Leaders are needed the most during the most trying times. Discover your greater purpose as a leader in Erik Therwanger's opening keynote presentation and unlock your potential, inspiring your team to set and accomplish important goals during challenging circumstances.

With an emphasis on creating an empowering culture, leaders will learn new ways to encourage their team members, achieve exponential growth, and experience unparalleled results. Today’s leaders will unleash the leadership potential in their teams!

• Learn strategies to unify all leaders
• Understand how to raise the leadership bar
• Discover new ways to communicate empoweringly
• Set and accomplish goals, no matter what circumstances you face

Many factors can lead to an erosion of trust between a franchise brand and its customers. Whether it’s what’s being said in the media or online, losing a customer’s trust is often part of doing business in our increasingly digital and fast-paced world. 

Here, we’ll take a look at how franchisees can identify trust erosion sources and equip themselves with the best practices needed to address them. They’ll learn how to win back customers and cultivate new business. Taking a comprehensive look at data on current consumer trends, we’ll examine how franchisees can prepare for the future with a “we’re here and we’re strong!” mindset to address customer concerns. 

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As the economy continues to shift as a result of COVID-19, the Canadian Franchise Association continues to work with the government and our members to find solutions to the serious challenges facing franchised businesses across Canada. 

In this session, we’ll take a comprehensive look at the basic financial assistance programs offered to businesses by the Government; walking you through eligibility and how to access these programs. This session will touch on the federal programs that have helped businesses get through COVID-19 along with programs that will help the economic recovery, tackling topics such as wage subsidies, Government loans, bank lending programs, and more. Join this session to learn about updates on these programs as well as other support mechanisms in place available for business owners.

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It is not surprising that the COVID-19 pandemic has Canadians spending more time online. According to Statistics Canada, just over 4 in 10 respondents to a survey indicated that they are spending more time on social media and messaging services since the onset of the pandemic. 

As millions of Canadians work from home for the first time and practice social distancing, Canadians are spending an unprecedented amount of time on their computers and mobile devices. This session will aid franchisees in the shift to digital marketing to zero in on this growing demographic of online-savvy consumers. This session will examine what digital marketing platforms are finding success from an ROI perspective, what messaging works on a particular marketing channel, and other tips and tricks to implement successful local marketing campaigns. 

Sponsored by:

Many factors can lead to an erosion of trust between a franchise brand and its customers. Whether it’s what’s being said in the media or online, losing a customer’s trust is often part of doing business in our increasingly digital and fast-paced world. 

Here, we’ll take a look at how franchisees can identify trust erosion sources and equip themselves with the best practices needed to address them. They’ll learn how to win back customers and cultivate new business. Taking a comprehensive look at data on current consumer trends, we’ll examine how franchisees can prepare for the future with a “we’re here and we’re strong!” mindset to address customer concerns. 

Sponsored by:

Led by franchisees with successful CFA Member brands, this engaging franchisee success panel will give attendees valuable insight into how franchised businesses have successfully pivoted their operations in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Here, franchisees share the two biggest shifts they’ve made to their business over the last 12 months to bring customers through the door in the face of lockdowns and stay-at-home orders throughout the country. They’ll share the tips and tricks they’ve used to weather the COVID-19 storm and how businesses should adapt to meet customer needs now, and in the future as we enter the “new normal.” 

Sponsored by:

It is not surprising that the COVID-19 pandemic has Canadians spending more time online. According to Statistics Canada, just over 4 in 10 respondents to a survey indicated that they are spending more time on social media and messaging services since the onset of the pandemic. 

As millions of Canadians work from home for the first time and practice social distancing, Canadians are spending an unprecedented amount of time on their computers and mobile devices. This session will aid franchisees in the shift to digital marketing to zero in on this growing demographic of online-savvy consumers. This session will examine what digital marketing platforms are finding success from an ROI perspective, what messaging works on a particular marketing channel, and other tips and tricks to implement successful local marketing campaigns. 

Sponsored by:

As COVID-19 vaccines roll out across the country, Canadians look ahead to a brighter future for both franchising and the economy as a whole in 2021. While vaccines are administered, we inch closer and closer to what will become our “new normal.”

In this Closing keynote session, Ken Otto, CEO of Redberry Restaurants (one of the largest QSR franchisees in North America), shares his thoughts on what’s to come in the future, examining the mindset of consumers in a post-pandemic world and how you can tap into this new breed of customer. He’ll address such questions as what will drive customer decisions post-pandemic, and how franchises can pivot their operations accordingly.