Customer experience - super-sized 13 Mar 2007

From Brand Autopsy:

"Since posting its first-ever quarterly loss in 2002, McDonald's has been on an amazing run of 45 consecutive months of increasing sales. And in December of 2006, the company recorded a 6.9% increase in same-store sales as compared to December of 2005. That's a remarkable comp number for a mature company like McDonald's. Just as remarkable is the fact McDonald's market share is 3x bigger than its two main competitors (Wendy's and Burger King). Additionally, the company is being rewarded for driving sales with a stock price at/near its seven-year high. Good times abound for McDonald's these days.

"The business media has picked up on this story and published recent profiles detailing the ins/outs of McDonald's successful resurgence. As I've read these articles the one theme that has struck me is how McDonald's has taken an inside/out approach to driving sales. Instead of solely relying on outside advertising to drive sales, McDonald's has driven sales by improving its inside approaches of store operations, product offerings, and customer experiences."

We especially like the article's quote from McDonald's CEO Jim Skinner: "We proved that we were getting bigger but not better. And we have to be better. Your experience today at McDonald's has to be a better experience than it was yesterday."