Everything's Possible: McDonald's Pins Turnaround on 'Experience of the Future'
McDonald's is hoping to regain its past glory with customer-centric tactics, because the brand certainly isn't lovin' its present.
The chain once again posted a monthly decline in comparable-store sales, today reporting a global decrease of 2.2 percent in November sales. Its most dismal performance was in the U.S., with a stunning drop of 4.6 percent in its home market attributed to what McDonald's called "strong competitive activity."
The struggling economy in Europe saw help McDonald's dip 2 percent in that market, while sales plunged by 4 percent in its Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa region.
Understandably, McDonald's CEO Don Thompson didn't dwell on awful monthly performance. In October, explaining a 30 percent decline in McDonald's third-quarter profits, Thompson cited fewer restaurant visits and the continued fallout from its problems with a supplier to the China market.
But increasingly, in an admission that McDonald's woes are more than skin deep, Thompson has been talking about a comprehensive initiative to reshape the company that he's calling the Experience of the Future.
Its overall goal is to deliver a "more relevant McDonald's experience" for all its customers, and it includes what Thompson called "innovations to deliver sustained profitable growth."
The brand's Experience of the Future vision was highlighted in a recent Morgan Stanley investors' conference, where CFO Pete Benson and global chief brand officer Steve Easterbrook talked up how the company plans to turn around its performance by focusing on menu innovation, customer experience, its brand and digital as a way to be more convenient (and relevant) in a presentation.
Benson, at the conference, described it as
a comprehensive concept that integrates consumer-led innovations around our menu, service and digital in order to elevate the entire dining experience and drive greater relevance with our consumers. Our experience of the future builds on the many key investments that we’ve already made to our business, including 'made for you,' reimage the course and free in-store wireless while incorporating the leading edge, point of sale and mobile technologies which we are currently building out across the system. We’re putting the pieces in place and intend to take our restaurants to the next level.
From what customers can order, to how they order and pay, to the level of service they receive, around the world we have markets already implementing different components of the future experience, from menu customization to self-order kiosks, to mobile ordering and payment. Our menu and digital innovations ... are aimed at delivering a more personal, more convenient and more enjoyable visit to McDonald’s. As we focus on our future journey, we are also working to strengthen our business over the short-term by taking actions and driving change especially in our most-challenged markets: the U.S., Germany, Japan and Australia.
