 20 years of marketing experience, including 13 inside franchise systems. Her background spans brand strategy, pricing, promotions, loyalty, digital media, creative, and customer experience across brands ranging from single-unit startups to 800-location systems. She makes the case for using brand funds to support shared resources and long-term brand equity, while allowing local marketing dollars to focus on transactional activity. Drawing on her experience with funds concentrated in print drops or Google advertising, she explains why a measurable return alone does not tell the whole story.Katherine also shares a promotion that went wrong when a new POS system did not process a product as expected. That experience led her team to test promotions in a corporate location before rollout. It illustrates her broader point: operations teams should help shape marketing initiatives early, then help drive adoption in the field. Dave adds his experience as a franchise owner, describing how showing up at events and building relationships with his target customers proved more effective for his business than digital spending. Throughout the episode, listeners will learn: Why Katherine separates the role of brand funds from local transactional marketing How twice-yearly brand fund reviews can clarify spending and expectations Why marketing committees need a clear purpose and participation terms How to prepare committee members to explain decisions and receive peer feedback What a weekly marketing and field operations call should accomplish How field testing can catch execution problems before a systemwide launch Why exceptions to brand standards can slow marketing execution as a system grows How local trust and word of mouth can support digital performance Why podcasts and content franchisees can access on their own time offer another communication channel Thank you to our sponsor, ClientTether, the top-rated FranDev and service franchise CRM, recognized as a top technology supplier in franchising by Entrepreneur Magazine. This conversation is for franchisors, marketing leaders, operations teams, and field coaches who want clearer expectations, stronger collaboration, and marketing programs franchisees can put into practice. Thanks for listening to the Franchise Advisory Board Podcast, where we explore the ideas, strategies, and people shaping the future of franchising. If you found today’s episode valuable, please subscribe, rate, and share it with a fellow franchise leader. To learn more, connect with us on LinkedIn and Youtube. Until next time, stay curious, stay strategic, and keep building stronger franchise systems!

2. 

   6 Oct 2026

   How to Build a Strong Franchise Culture | Mission, Accountability, and the Right People

   ClientTether CEO Dave Hansen interviews LearningRx CEO Kim Hanson about building a strong franchise culture through mission, accountability, and strategic franchisee selection.

3. 

   30 Sept 2026

   Franchisees Don't Want Another Boss | How to Lead Independent Owners Well

   Host Dave Hansen interviews Jason Sant, Owner and CEO of Team Up Athletics, about leading independent franchise owners by fostering communication and leveraging technology.

Who has been a guest on The Advisory Board | Expert Franchising Advice for Franchise Leaders

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Kim Hanson
• Jason Sant
• Ty McBride
• Jimmy Speyer
• DeNita Carani

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 62 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

96

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

68

Contact The Advisory Board | Expert Franchising Advice for Franchise Leaders

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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