Franchise Update Magazine Issue II, 2017 | Page 48

CHOOSING TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS
Ali Rauch
process, but it’s worth it.”
The results of that winnowing pro-
cess have been very satisfying. “When
we selected Reputation.com to manage
all of our listings and reviews, one decid-
ing factor was the mobile app they have
that allows every one of us to receive and
respond to reviews and social comments
from one consolidated place—and where
our owners and managers need to access
it—on their phones,” says Rauch. “It has
made life easier and fulfilled our need.”
she recalls. That level of specificity and
interaction between vendor and client at
each phase sometimes meant the vendor
would catch something she didn’t think
about. “That helped us end up with a final
scope of work that is pretty complete.”
She also viewed the new platform as a
work in progress. A year-one evaluation
showed some areas for improvement.
“Year two, we went back to the system
and really tricked it out and took the
design and questions to a completely
different level,” she says. “I’ve built out
enough technology systems to know
your first pass is not your last. It’s your
tester platform. I’m a believer that you
have to walk before you run and make
mistakes and go through a little pain to
understand ultimately where the sweet
spot is. One key piece of advice, she says,
is to keep technology upgrades simple
in the first phase, to learn what needs
to be improved in the ensuing phases.
Two-vendor solution
Tropical Smoothie Cafe recognized that
updated technology was essential to
keep up with the brand’s evolution from
smoothies-only to smoothies and a full
line of food. It wasn’t a straightforward
transition, combining a high-frequency
Phase it in
product with fast casual–paced products
In her early days with the brand, Nancy such as wraps, flatbreads, and sandwiches.
Bigley, CEO of Bottle & Bottega, knew One thing that was certain, however:
what she wanted—and it was a tool cru- customers wanted to customize their
cial to the success of her small start-up orders and do that with a mobile app.
brand. “I had a very specific vision for
Tropical Smoothie used two vendors
the experience I wanted our candidates to solve this problem. One tool hones in
to have as they evaluated our business. on customer performance, tracks purchase
It was the same journey
behavior, check average,
I went on when evaluat-
and frequency; it also
ing whether to buy into
highlights opportuni-
the company or not. We
ties around increasing
are a painting and wine
user visits and spending
party business, so I had
through targeted cam-
to make our studios and
paigns along with a dis-
the guest experience
tinct loyalty program,
says Kira McCabe, the
come to life for them
since we were brand
brand’s associate direc-
new and only had one
tor of digital media.
location at the time.” In
“The other software
those beginning days,
delivers directly to our
she says, “Every dollar
cafes and assists in line
we spent had to count.”
management, order ac-
Nancy Bigley
Bigley phased in the
curacy, and labor over-
new technology, with the scope of work head,” she says. “With both of these tools
at each phase representing movement we are able to view into guest behavior,
toward the long-term goals of her vi- check size, and purchasing preferences
sion. That meant many phone calls to in the cafes. Before our new technology,
answer questions about functionality, that wasn’t possible.”
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Franchiseupdate ISS U E II, 2 0 1 7
An eye to the future
Sport Clips President Mark Kartarik
had ambitions for the brand that could
only be achieved through new technol-
ogy. “We wanted to allow our clients
to be able to check in online, see wait
times on a fully integrated digital dis-
play wallboard, select specific stylists,
and most importantly, manage their
time by choosing where they want to
wait for their service,” says Kartarik. He
also monitors the technology available
for hairstyling businesses and selected
a vendor that not only had the best ex-
isting solutions, but also was willing to
innovate to suit the needs of the brand
and its customers. His technology goals,
just halfway through implementation, are
like Holt’s: first of its kind to offer all
capabilities at all locations. “The early
feedback,” he says, “has been overwhelm-
ingly positive.”
Get the help you need
For Jonathan Barnett, founder and presi-
dent of Oxi Fresh Carpet Cleaning, the
results of its technology update have
been spectacular. In its early years, Oxi
Fresh’s job data was entered into spread-
sheets manually. As the company grew,
Barnett realized he needed a tool that
Jonathan Barnett
would scale, automate, and streamline
the process.
Like Brennan at Always Best Care,
Barnett had the advantage of finding
help at industry conventions. He also
networked the question. He found the
right company to begin the process,
but has since hired a programmer. The
transition from spreadsheet to CRM
platform was so dramatic that Barnett
said evaluation wasn’t needed. But some
numbers help.
“Since implementing the software,