Category: Future Trends and Technology

“You can’t franchise trust if your systems don’t reflect your values.” AI is already here reshaping marketing, finance, recruitment, and operations across the franchise world. Franchisors are being sold tools that promise to: Automate lead qualification Score potential franchisees Track KPIs across locations Optimise staff productivity Deliver performance insights in real-time It sounds like a dream. Until you realise the same tools, left unchecked, can become the very gatekeepers that push good people out, punish creativity, or even erode your brand’s human heart. This article is not anti-AI. It’s a call for conscious franchising in a time of seductive automation. …

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer the distant future, it is the present reality reshaping how we live, learn, and lead. At FASA’s Virtual Networking event recently. Ricky Walton, Franchisor of SheerGuard SA delivered an eye-opening exploration of AI’s transformative power, focusing particularly on ChatGPT as a practical, accessible tool for entrepreneurs, franchise owners, and business leaders. …

With retailers across South Africa facing numerous challenges – from load-shedding and limited economic growth, to rising interest rates and a high unemployment rate – it is evident that their approach to consumers needs to consistently evolve for them to grow market share and a greater share of a strained consumer wallet. 5 key areas The report zones in on five key areas impacting consumer spend and shaping shopping trends: Load-shedding During Pulse 6 (the sixth Global Consumer Insights survey conducted), rolling power cuts resulted in consumers spending less, investment decisions being affected by diminished business confidence and negative international …

Conversations with ChatGPT If you hang out online on any platform you will have heard of ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence taking over the world. As I explore the world of AI, and have conversations with Chat GPT on various topics, I can see how AI is taking over the world. I can see how artificial intelligence will disrupt the job market, not because AI is coming for your jobs, but because many people are unprepared and oblivious as to what is taking place and have their heads in the sand. Almost everyone I’ve spoken with about digital technology has little …

While growing up I remember how my family would gather around the phone on a Sunday night and make their weekly call to family members who lived far away. Sundays offered special call rates to call overseas or to another province and so for many families, this was a regular event. My husband recently went to visit his mom in Japan and in our daily conversation on Whatsapp he tells me about a restaurant his mom frequents that has a robot waiter and the day he went to check it out, the robot was not serving. What was interesting for …

The wonders of the internet and how one is able to use this tool for so many different things like staying in touch with friends and family, learning a new skill, or using the internet to market your business online or sell stuff online remains a hot topic. Romany ThresherRomany Thresher is a strategic thinker and systems organizer who helps businesses streamline their digital operations, especially around online events and customer engagement. She supports you in setting up and managing your online platforms — making sure you collect the right information to better understand your audience and improve their experience. Whether …

Whether now or in the future when attending virtual meetings or hosting a webinar one should follow these guidelines to make a good impression: Decide where you are going to position your laptop so that you sit comfortably at a desk or table Make sure the area where you are conducting virtual meetings is noise free or noise levels are low Consider the view behind you – ensure it does not detract i.e. movement in the background – and looks professional i.e. consider personal pictures/paintings on the wall behind you. Place your laptop on a stack of books for example …

The changing face of customers The days of marketing all things to all people are gone – technology provides statistics to business owners to understand the buying patterns of their customers to be able to customize and personalize products or services to suit every customer. Whilst this provides the perfect e-commerce solution that streamlines the route from production, marketing, data capturing through to payments, it can never replace the personal service that will make the difference at the end of the day. Whilst consumers have embraced APP technology they still want to feel they are being treated as individuals and …

The obsolescence of the middle class never hit home before as much as it did when I read ‘Choose Yourself’ by James Altucher. He describes in his book how robotics and technology are set to take over most of the jobs performed by the middle class and coined the phrase ‘you have been replaced’  by robots – many people just don’t know or realize it yet. He believes that unemployment should be around 50% as most employable people should be entrepreneurs and/or outsourcing their skills to various clients. Yet in South Africa, many young people are looking for jobs and …

As we sit on the cusp of a new decade and head into the throes of the 4th Industrial Revolution, never before have we questioned our place in the new world order or have had to reassure ourselves that we can still be effective entrepreneurs. FASA Franchise Association South AfricaTo protect, lobby, promote and develop ethical franchising across all sectors in South Africa with specific focus on transformation. www.fasa.co.za …

We are living in an era where Customer Experience (CX) plays a significant role in the success of a brand/business. It is now a topic of discussion in many boardrooms and CX has become a strategic measure on most business plans. FASA service providers The Franchise Firm is holding an interactive session of Customer Experience Journey mapping on Tuesday 15th October 2019 highlighting the moments of truth and the moments that matter. Find out more about the dynamic CX Mapping process that will allow your teams to view your CX journey from the Customer’s Point of View. Franchise FirmFranchising runs …