Fight for Your Franchise Challenge, Week 10: Technology Tools That Make Your Company More Profitable and Easier to Run Business-tech tips from your 'Franchise Bible' coach.
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The Fight for Your Franchise Challenge focus this week is technology and tools that make your business more profitable and easier to run. Technology is now a big part of every business, and it is important to make sure you're implementing the most efficient and cost-effective options.
The Franchise Bible Coach Technology Rule: As I often tell my clients, technolgies should be implemented into a business model only if it makes the humans more efficient and more profitable.
Caution! Avoid the technology black hole. Even though virtually every business now has technology elements, you should be very cautious when you consider a technology project.
I have seen franchisors and franchisees that have spent a tremendous amount of time and money on technologies that do not heed the above advice. Some of them spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on developers for custom work, only to have it not work right or eventually become obsolete.
In every case, the business owner had good intentions and a vision to use the technology to improve their business in some way. One of the expensive issues with custom software development is "scope creep." This is the very real temptation to keep adding new "bells and whistles" to the platform. Due to the fact that custom software development is relatively limitless as long as you have the time and budget, it's easy to over-build the platform instead of staying within the scope of its original needs.
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Here are some of our Franchise Bible Coach technology tips that you can implement so you and your users are more efficient and profitable:
Develop a comprehensive technology plan. Having plans for all five departments of your business allows you to stay focused and strive for the "Zenith Level," which will make your business function at its highest and most powerful capacity. Make sure to include your departmental goals and KPIs so you can measure your progress.
Commit to being a "technology enabled" business. Strive to go beyond "technology friendly" and create a "technology enabled" business model that makes the operations and customer experience easier and more efficient.
Evaluate third-party technology platforms. There are many technology platforms that can be plugged in to your business on a subscription basis. This option is far less expensive since the programming has been taken care of by the original developers.
Survey your users and track and tweak. Getting feedback from the people that actually use your technology systems will allow you to adjust and improve your systems. This also gets them involved in the project so they feel a deeper level of participation.
Evaluate your technology plan and budget on a regular basis. Reflect on your goals and KPIs to measure progress since the last meeting. Also make sure that you stay focused on your budget and avoid "scope creep."
This week on our Franchise Bible Coach Radio Podcast With Rick and Rob, our guest was Mayumi Young, Founder and CEO of CPA MOMS. Mayumi shared her technology tips and strategies that have enabled CPA MOMS to develop a strong franchise business model that allows its owners to work remote from any location. You can listen to the entire podcast by joining the fight to receive your free weekly emails. Sign up now at www.franchisebiblecoach.com.
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The Fight for Your Franchise Challenge coaching videos are now hosted on Entrepreneur.com, and you can subscribe for free. This gives you access to our content, as well as other great resources offered by Entrepreneur. Click here to set up your free account. Older sessions are available on the Franchise Bible Coach website (www.franchisebiblecoach.com) under the "Weekly Content" tab.
This week, take the time to evaluate your current technologies and see if they pass the Franchise Bible Coach technology rule test to make your business more efficient and more profitable. And remember to keep fighting the good fight!
