Franchising Can Help Businesses Adapt to Changing Technology and Remain Competitive

Technology has become central to businesses spanning virtually every industry, and what’s more, that technology is constantly changing. To name just one example, consider the outsized role of artificial intelligence (AI), something few businesses were investing in even five years ago. Today, it’s operationally imperative for companies far and wide.

While advances in technology can help businesses run more smoothly and efficiently, helping employees to be more productive while creating a frictionless experience for the consumer, there are often some hurdles to overcome first. For business owners who are busy enough with day-to-day operations, keeping up with the rapid progression of technology can feel overwhelming.

This is an area where the franchising model can provide a tremendous advantage, removing many of the impediments to effective tech adoption. In fact, working with a franchise is one of the best ways for business owners to remain current with industry-specific tech, all while minimizing the time, money, and other resource investments needed to put robust technology into place.

How franchising streamlines the tech adoption process

It’s understandable why many business owners find tech deployment to be daunting. With so many competing technologies to choose from and with its constant, fast-paced progression, it can be difficult knowing where to begin. Meanwhile, configuring technology to address specific business needs and then training team members to use it effectively takes time from other important tasks, not least of which is serving customers.

Enter franchising. Franchisors do most of the initial work to coordinate smart tech investments for the entire system. This includes not only researching different solutions but testing them and even producing data to prove to franchise owners that adopting this tech can have a meaningful impact. In short, franchising prevents business owners from having to figure out everything on their own.

Of course, identifying and vetting new technology is only one of the hurdles that business owners face. Another is ensuring their employees feel empowered, not intimidated, by the thought of learning new systems. Here again, franchising can help owners save time and minimize heartache, ensuring that technology is included in onboarding processes and rolling out training resources for any new solutions that are adopted.

Franchising helps business owners save time on their tech rollout, but it also helps them save money. Testing and scaling new technology can be expensive, and it may not yield an immediate return on investment. Franchisors absorb the initial costs associated with tech implementation while sparing local owners from the inefficiency that comes from testing multiple products. While different franchise systems have different policies, most will charge franchise owners a simple licensing or tech fee to leverage the system’s tech stack. This may be a small fraction of what it would cost to develop a tech stack from scratch.

Ultimately, the goal of any franchise system is to provide local owners with the technological tools required to operate efficiently and to ensure the best possible experience for their customers. This is something that franchisors in the packout and contents restoration field have down to a science: Advanced inventory technology not only makes it possible to quickly organize hundreds of photos of customer assets but also to ensure those images are backed up to the insurance adjuster. This provides homeowners with greater peace of mind that their valuables are being well cared for, and it provides insurers with the information they need to ensure expediency in claims adjustment.

Assessing technological advantage: Key questions for franchisors

How can aspiring entrepreneurs verify that a franchisor will provide them with a meaningful tech advantage, helping them stay abreast of important innovations within their field without adding to operational headaches or hassle?

There are a few questions to ask any franchisor about their investments in technology. A good starting point is to inquire about what technologies they currently offer their franchise owners and why. This last part is critical. Franchisors should be able to articulate how their tech stack helps owners work more thoughtfully and efficiently, and ultimately to serve their customers better. Owners don’t need a franchise system that’s spending money on tech just for the sake of having tech, without some broader sense of strategy and purpose.

Another question to ask is what technology the franchisor is looking at and testing right now? If they cannot answer that question, it means they’re not testing, plain and simple.

Asking for specifics is important because it reveals the thought process behind a franchisor’s tech investments and can help aspiring owners determine whether a system can really help them operate more competitively.

Stefan Figley is president of 1-800-Packouts, a leader in the contents and personal property restoration franchise industry and part of the Five Star Franchising platform of home service brands.