Global Franchise award winner interview: Mike Bidwell, Neighborly

Mike Bidwell, president and CEO of Neighborly, discusses the brand winning the Best Home & Property Maintenance Franchise Award for the second year running

Neighborly is the world’s largest franchisor of home-service brands, with more than 3,900 franchise owners spanning nine countries – the organization focuses on repairing, maintaining, and enhancing customers’ homes and businesses. Here, Mike talks to Global Franchise about the brand’s phenomenal growth.

GF: What does winning this award for the second year running mean to you?

MB: Receiving this award for the second consecutive year is a testament to how Neighborly’s growth has been a contributing factor to our continued success as we strive to be ‘the world-class leader in multi-branded service franchising’.

GF: What does it take to win this category?

MB: Neighborly’s organizational purpose is ‘to build a service community that enriches people’s lives by delivering amazing experiences’. This mantra extends beyond just how we serve our customers, but it also impacts how we collaborate with our franchise owners, investors, and associates. With this focus at the heart of our business, we’ve achieved the perfect balance of customer and franchisee satisfaction, which has ultimately resulted in Neighborly’s international success.

> “We’ve achieved the perfect balance of customer and franchisee satisfaction, which has ultimately resulted in Neighborly’s international success”

GF: How does Neighborly approach international franchising?

MB: The secret to international franchising is to:

(1) gain insights into a target market through research and other means of local resources;

(2) to test your product or service offering with operating pilots and other means for consumer acceptance and execution capabilities;

(3) have the patience and discipline to do (1) and (2) or do not pursue the endeavor.

GF: How has Neigborly evolved?

MB: Since 1981, Neighborly has been on a mission to ‘own the home’ by offering everything from painting to plumbing and nearly everything in between. This has led to multiple acquisitions, resulting today in what is a family of 24 franchise brands serving over nine million customers across 14 home service verticals. This family of brands is united via getneighborly.com, the company’s online platform designed to be a one-stop-shop for homeowners looking for professional providers to meet all their home service needs.

GF: What’s next for the brand?

MB: Over the last six years, we have worked aggressively to evolve the company into a position to execute on our bold ambition to become the one-stop-shop for all consumers’ home-service needs. As a result, we are two and a half times larger, have launched a new consumer-friendly brand in Neighborly, and changed the name of the company to Neighborly. Now, we quest to be so remarkable that we become a beloved household name.