Inside the Brand: Why Fastest Labs Is Putting Internal Communication First
Inside the Brand goes behind the scenes with franchise leaders to explore how they’re evolving their businesses, from new technology and operational strategies to smarter approaches to growth. Each month, we spotlight one brand and the lesson other franchisors can take from what they’re doing differently.
Franchise brands spend a lot of time thinking about how they communicate with customers. But before a message ever reaches the outside world, there is another audience that has to understand it first: the people inside the system.
That is the idea behind a recent shift at Fastest Labs.
The brand has overhauled its communication strategy with a heavier emphasis on internal communications, focusing on stronger alignment across both its corporate team and franchisees.
For CEO Matt Kunz, the goal is bigger than simply making sure information gets distributed.
“We need our team and franchisees at a higher level of enrollment so our messaging is not just heard, but felt by our customers,” Kunz said.
Moving From Communication to Buy-In
There is a difference between sending a message and creating genuine understanding around it.
For franchise systems, that distinction matters. A brand can develop clear positioning, strong marketing, and thoughtful customer messaging at the corporate level, but the customer ultimately experiences the brand through the people delivering it every day.
Fastest Labs’ renewed focus on internal communication reflects that reality.
The objective is not simply to give teams and franchisees more information. It is to create a stronger level of alignment around the message itself so the people representing the brand understand what it means and can carry it forward consistently.
Connecting the Inside of the Brand to the Customer Experience
Kunz’s point also highlights something that can be easy to overlook in franchise marketing: external messaging and internal alignment are closely connected.
Customers may encounter a brand through advertising, social media, or a website, but their perception of that brand continues to develop through every interaction that follows.
That makes the people inside the system an important part of delivering on the message customers were originally promised.
By putting more emphasis on internal communications, Fastest Labs is working to close the gap between what the brand says externally and how that message is experienced at the local level.
An Important Lesson for Growing Franchise Systems
As franchise systems grow, maintaining alignment can become more challenging.
There are more people communicating the brand, more local markets involved, and more opportunities for important messaging to lose clarity as it moves through the organization.
That makes internal communication more than an operational function. It becomes part of brand consistency.
For Fastest Labs, the recent overhaul is centered on creating deeper engagement with the message across the system so that franchisees and team members are not simply receiving corporate communications, but understanding the thinking behind them.
The Takeaway
Strong customer messaging starts inside the organization.
For franchisors, communicating a message externally is only one piece of the equation. The people responsible for delivering the brand experience also need to understand, believe in and consistently reinforce that message.
Fastest Labs’ approach is a reminder that sometimes the most important audience for your brand communication is the one already inside your system.
Want More Insights?
This conversation is just one example of what we share in Franchise Unfiltered, our monthly newsletter for franchisors who want real perspective on what’s changing, what’s working, and what actually matters in franchising right now, including:
Unfiltered perspectives from certified franchise experts embedded in franchise systems every day
Sharp insights and fresh perspective you won’t find anywhere else
No fluff. No vendor spin. Just practical insights you won’t find in press releases or panel soundbites
If you’re building, advising, or supporting franchise brands and want a sharper lens on where the industry is headed, subscribe to get Franchise Unfiltered straight to your inbox.