Selling Burgers? Offer Wi-Fi!
Marketing and branding is becoming more demanding. Once upon time, selling burgers was easy. Stack ‘em up, serve ‘em quickly and cheaply and your customers will come. Throw in some ad campaigns and bang - you have a global burger chain.
I still remember when McDonalds first came to Basingstoke, it was a big event - it was new and exciting.
Now there are three; along with a Burger King, a KFC and plenty of other fast food chains. They aren’t scarce anymore, I can have one anytime so obviously, I am less interested.
Offering people what they want and limiting the supply creates demand, but by flooding the market place, the demand falls. So, it’s interesting that McDonalds is looking to install free Wi-Fi in it’s restaurants in the UK to try to differentiate itself, as reported this weekend (source - NMA).
Will wi-fi sell more burgers? I am skeptical. But, the tie in of what companies offer as ‘add ons’ seems to be becoming more and more diverse. When it comes to retail and the high street, the large companies are looking to increase their differentiation by focusing on these added headline grabbing gimmicks, choosing to ignore one area that matters most in my book - customer service.
Comment by Jerad Kaliher October 9, 2007 @ 7:57 am
It might not sell a significant amount of burgers but at least it will provide free hot spots in key areas.
But in the end your right. I remember reading a book a while back that was talking about the main reasons that people used go to McDonald’s in the first place. They were to eat a fast, well prepared predictable meal in a clean and inviting environment.
It’s still fast but I’m sure many people would make an argument against clean environment. Executives have focused so much on taste and gimmicks that they have failed to recognize their core competencies.