---
title: "Multi-Unit Real Estate & Site Selection Advice - Check the Data"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/30434384-f9a3-47bf-9774-54ee16e1131a
source: "Franchising.com"
original_url: https://www.franchising.com/articles/multiunit_real_estate__site_selection_advice__check_the_data.html
author: "Multi-Unit Franchisee"
category: "Real estate"
industry: "Business Services"
segment: "Real estate"
topics: ["Development & multi-unit","Operations"]
published: 2019-06-11T09:00:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T04:10:06.111Z
image: https://imgs.franchising.com/art/articles/4600_plate.jpg
---

# Multi-Unit Real Estate & Site Selection Advice - Check the Data

**TL;DR:** Multi-unit franchise operators share insights on site selection and real estate challenges, highlighting the importance of understanding the target customer and their behavior. Jesse Keyser, a 31-unit franchisee owner, uses software from customer analytics company Buxton to identify primary, secondary, and tertiary markets for his franchise holdings.

*By Multi-Unit Franchisee, originally published in Franchising.com on 2019-06-11. [Read the original](https://www.franchising.com/articles/multiunit_real_estate__site_selection_advice__check_the_data.html).*

## Story

Earlier this year, contributing writer Sara Wykes interviewed several multi-unit franchise operators about how they handle site selection and real estate challenges in today's market. She spoke with a number of operators who talked about finding that perfect franchise location, one that augments the odds of success and reduces the risk of failure. Here are some insights culled from her interviews: Where Do You Start?

"The first thing to know is what type of customer is most likely to be your customer," says Jesse Keyser, a 31-unit franchisee owner named 2013 Sport Clips Owner of the Year and 2018 Oxi Fresh Carpet Cleaning Owner of the Year. "Then, where are they and when are they there?" Keyser uses software from customer analytics company Buxton to identify primary, secondary, and tertiary markets for his franchise holdings.

That has told him enough to justify a particular focus for half of his locations. "I like some of the tertiary markets, the smaller rural markets. Even though population density is not so much, you don't have multiples.

You can get people coming and going from work. Rent is exponentially cheaper and the labor force easier to hire," he says. The one challenge of a rural market, however, is the need to be a better operator.

"If you open up and you have a bad reputation, you're not going to live it down. Because your locations aren't stacked on top of each other, you will probably spend less time at each location, so you'll have to manage with less face to face time."

## Entities

- Franchising.com (publication)
- Business Services (sector)
- Multi-Unit Franchisee (person)
- multi-unit operators (topic)
- site selection (topic)
- Oxi Fresh Carpet Cleaning (company)
- Jesse Keyser (person)
- Contributing Writer (person)
- real estate challenges (topic)
- rural markets (topic)
- customer analytics (topic)

---
Originally reported by Multi-Unit Franchisee, Franchising.com (https://www.franchising.com/articles/multiunit_real_estate__site_selection_advice__check_the_data.html). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/30434384-f9a3-47bf-9774-54ee16e1131a).