10 Food Franchise Technology Tools And Solutions

10 Food Franchise Technology Tools And Solutions
Spotify Allows Music Artists To Sell Merchandise Through Online Profiles
Small Business Optimism: Status Quo or Cautious Optimism?
Appliances Now Can Be Used to Hack Your Business
Boost Your Business Cash Flow Now With These Five Tips

Posted: 21 Jan 2014 04:00 PM PST

franchise tools

Today's food franchise owners have a plethora of technology franchise tools at their disposal. Some of them are designed to help the customer. Some are designed to help the franchise business. Both are becoming popular with food franchise owners. Combined, they are helping shape the way business is done in what is a very competitive and sometimes grueling business.

Today's technology can greatly help improve productivity, lower expenses, increase profitability and assist with marketing programs for food franchise owners. What follows are some of the top technology franchise tools and solutions available for franchisors and franchisees in the food sector.

Franchise Tools and Solutions

Nextstep Systems

This company has a solution called Mynextstep. This single-point restaurant management tool allows labor, inventory and sales reporting to be performed from one interface, system-wide. All the activities can be performed for one location, or multiple locations, which sounds like a great fit for busy multi-unit franchisees.

VST Inc.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that 1 in 6 Americans (or 48 million people) get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die of food-borne diseases every year.

In order to combat food-borne illnesses, the food service industry has put into place “Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points,” (HACCP) and have processes designed to not only ensure that food is cooked thoroughly, but is also held at proper temperatures to prevent pathogens from getting in.

Very Smart Technologies (VST) provides integrated HACCP software solutions for both PCs and PDAs to provide food franchises with the tools they need to implement, monitor and control all seven of the HACCP critical control points.

Hello Scheduling

This San Francisco-based company offers a software solution that helps food franchise managers perform employee scheduling in a super-efficient manner.

Food franchise managers spend way too much time on employee scheduling. With Hello Scheduling, managers can create their employee schedules in one click, and communicate changes easily. The changes can be tracked online by the employees on their computers, tablets or smartphones.

Employee no-shows are minimized, and managers can free up their time to focus on revenue-generating activities for the franchise business.

ONOSYS

ONOSYS is the online and mobile ordering backbone for more chains than any other online ordering company in the online ordering space.

Started by three Case Western Reserve University students, ONOSYS provides a way for online customers to quickly place their orders. Not only that, the software knows how to “intelligently” up-sell high-margin impulse items based on what the customer has ordered in the past. There's even a way for customers to place future orders.

Stellar Restaurant Solutions

While take-out is a great revenue generator for food franchises, it can be taxing on staffs who are trying to take care of the guests that are already in the restaurant.

This company feels that the way to increase efficiency and sales is by having a third-party handle take-out services and transactions.

Stellar Restaurant Solutions provides restaurants with their proprietary state-of-the-art call center and order processing system. Agents handle their clients order processes to grow sales and provide guests with a wonderful "order to food pick-up" experience.

Mindshare Technologies

The newest product from Mindshare Technologies is OpenTell.

Today's consumers expect a great deal of transparency from businesses that they frequent. OpenTell allows managers at each location to post responses to customer reviews, so they can work transparently on resolving customer issues.

And, when it comes to online reviews, reviews that are published by customers and that are hosted by a third party are the most trusted sources of information for consumers. OpenTell does just that.

Venuelabs

Venuelabs software solution allows franchise businesses to focus on what customers are saying about the business. Venuelabs transforms local user-generated content into actionable intelligence that can inform all facets of your organization. Franchisors and franchisees can improve their marketing, advertising, operations and customer service.

Here are a few specific examples of things franchisors and franchisees need to know about:

What are customers saying at checkout?
Which franchise locations have the happiest customers?
Are there any new channels where customers are starting to engage?
Which marketing initiatives are resonating with customers and which ones aren't?

Venuelabs specializes in getting those questions answered…and more.

Expion

Today's food franchise owners need to stay active on all of the major social media channels. Most franchisors are trying to assist in this effort through the corporate office. It's a large undertaking. That's where companies like Expion come in, as they can manage 1,000's of social media accounts from just one interface.

Expion's software streamlines all social media activity and it can be configured to work within the structure of each franchisors operational structure. Franchisees have access to Expion's tools, and can take advantage of the systems automation capabilities which can really save a lot of time…a commodity that franchisees don't always have lots of.

MindMatrix

The marketing automation solution that MindMatrix provides allows franchisees to bring a local element into their marketing efforts. Customers like marketing and advertising that provides a local feel, and franchisors and franchisees that can provide it help attract more leads which can turn into more revenue.

MindMatrix can also create high-converting franchisee website landing pages that can be used for grand openings, one-day sales or special promotions.

Front Flip

The Front Flip App helps franchise businesses by keeping guests coming back again and again. The App gives guests the chance to win instant prizes every time they visit, and also sends them automated offers to their mobile devices to drive them back to franchise locations more frequently. The App is fun, and provides instant gratification. Guests don't have to wait and see what they’ve won. They can even tell their friend about their prizes on Twitter and Facebook which engages even more potential customers.

Loyalty programs work and the team at Front Flip can help integrate Front Flip into your overall franchise marketing mix. Front Flip loyalty programs are designed to help build profitable long-term relationships between franchisees and their customers.

Today's smart franchisors and franchisees want and need great technology to help them become more efficient and more profitable. There are plenty of choices, with more coming online every year.

What franchise tools and solutions are you using?

Pizza Hut Photo via Shutterstock

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Spotify Allows Music Artists To Sell Merchandise Through Online Profiles

Posted: 21 Jan 2014 01:30 PM PST

spotify

Are you a music artist who supplements your revenues with sales of T-shirts and posters? If so, as of this week you can sell that merchandise through your Spotify profile. The global music site now allows music artists to display their merchandise on their Spotify pages and link directly to their online stores. The announcement was made on the official Spotify blog:

“We’ve been testing this merchandise functionality with a number of artists over the last month and the response from fans has been fantastic. We're really excited that Spotify's 24 million music-loving users can now see merchandise and concerts while listening to their favorite artists, and that we, in turn, can provide additional revenue opportunities for artists of all sizes.”

Spotify already offers a way for independent musicians to make royalties based on the number of times people listen to their music. With the new merchandising feature, artists now have another monetization option. Music Ally reports that the program was piloted with about 200 artists for the past few weeks, including rock n’ roll legends Led Zeppelin. Spotify director of artist services Mark Williamson tells Music Ally:

“What's important to us is that with this integration, we don't just want to chuck a merchandise listing up and say ‘that's it’, we want to optimize it, so we’ll be examining what's working across all the artists, what kind of items are selling.”

Spotify and its partner in the new roll-out, Topspin, stress they are taking no percentage from the new merchandise sales. This is especially the case because many sales are generally taking place off the site in an online store already being used by the artist. Topspin is the company providing the link tool that lets artists connect the display on their Spotify profiles to their online stores.

The new program may help to blunt criticisms already leveled by independent artists disappointed by their earnings on Spotify.

There are some limitations. For now artists can only list up to three items. And the feature is only available in the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Iceland, Music Ally reports.

However, the company is expecting to roll it out in other countries at some point in the future.

Images: Spotify

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Small Business Optimism: Status Quo or Cautious Optimism?

Posted: 21 Jan 2014 11:00 AM PST

optimism index survey

Small business owners tend to be optimistic by nature. You have to be, if you want to overcome the obstacles of running a business.

Still, the economy has been pretty rough since 2008. Are there signs of improvement? If I had to sum it up based on two small business optimism surveys, I’d say it’s “status quo” or perhaps “cautious optimism.”

NFIB Small Business Optimism Index Shows Small Uptick

Per the latest NFIB Optimism Index, small signs of optimism have appeared. But it’s hardly robust signals. According to the National Federation of Independent Business’s Chief Economist, William C. Dunkelberg, and analyst Holly Wade in their commentary to the Index, ”Consumers are a bit more optimistic as are small business owners, but in the context of history, these measures are still weak.”

Small businesses are creating some jobs and hiring, and they are spending on capital for their businesses. In general the outlook for sales and business conditions was reported to be a bit better for the upcoming months:

“NFIB's December survey did provide some positive signals, with the best job creation figure since 2007 and a large increase in the percent of owners reporting actual capital outlays in recent months. The jump of 9 percentage points in December over November suggests that most of the increase in spending came very late in the year. Expectations for real sales growth and for business conditions over the next six months improved substantially over November readings as well.”

As you can see from the chart below, since 2008 optimism has been dismal, historically speaking. There’s been an upward trend, including that little uptick next to the red arrow, but it’s still not back to “normal” levels.

business optimism index survey

The numbers reported in January are based on a December 2013 survey of 635 small businesses from among the NFIB’s 350,000 members. The businesses surveyed are from various industries, with retail, construction and agriculture well represented. The majority have fewer than 20 employees.

50% of Professional Services Small Businesses Are Optimistic

The Hiscox eDNA survey actually dropped in optimism from 2012 to 2013.

However, the bright spot worldwide is the United States – comparatively speaking, at least. The Hiscox survey covers multiple countries where Hiscox does business. The United States reported the most optimism for the year ahead, in the most recent Hiscox survey. Fifty percent are optimistic (see green arrow in chart below):

business optimism index survey

According to Hunter Hoffmann, head of US Communications of Hiscox, “Forty-eight percent of those in the U.S. reported increased revenue. That’s better than other countries we track,” he told us in an interview recently. The average of all countries is a 37% increase.

Hiscox has over 40,000 small business insurance policies in the United States.

Hiscox conducts the survey from small businesses it insures. They fall into professional services industries, such as IT consultants, marketing firms, real estate professionals, personal trainers, health and beauty salon owners, life coaches and event planners. Many of them are younger businesses owned by up-and-coming entrepreneurs. ”They tend to be optimistic and likely to implement innovations in their businesses” leading to positive results, Hoffmann added.

Hiscox’s small business portfolio consists of small businesses with under $2 million in annual revenues (usually equating to fewer than 10 employees). About half are solo entrepreneurs. Hiscox also insures larger-sized small businesses through brokers. The survey covered 3,000 small businesses, with 500 from the United States.

Business owners are realistic, too. According to Hoffman, they insure their businesses to “make sure their hard work doesn’t go away through no fault of their own or an accident.” Hiscox has seen its insurance portfolio grow since 2010, when it brought its small business offerings to the U.S. market. The company offers three main types of insurance. Professional liability covers the business for liability when you give advice. General liability covers you or staff at a client location, or if the client is on your premises and gets injured. And a business owners’ policy includes professional liability coverage but also includes coverage for office space and damage to it.

What’s your attitude toward your business’s outlook? Cautiously optimistic? Or status quo?

Thumbs Photo via Shutterstock

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Appliances Now Can Be Used to Hack Your Business

Posted: 21 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

smart tv

A security company, Proofpoint, claims to have uncovered a hacking involving a refrigerator and televisions — and 750,000 malicious emails.

Appliances and all sorts of gadgets now have Internet connections. Experts have warned about the potential of such appliances and other gadgets being used in cyber attacks. Proofpoint claims to now have evidence of one of these attacks using such devices. This would be the first time such an attack using devices which are not conventional computers has actually been reported

From Dec. 23 through Jan. 6, malicious emails were sent in waves of 100,000 from all sorts of devices connected to the Internet, Proofpoint says.

The company says the attack included more than 750,000 phishing and spam emails in all. Over 25 percent of the volume of the emails were sent from devices that were not conventional laptops, desktops or mobile devices. Hacked devices included routers, smart TVs, and at least one smart refrigerator. An official Proofpoint report explains:

“No more than 10 emails were initiated from any single IP address, making the attack difficult to block based on location – and in many cases, the devices had not been subject to a sophisticated compromise; instead, misconfiguration and the use of default passwords left the devices completely exposed on public networks, available for takeover and use.”

So, the next time you grab your lunch from the company lunch room, you may be stumbling on a cyber attack. For devices that are connected somehow to the “Internet of Things,” be sure they are as secure as anything else.

According to proofpoint, most such devices aren’t protected by anti-spam or anti-virus infrastructure available to organizations and individuals. They also rarely have dedicated IT teams or software to address new security issues as they arise the way conventional computers do.

In the report, Proofpoint adds:

“The result is that Enterprises can’t expect IoT-based attacks to be resolved at the source; instead, preparations must be made for the inevitable increase in highly distributed attacks, phish in employee inboxes, and clicks on malicious links.”

The company says such smart devices are expected to grow to four times the number of conventional laptops, desktops and mobile devices over the next few years. So businesses must be aware of the risks.

Smart TV Photo via Shutterstock

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Boost Your Business Cash Flow Now With These Five Tips

Posted: 21 Jan 2014 05:00 AM PST

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improve your cash flow

During the 1992 presidential election, there was a sign that was reportedly hung by James Carville, Bill Clinton's campaign manager in their Little Rock Office that simple stated "It's the economy, stupid." This was a reminder to everyone that worked there that the only thing that the national race was about was the economy.

That year, I started my third business after failing in two others. This time, I made my own sign and tacked it up in my office. It read, "It's cash flow, stupid." It became my daily reminder and mantra. Starting out in my first business in 1980′s, I thought that the only thing that mattered was to sell my product to whoever would buy it. I reasoned that if you make sales, you eventually make money.

This worked great until customers didn't pay me on time or at the same rate as my business expenses grew. Unfortunately, even if my customers did not pay their bills when they were due, my employees and vendors still wanted to get paid on time. What I realized is that sales do not pay bills, cash does.

Collecting the cash from sales means everything. It is the gasoline that makes your business engine work. Without cash, your business literally suffocates. Most businesses fail because they run out of cash leaked through losses or other poor management practices.

How to Improve Your Cash Flow

Open the Bank Monthly Statements

Check to see if you have more or less cash when comparing the beginning month and end of month balances. If the end of the month cash balance is higher, the company is cash flow positive. If the end of month balance is lower than at the beginning of the month, the company is cash flow negative.

Learn to Read the Cash Flow Statements

Don't outsource the math. By definition, cash flow is typically your monthly profit, plus the change in accounts payable, the change in accounts receivable, and the change in inventory. The higher this number is monthly, the healthier your company will be.

Collect Account Receivables Faster

The sooner a customer pays, the higher the cash flow. The Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) for your business should never be more than 133% of your invoice terms. Don't extend credit to a customer that has not proven they can pay in a timely fashion. Remember that credit is a privilege, not a right. Better yet, get your customers to pay with a credit card or prepay for your services.

Get Longer Terms From Vendors

Extended credit from your vendors will boost your cash. Always pay within the agreed period of time. However, if you have 30 day terms, try to get 45 days by building up a reliable track record.

Sell Inventory Faster and Keep Inventory Levels Lower

Buying inventory only to sit for months on your shelf waiting for customer orders can take a lot of cash out of the business. Track your inventory carefully. Know what sells quickly and what never moves off the shelf. Know how long your customers will wait for a product and still be satisfied. This will determine the setting of reorder points (when a product is reordered to be put into inventory) and the reorder quantities (how much is reordered).

What have you done in your business to improve your cash flow?

This article, provided by Nextiva, is republished through a content distribution agreement. The original can be found here.

Cash Photo via Shutterstock

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