Fromtheeditor ’ sdesk
BY KERRY PIPES
Big Data , Big Deal ? ( Yes )
It ’ s no secret that “ big data ” has become big business . The proliferation of measurable , actionable information is changing the way franchise brands do business — with customers , with franchisees , and at corporate .
At our Franchise Consumer Marketing Conference this summer , I was holed up in a small meeting room with a videographer , a greenscreen , and a list of questions . We were recording some interviews with top CMOs to use on our website . Doug Koegeboehn , Wienerschnitzel ’ s CMO , was regaling me with savvy marketing advice as I asked him about everything from balancing media spending to content marketing to the many challenges marketers face today .
But it was when I queried him about “ big data ” that he caused me to stop and ponder . “ I ’ m mixed on big data ,” he began . “ I love data that matters , but just data does nothing for me — insights and analysis do everything for me .” And therein lies the key to big data .
Franchisors are quickly passing the giddy stage of collecting seemingly unlimited data ( the “ firehose ”) and are realizing that it ’ s all meaningless unless they can properly interpret and use it . Good data can provide brands with an edge by providing them with real-time information from franchisee locations , assisting in strategic business decisions , boosting revenue , and reducing costs .
Big data was a hot topic throughout the conference — and will continue to be for some time as technology evolves from collection to analysis to the ability to deliver actionable intelligence for everything from long-term strategies to site selection to LTOs to franchisee recruitment . Because of big data ’ s growing relevance and importance , we ’ ve focused much of this issue around the topic .
In our main feature story , executives like Jersey Mike ’ s CMO Rich Hope and Zips Dry Cleaners ’ Director of IT and Analytics Terry Phillips discussed big data ’ s importance — and its challenges . Jersey Mike ’ s has been hard at work leveraging digital data from multiple sources , but Hope says there are hurdles related to the availability of so much information . “ The ability to analyze and effectively use that data will be the challenge going forward ,” he says .
At Zips , Phillips spent the last year hitting the road to meet with franchisees so he could create a cloud-based information system that focuses on customer retention . One insight he came away with is that franchisees knew exactly how many new customers they were attracting each week , but they had no idea how many they were losing .
Big data is a big deal , and the brands that are able to collect and analyze the right data at the right time in the right way will most certainly have an edge over those who lag behind . n
Franchise update | Q3
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4 Franchiseupdate ISSUE III , 2016