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The Franchisee’s Invisible Line

Written by Todd L. Michaud
October 15th, 2009
An IT leader is looking at a killer business case for a new piece of retail technology. Based on a pilot test, this technology will deliver an average of 3 percent to the bottom line of every retail outlet. It has a payback of 18 months and a 60 percent ROI. Sounds great, right?

Franchisee Columnist Todd Michaud wishes 10 percent of his business cases looked this good. The problem is that even before he presents the business case, he knows that the project will never even get off the ground. Why? Because, Michaud opines, it crosses the IDM (It Doesn't Matter) Threshold. This magical perception number trumps value and speaks to psychological biases.

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Posted in CRM, In-Store, IT Strategy/Industry, Payment Systems, Premium Content, Software
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One Comment | Read The Franchisee’s Invisible Line

  1. Rob Martell Says:
    October 16th, 2009 at 8:59 pm

    Maybe if the Franchiser paid some or all of the costs, Franchisees would be less reluctant?

    You want me to spend X to update something, and Y to train all my people to use it? Ticking off customers in the meantime. And I have to pay?

    Ha!

    My 2 cents
    Grins,

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