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If you are one of the 37,000 franchise units operating in NZ reading this article, you most likely can relate to the fact that your growth opportunities could be limited by lack of systems for your front-line workers to interact your customers, as well as collaborate and communicate internally.  

Whether your people are behind the counter, onsite, in clinics, or on the phone, they are the first to engage with your customers, the first to represent your brand and the first to see your products and services in action. First line workers are the backbone to some of the world’s largest industries, and that is no different in our country. In New Zealand, recent surveys indicate that more than 124,000 people form part of our franchising industry first line.  

As a franchisor or franchisee, you need technology that enables your business and your people: technology that’s affordable on a small-business budget and doesn’t restrict your future growth.  

Over the last 5 years we have seen the rise of technology integrations with our businesses, with it amalgamating into what we see today: a world driven by software.  

For those looking forward, there is leverage to be had at the forefront of this shift, in the form of competitive advantage. 

If you're a frequent reader, you will know creating business value through technology is something we are very passionate about. So in this post we want discuss the top software development trends your competitors will be leveraging in 2018, and you should be too!  

We have officially launched into 2018! With a fresh chapter comes fresh motivation and opportunity to pursue goals. 

To start the year off, our first article unpacks key areas for focus in the next 11 months. Rather than quoting books (with the exception of one!) or big industry names, the areas we mention in this article are the ones we believe in, those that we are focusing on to be able to innovate, create new products, and stay ahead of the the competition.

For this post, I have broken the combination of tactics we are adopting into 4 key themes. 

This is by no means the end of the list. Growing in 2018 will demand a combination of strengths. It is never going to be one thing, it has to be the integration of many things that, together will make you stand against the crowd. At Lancom, we summarise these key themes to: the talent you hire, the investment you make to manage the business behind your business, how well you are servicing your customers, and the attention you are paying to your brand.

We see (and write!) a lot of articles about why you should create custom software applications, how to come up with app ideas, and the cost of developing software. But then when we think about how we interact with clients, the first thing we do is check if they should not be creating the app. 

Yes, we are aware of the contradiction! However, as you know we are all about creating leverage, and despite acknowledging custom software is the ultimate way to gain competitive advantage, if results are not generated as expected it can quickly turn into a pit of wasted resources. 

To make sure you've thought through your idea, here are instances where we suggest NOT to pursue custom software development: 

You may have noticed that the traditional methods of gaining your customers attention (and business!) are failing to pull in the results they used to. To combat this, HubSpot developed the Inbound Methodology, focused on delivering value to your customers to attract them, and pull them through the buyers journey. This pairs nicely with our own belief in providing value up-front, so naturally we have whole-heartedly adopted this ideology into our online presence!

We started this year addressing the up and coming trends we see happening in tech and businesses. Though our content over the past 4 weeks we have addressed a few topics, which can, in a nutshell, be summarised to a trend that is here to stay: the fast approach of digital transformation in businesses.

With the world increasingly going digital, we appear to now have another issue in our hands: IT Security

Clearly, the events of 2017 have shown that the focus on cyber crime is only increasing, and becoming stronger. We have seen the smallest and the biggest businesses being impacted by this new wave.

All of the sudden, we were facing a new challenge and asking the question: What do I need to do to stay protected?

The fear of having an IT project fail can be a strong deterrent for many, despite the expected business advantages to be gained. 

With the digital transformation well underway, IT projects are what set's many businesses apart of their competitors. Whether it be for internal efficiencies through streamlined business processes, or establishing a desirable point of difference in the customers eye.  

If it's your first time taking on an IT project, or you have been doing this for years, in this article we offer our 4 tried and tested methods for ensuring a successful outcome. 

Many NZ SME's face the same growth barriers: they have reached a stage where customer demands drive are driving their growth, but don't have the right tools or processes in place to manage this growth, anticipate buying behaviors or build loyalty.

The reality is 1 in 3 New Zealand SME owners wish they knew more about technology, and how it can help drive their businesses forward.

The solution? Start understanding your options by looking at how latest technology can assist your business.

The good news? This post explores a handful of the benefits the right IT can bring to organisations (and provides a path for those wanting to take action now!).

We live in an unprecedented age for businesses, the barriers to change have never been so low. Your customers can read reviews, compare and contrast your business with your competitors, without you ever knowing. Not only that, but your competitors can easily keep tabs on you. They work their hardest to target your customers and demonstrate how they can do the job better, as well as how changing to them is pain-free. Gaining competitive advantage is getting harder... but the battle isn't lost! There are still ways to wow your customers and ensure they stick around. 

One of the answers implies reviewing the experiences you are providing to your customers.

If you are reading this post and work for an SME (like most of us in New Zealand),  you sure would be challenging the idea at this point and probably thinking "where is the time to do all that?". So, we thought we would show you, the simple, yet effective tactics that we are applying in our IT business. 

Think back to a time where you thought you had lost your mobile phone. How it feels when your heart drops into your stomach at the thought of losing, not the phone itself, but all the information stored on it.  

With this thought primed, it would be fair to say mobile phones have become the center of our worlds. However, what if having your mobile phone hacked was a million times worse than losing your phone. How would you feel if your life was hacked?