In the last memo, I wrote about how McDonald’s had conducted the most extensive research in 10 of their largest markets, which led to the creation of the growth framework of Regain, Retain and Convert.
The “Regain” strategy was about recruiting lost and loyal customers. McDonald’s research identified that these customers liked:
✳️Quick service restaurants
✳️ Premium ingredients
✳️ Self-order kiosks, which improved the accuracy of the order
✳️ Curbside pick-up
✳️ Kiosks and table service
The “Retain strategy” focused on what was working well and keeping loyal customers who have historically been the stronghold – families and those who bought the Mcdonald’s breakfast.
The “Convert strategy” was about attracting new customers to McDonald’s and introducing new offers like limited meals, McCafé and speciality coffees and snacks.
Implementing these strategies was not enough, so the leadership team created ‘growth accelerators’, which called for making some difficult decisions and taking the long-term view. The accelerators – Delivery, Digital and Experience of the Future (EOTF) – would reassert their positioning and build for the future.
In the next memo, I’ll talk about how they implemented those three strategies.
In the meantime, on your own or in your team, use this as a template to look at what you would need to:
✳️ Regain – lost customers that you could get back- as they are the easiest to convert
✳️ Retain – your loyal existing clients? Have you looked at this?
✳️ Convert whom with some new offers you could attract their custom
The level of clarity you would gain from speaking with and doing your own kind of survey and then implementing the strategy above could make a massive difference to your bottom line.
