We all understand the power of a Brand. Brands are so much more than just a logo; we create an emotional connection to a brand. A brand can align with and even define our identity and our purchasing decisions are affected by our relationship to a brand. Quite rightly, as a franchisor, Brand is vitally important.
However, the future of Brands could be very different. With the advent of AI technology, it may not be too long before the likes of Alexa and Siri could become your personal shopper and make buying decisions for you, based only on your specific needs.
Your AI tech will not be influenced by Brand. All those emotional connections we love will be lost on AI. Take buying toothpaste for example. The AI will only care about ingredients and price not on how the package looks or the millions spent on marketing. To make its decision it will become an expert on the chemical consistency of toothpaste, read thousands of science journals and understand what really makes a difference to your teeth, all in a few seconds. Your AI shopper will look well beyond the first few pages of google.
In an AI driven world, the future for some franchise businesses could be much more about tangible benefits, while brand and marketing could start to take more of a back seat. This could be a long time into the future but it’s going to be an interesting time ahead.
