Stick To Your Strengths
I recently had a date night with my daughter. She got to choose a restaurant for us to eat. Her choice: Arby’s. Our orders were fairly simple. Roast beef sandwich variations. But as we ate, several other customers came in. I overheard their orders and the responses from the cashier. It went something like this:
Customer: I’d like a chicken sandwich meal.
Cashier: Do you want breaded, fried, or grilled?
Customer: I guess grilled.
Cashier: Do you want regular fries or curly fries?
Customer: Curly.
Remember the good ol’ days when Arby’s had roast beef sandwiches and potato cakes? Now their menu contains so many choices, it’s mind-boggling. Arby’s isn’t alone. Every restaurant is following this trend. A couple years ago, Hardee’s went through a huge rebranding effort. Their solution was to sell only great hamburgers. But their menu today contains more than just burgers.
Have you bought a candy bar recently? Let’s just look at Reese’s as an example. It used to be you had one choice: Reese’s peanut butter cups. Now they have several variations of peanut butter cups. They also have several other choices.
And what about soft drinks? How many varieties of Mountain Dew are there?
Why have these brands done this? They offer so many choices and seem to be straying from their strengths. It confuses me.
What I find interesting is that many businesses try to do the same thing. Why offer only a few products / services when you can provide everything imaginable? In my opinion, this is a HUGE mistake. Companies should stick to their strengths. Companies should have focus. Companies should try to deliver their products / services better than anyone else. Quit diluting your brand.
Posted in All, Strategy vs. Tactics
December 15th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Companies want to grow. Make more money. So one route is to make new products, and then see if it works.
I’m concerned you didn’t know this.
The McDonald’s Big Mac wasn’t always the most popular burger - it didn’t come out out 1967 and the first McDonald’s opened in 1940 (the corporation started 1955). Would you consider adding coffee or McCafé diluting the brand?
December 15th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
Steven,
Great point. I understand the desire to grow market share and increase revenue. As a consumer, I get confused. Does Arby’s still sell roast beef? Is the Big Mac still the flagship burger for McDonald’s? My point is that many companies try to broaden their reach by offering more products. Usually what happens is that their brand becomes diluted and their premier products / services become so-so because the company focuses too much time, money, resources on expanding the portfolio.
Thanks,
j
December 15th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Okay I think I’ve found a way to agree with both Jon and Steven on this one.
Companies want to grow and make more money, so they offer more products, but they can rarely offer new products that are as good as their flagship products. Think about how many flops McDonalds has had compared to runaway successes like the Big Mac.
Arby’s chicken is probably not going to be as good as Chick Fil A’s chicken, so the only solution would be for the Arby’s people to start a new fast food chain targeted at the chicken-lovers market and do it way better than Chick Fil A.
In a lot of ways, McDonalds has done this with Chipotle. They could have started offering a full line of Mexican food at their McDonalds stores, but that would have dilluted their brand so instead they acquired Chipotle who was already making great Mexican food. There are now over 900 Chipotle stores (and consequently McDonalds is no longer involved, but I’m sure they made big bucks on the deal).
There’s no reason why businesses shouldn’t diversify their product lines, but it’s important that they have a clear idea of what their mission is and what new products could do to their core values.
December 15th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Yes, they still sell roast beef. They have “5 for $5″ commercials all the time promoting it.
Some companies can do this expertly, some cannot. I’d say Microsoft has a really hard time with this. McDonald’s, not so much. A good marketing strategy is essential when companies broaden their reach.
I wrote an extended response: http://www.stevevance.net/planning/2009/12/response-to-stick-to-your-strengths/
December 15th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
[...] 2009 at 12:50 pm by Steven Vance Filed under Business, Change, Marketing Response to “Stick To Your Strengths” on Creo Quality’s blog. Creo Quality assists life sciences organizations in, among [...]
December 15th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Thanks, Colin, for connecting my thoughts and Steven’s comments.
December 15th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Steven,
Yes, a marketing (and business) strategy are crucial whether you plan to continue the same ol’ products or add new ones to the mix.
Thanks for the comments and post on your site.
Cheers,
j
December 15th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
I’m pretty sure these people are just trying to make more money through marginal differences. That’s why there are multiple varieties of Ragu, or different types of Toyotas. For a lot of people, its more important to have power windows, tomato chunks in your sauce or red flavoring in your Mountain Dew, and the companies want to capture this. Either that or the low level execs need to pitch new products to the management to justify their incomes or to climb the ladder.
December 15th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Lincoln,
I get it. But this seems like a recent phenomenon. For example, Mountain Dew hit the market in the 1940s. There was only one kind of Moutain Dew until a few years ago. Yet now, there is a rainbow of choices. I guess it works. I’m not a big regular Mtn Dew fan but love the Voltage variation (bluish / purplish in color). I tried a new kind last night called Baja Blast. I also like it.
Thanks for your comments!
j
December 15th, 2009 at 10:50 pm
And if Mountain Dew/Pepsi stuck to only making one kind, you wouldn’t enjoy Voltage or Baja Blast! Haha.
December 16th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Oh, here’s more brand dilution: A Cadillac Escalade BMX bicycle.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00697218000P?vName=Fitness%20&%20Sports&cName=Bikes&Accessories&sName=Bikes&psid=PRODUCTPLUS&sid=ISx20090511×00001
December 16th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Touche
December 16th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Cadillac diluted their brand a few years ago. I can’t remember the model, but they targeted a less affluent demographic.
December 29th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
I came across an intriguing analysis this week of the core issues companies face as they seek to grow–or just weather the economic gale. The book has been hard to put down. Business and technology author and former USA Today columnist Kevin Maney’s new book, TRADE-OFF: Why Some Things Catch on, and Others Don’t,offers a unique and simple grid for evaluating where companies and their products are in relation to what the public wants (and will buy). Jim Collins wrote the forward. See what you think.
December 29th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Tia,
Thanks for sharing information about this book. I’ll be sure to check it out.
Cheers,
j