Technology Feature Articles

Technology Feature Articles

Franchise Sector Showcase

Informative Technology franchise articles to support business buyers, franchisees, and franchisors.

As highlighted in last quarter's Investment Insights column, most of us are not particularly suited to be wise investors. In fact, neuroscientists are increasingly proving what veteran investors and asset managers alike have long suspected: Individuals make a lot of not-so-rational choices when it comes to dealing with their money, investments and financial affairs.
  • Carol Clark
  • 3,140 Reads 1 Shares
"Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these courageous couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." That's a slogan most of us recognize when it comes to the mail. And while the U.S. Postal Service is functional, it offers limited services, restricted office hours, and is not exactly known for its efficiency of service. (It's not called "snail mail" for nothing!)
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 3,051 Reads 1 Shares
Financial experts agree it’s a good idea to help existing and future franchisees find the best financing methods to launch or expand a franchise. While you may not be able to offer franchisees a financing package, it makes good business sense to provide as much practical information as possible concerning where to apply for and successfully land business loans.
  • Joan Szabo
  • 3,784 Reads 24 Shares
Google can search the equivalent of a stack of paper 70 miles high and find any piece of information in that pile in less than half a second. And it's better information, more relevant information, than any other search engine. That's why people love it.
  • Jack Mackay
  • 2,949 Reads 1 Shares
Franchising is founded on the concept of replicating success at the unit level. But Mary Rogers is taking that premise one better: she's replicating success at the franchisor level.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 4,851 Reads 22 Shares
"Franchise development simply requires a solid process, it's really not rocket science." That's what Steve Olson, publisher of Franchise Update Media Group, said as he opened his presentation of this year's Mystery Shopper Survey results at the company's recent Franchise Development & Leadership Conference in Atlanta. It's true. A consistent system of quick response and lead qualification can separate the wheat from the chaff and ultimately lead to more sales, more quickly.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 3,545 Reads 13 Shares
Franchisors know the Internet is a valuable and necessary tool for generating leads. But for many, that's where the certainty ends - and the questions begin.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 3,840 Reads 10 Shares
Everyone's heard of mystery shopping. It's that practice where an unknown "customer" checks up on a business when they're not looking. Mystery shopping can uncover successful practices and, unfortunately, embarrassing deficiencies. But the good news is that the collected information can be used to help those operations and procedures that need improvement and correction. The data also can provide affirmation for those practices companies are performing well.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 4,165 Reads 4 Shares
The news is hardly surprising: another new domain name has been introduced. Yet this time, the news is different.
  • Lee Plave
  • 7,149 Reads 1,023 Shares
Where are franchise leads coming from? What’s the cost per lead? What recruitment tools work best? Those were just a few of the questions asked in Franchise Update Media Group’s 2007 Annual Lead Generation & Sales Survey, presented this past October 4 - 6 at the 8th Annual Franchise Development & Leadership Conference, held this year at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Atlanta.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 4,985 Reads 1 Shares
Mr. Rogers, of children's television fame, would have felt right at home at the Franchise UPDATE's 8th Annual Leadership & Development Conference--The Playbook: Winning Strategies for Franchise Success. No one would have raised an eyebrow at the close of the conference if they'd heard his reassuring voice in the hotel lobby singing those familiar words: "It's such a good feeling..."
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 3,629 Reads 1 Shares
American Family Care
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It's human nature to want to be recognized and appreciated. After all, those kinds of accolades help to determine how we feel about ourselves as well as our careers. It's certainly no different in the franchising world. Franchisees want to know that they're more than just another cog on the wheel. They want to feel valued. When they feel like they play an active role in the decisions affecting their business, they're going to work harder. When they work harder, they're generally going to be more successful. And, of course, more successful franchisees mean a more successful franchise organization. So say the franchise executives who are really tuned in to their franchisees.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 3,732 Reads 18 Shares
Outsourcing has become an accepted method for companies to solve staffing needs. It's a strategy that allows firms to benefit from specific expertise--without the accompanying expense. Mostly, it's been applied to functions like HR, accounting, and payroll. Today, franchisors can outsource their franchise development.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 3,708 Reads 7 Shares
The human voice has remained notoriously difficult to capture and convert accurately into text using computers. However, superb programs exist today that, in their ninth and tenth iterations, are finally pretty accurate at transcribing your dictation - once they have been properly trained.
  • Ripley Hotch
  • 3,194 Reads 2 Shares
During the last few years, franchising has experienced an impressive growth in Spain, from 634 franchise systems in 2002 to almost 900 in January 2006, with over 54,000 franchised outlets now open. Accordingly, having access to accurate and relevant information regarding franchisors is very important for a growing number of prospective franchisees, consumers and future franchisors.
  • Laura Montoya Teran
  • 7,622 Reads 290 Shares
Computer technology seems to follow a fairly regular path: first, it automates operations, gaining some time and savings for large operations. Then it becomes cheaper, widespread, and more capable of handling routine tasks. Then it begins to change business functions themselves by enabling tasks that could never be performed before.
  • Ripley Hotch
  • 3,632 Reads 1,014 Shares
I have written often on the subject of the complexity of franchise agreements, and the clear trend over the past four decades to make them even longer and more complex. Why has this trend developed?
  • Rupert M. Barkoff
  • 4,658 Reads 24 Shares
Most small businesses, including franchises, are usually so busy concentrating on running their businesses that they don't realize the toll it is taking on their technology and environment. With limited staff and hours in the day, these businesses tend to grow organically without a specific design or technology plan. Yet these play an important role in how productive a business can be.
  • Jack Hamlett
  • 3,335 Reads 1 Shares
MaggieMoo's began in 1989 in Kansas City but didn't start franchising until 1996, when the company was purchased by its current ownership. Since then it's been steadily uphill for both franchisor and ice cream lovers alike. Today the brand has 190 units and continues its rapid expansion.
  • 4,781 Reads 135 Shares
National franchise operations have marketed in the same ways for years and years. That is, the national budgets were applied to brand building and the local franchisees were charged with creating local lead flow.
  • John Federman
  • 3,160 Reads 6 Shares
Wouldn't it be great if you could call a home repair service, book an appointment, and be guaranteed they'd show up on time (and not within a four-hour window!), be courteous and respectful, and perform a reliable, professional job?
  • 3,522 Reads 11 Shares
Movita Juice Bar
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The surest way to lose a good employee is to leave him or her up in the air about what the job is and how to do it.
  • Ripley Hotch
  • 4,192 Reads 3 Shares
Manuel Solorzano was frustrated with his drivers and their excuses. The owner of six Martinizing Dry Cleaning stores in Tampa, Fla. would call his drivers on their cell phones during the day and never know whether he would reach them or not.
  • Linda C. Ray
  • 3,542 Reads
The use of outsourcing continues to expand within the franchise industry. In addition to information technology outsourcing, service providers are being called upon to perform a number of business processes including accounting, call center operations, disaster recovery, human resources management, and sales training.
  • Milton B. Whitfield
  • 3,563 Reads 6 Shares
Web-based Performance Dashboards give you the power to analyze information about the performance of your business and the key activities you manage. As the name dashboard suggests, these are web-based tools that continuously display the current state of your key business metrics. And among the most vital signs of your business health are customer satisfaction scores and customer loyalty trends.
  • Jack Mackey
  • 8,391 Reads 144 Shares
For a multi-unit franchisee, the relationship with a customer doesn't end with the sale. Each purchase of an item or use of your service is a single transaction between an individual customer and an individual employee. Whether it is a quick meal at a sub shop or a thorough home cleaning, this transaction should be the beginning of a long-term relationship with your customer. After the transaction, the relationship must be grounded in not only the quality of the product or service, but also in the strength of your response to customer needs. How do you gauge and evaluate your quality of product, service and response beyond the price tag?
  • Thomas J. Winninger
  • 3,464 Reads 16 Shares
The franchise industry's shift from the paper to the electronic age has been slow and steady, with the lion's share of today's franchise organizations now operating their systems much like the rest of modern civilization: in real-time.
  • Dan Martin
  • 3,454 Reads 1,023 Shares
Successful franchise selling must employ 1) an effective and qualifying process; 2) strong relationship-building with candidates; and 3) a compelling system for closing the deal. These three triggers are universal within any franchise recruitment program.
  • Steve Olson
  • 4,568 Reads 5 Shares
When Linda Burzynski was offered the CEO slot at Liberty Fitness, the franchising veteran says she hesitated, in part because she didn't feel she was in the best shape, physically, to head up a health and fitness organization.
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 5,493 Reads 23 Shares
Once there were day spas, places for women (and a few brave men) to spend time being pampered and rejuvenated with lotions, potions, and massages. Today there are medical spas, or MedSpas, which take all the comfort and care of day spas and add the latest in medical technology. MedSpas provide services in comfortable retail settings, services once confined to medical settings and performed by dermatologists and plastic surgeons.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 6,264 Reads 448 Shares
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