By Bill McPherson
No matter what industry you work in, chances are you’ve heard how artificial intelligence (AI) or some new innovative technology is revolutionizing a process or service within your business sector.
While many of its attributes are still promises for the future, AI is certainly infiltrating individual industries across the board. The franchising industry is no different.
Whether your franchise organization is an early adopter or filled with skeptical users, there are some applications that can unlock the right data to help your franchisees get a leg up on the competition. In the near future, franchisors will use AI to personalize their marketing strategies and train their franchisees, while franchise owners will adopt it to improve the customer experience and target potential new customers.
Tech for the Franchisor
The use of technology is nothing new in the world of franchising. As a result of earlier technologies like franchise management software or customer relationship management (CRM) platforms, most franchisors have so much data, they are often at a loss about how to use it to their advantage.
But soon franchisors will be able to use this data to improve their relationships with their franchisees, create marketing strategies, improve customer experiences, and more.
Imagine being able to determine the characteristics of your most successful franchise owners to build a better candidate profile. Or maybe you want to be able to perfectly target the places where these candidates reside. This will not only result in a higher conversion rate of new franchise owners, but it will also likely provide a better “franchise fit” to your business model.
As AI is “learning” how to sort data to maximize a franchisor’s target candidates, it is already useful in helping you give your marketing a personalized touch. AI can help you identify trends and segment customers, so you can develop an overall marketing campaign at the brand level. AI can then be used to help your franchisees tailor these campaigns to target local audiences.
Technology is also useful in your ongoing franchisee training. AI-powered training helps franchisors develop customized training programs based on a franchisee’s experience level. It can help you identify which franchisees need more training and can build personalized courses that keep your franchisees educated.
Finally, it can help you create standard operating procedures that can be tailored to individual franchise locations and owners. Building processes is how most franchisors ensure that their services are accurately replicated throughout their franchise network, but if there are slight changes that should be applied in various parts of the country, for example, AI can help franchisors make those adjustments with data-driven intelligence.
Tech for the Franchisee
Technology can also help your franchise owners from soup to nuts.
There are already AI platforms that help entrepreneurs discover what franchise is right for them by answering a few simple questions. If a franchisee starts out at a company that suits their needs, abilities and financial level, they have conquered the first major step in choosing the “right” business for them.
Additionally, technology helps franchise owners juggle the myriad of tasks they always have on their plates. For example, AI can help them support their human resources and accounting departments by managing the little things that bog those departments down.
It can also help with the big-picture strategy and initiatives. Using new technology to help your franchisees with market research and customer analysis makes it easier for them to understand the specific needs of their community.
eCommerce and the Human Touch
Staying up to date with emerging technology allows your franchise business to grow more quickly.
For example, the use of Chatbots and intelligent virtual assistants are already widely used in business today. But as AI and machine learning (ML) develop, franchisors will begin to use these tools to improve the customer experience.
New technology is already providing customers with personalized recommendations and user-focused content, but it can also help your franchisees provide their clients with a more informed human touch. If your franchisees understand their customers’ unique needs and how the brand can cater to these needs, your franchise will be able to deliver a customer experience that differentiates you from your competitors.
Since consistency and operational efficiency are key in a franchising network, having automated business processes helps your franchise owners serve their clients based on the processes that made the franchise model successful to begin with.
AI’s data-driven insight also helps franchisors make more informed decisions. In the past, a franchisor might have had to rely on their subjective instincts and experience to understand trends or manage change. But with AI, franchisors now also have the objective data to help them make the best choices.
Franchisors should consider all the benefits and challenges for their particular business model. AI is not a substitute for humans. While it can be used to free up time by automating tasks, it should be used as a supplement to talent, expertise and experience.
Automation still needs human interaction to be accurate and efficient. AI also lacks the emotional intelligence that any business that serves the public needs. Freeing up your franchise owners and their employees allows them to use the soft skills and reasoning abilities that make up a superior customer experience.
If your franchise is considering adding AI to your tech stack, don’t be afraid to be bold; remember that AI, new technology and automation are tools to be used to help your human team members better perform their jobs, not replace them.
Bill McPherson is the vice president of retail network development for AlphaGraphics, a leading franchisor of printing and marketing solutions, and PostNet, a global leader in high-quality printing and shipping solutions. With more than 28 years of franchise leadership, he has led franchise development and real estate for B2B, B2C, retail, and in-home senior care concepts.
For more information, visit https://www.alphagraphics.com/.
About MBE Worldwide
MBE Worldwide S.p.A. (“MBE”), a privately-owned company with its headquarters in Italy, is a Global Commerce enabler for SMBs and consumers thanks to its platform providing e-commerce, fulfillment, shipping, marketing and print solutions via multi-brand operations: PrestaShop, Mail Boxes Etc. (except the U.S. and Canada), PostNet, PACK & SEND, Spedingo.com, AlphaGraphics, Multicopy, World Options UK and Print Speak. The combination of our retail platform – that currently counts 3,190+ service centers in 58 Countries with more than 12,000 associates – our PrestaShop ecommerce platform served almost one million business customers in FY 2023 €1.4 bln (US$1.5 bln) of System-wide Gross Revenue and €22 bln (US$23.8 bln) of e-commerce Gross Merchandise Value.
For additional information please visit MBE Worldwide Group websites at: www.mbecorporate.com – www.prestashop.com/en – www.mbeglobal.com – www.postnet.com – www.packsend.com.au – www.packsend.co.uk – www.spedingo.com/en – www.alphagraphics.com – www.multicopy.nl – www.printspeak.com – www.mbe.it – www.mbe.es – www.mbe.de – www.mbefrance.fr – www.mbe.pl – www.mbe.pt – www.mbe.co.uk – www.gelproximity.com/en – www.worldoptions.com