In recent years there has been a huge increase in franchising. With recent economic downturns, lay-offs, bankruptcies, and insecurities over a very shaky global economy, more and more people are keen to go out on their own, be their own boss, and live the American Dream. Franchising is a $700-plus billion industry that features hundreds of thousands of companies from a wide variety of industries. According to the International Franchise Association’s (IFA) 2011 Outlook report

The retail store environment plays a unique role in today’s technology-driven world. Customers develop relationships with companies using a variety of devices and channels, but the brick-and-mortar store adds the element of in-person interaction, where your associates represent the face and voice of your company. The article below by ForeSee looks at ways in which you can better use customer data. Using surveys to gather voice of customer insights about the retail consumer ex