When you think fast food, you think McDonald’s, Burger King, and, maybe, Wendy’s. If you want to get “ethnic,” you might throw in Taco Bell.
Try as they might, these companies can’t get you to equate eating fast food with eating healthy. You go to them for two reasons: cost & convenience. And maybe you don’t go to them at all.
And that’s just my gut.
Using my amazing powers of deduction, I would guess that there’s a larger percentage than average of people reading this blog who just wouldn’t go to a fast food joint for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. You’re not in that market. You’re not a customer. You drive by not through.
Fast food has a bad reputation.
The fast food market is fairly finite. While new McEaters are born every day, the group of people willing to eat that food remains basically the same. New people aren’t being “converted” to fast food every day. Those that are do so out of necessity not out of choice.
That means, to grow profits, companies like McDonald’s and Wendy’s have to vie for a bigger piece of the pie. They choose a specific segment and they go after it. They release a new product to court a new segment of customers. They pick up a few more crumbs.
Hey, I thought this was about Chipotle?
Right. So Chipotle comes along. It’s fast food. Straight up. Unless it’s horribly busy, I can get my food in a Chipotle faster than I can at Wendy’s.
Here’s the difference: I choose to eat at Chipotle.
Why? It tastes good, first & foremost. Second, it’s real food.
Did you see this commercial during the Grammys? I couldn’t believe my eyes. That could not have been a cheap ad spot.
Cultivate a better world, says Chipotle. I buy it. Their meats are sustainably raised. They use as much organic produce as possible. It’s a story and an idea I’m willing to buy over & over again.
Chipotle entered the fast food market but it didn’t allow the fast food market to define it. Instead, it generated value (environmental sustainability, health consciousness, deliciousness) that brought a whole new customer base into the fast food market.
What does that kind of growth look like? With 1230 US stores: “Chipotle stock is up 50 percent on the year and over 500 percent over five years, far outperforming the market as a whole or the restaurant sector in particular. They announced last week that revenue grew 23.7 percent in 2011, with an 11 percent increase in same-store revenues. Restaurant operating margins are more than 25 percent,” according to Slate.com.
Those aren’t numbers to sneeze at.
Chipotle has taken a strong stance (anti-factory farming, for one), doubled-down on constraints (1 menu, few choices), and upped the ante by consistently delivering great tasting food. In doing so, they’ve created a legion of new-to-the-market fiercely loyal fans.
Principled choices lead to massive profit.
So the question to you is:
Have you backed down from principled choices because you fear the wrath of the existing market?
Are you allowing your competitors to write the rules of the game? Or are you writing your own?
Are you afraid that stating your beliefs and injecting them into every aspect of your business will turn customers away?
Are you simply following the standard strategy? Or are you generating new value through purpose-driven choices that attract new customers to you & your business alone?
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I actually saw this Chipotle commercial online a few months ago but forgot about it until seeing it during the Grammy’s. I had even forgotten what company the commercial was for, until the very end! As someone who has worked in the food industry and is now pursing a career in the health industry (nutrition & dietetics), I thought this was such a great example of a company that is technically within a certain niche of the food industry (“fast food”) but that has redefined what that means for itself. With this commercial, and also with their actions, Chipotle demonstrates that just because they may be in the “fast food” part of the industry, they do not have to do what everyone else in that industry does. This can give hope to other companies or individuals who work in or want to work within a certain field but don’t necessarily want to do the same thing. And, back to Chipotle specifically….as you said Tara, it feels like you are eating REAL food there, because…you are! Even though you get your food quickly, for me it feels like you are at a sit-down casual Mexican restaurant.
As far as aligning your marketing strategy with your company’s vision, the Chipotle commercial was also a great example of this!
Great post, thanks!
They didn’t even need to show a burrito–they told a story. A meaningful one. It feels better to eat a clean message.
I love what you’re saying, but yes I am afraid of stating my beliefs. Not necessarily because I think it will turn customers away, but because I’m afraid of offending others in my industry. I’m a photographer who does not photograph babies wearing giant flower headbands and stuffed into baskets. I don’t like fake props like that. Sometimes I want to shout that out and proudly proclaim that I’m a “prop free zone.” But – this industry can be quite petty and a unfortunately a lot of photographers like to tear other photographers down. So I’ve been afraid of proudly toting my prop-free philosophy because I’m afraid photographers that do use props will take offense and bad mouth or bully me for that decision. Obviously my portfolio doesn’t show babies in props contorted into weird positions – and I’ve had people book with me BECAUSE of that. So I’d love to be a little more loud about it, but at the end of the day – I am afraid.
Hey Sara! I think this is a common concern – that stating your beliefs means your bad mouthing someone else. I don’t think that’s the case at all! I think you could do something fun with it, like say: I photograph babies in their natural environment. Or “No filler, just babies.”
Every industry can be petty! You have an opportunity to rise above that with grace, humor, AND principled beliefs!
Interesting, Tara. What you are pointing towards here is the piece of vision that people so often forget: your ideology, your philosophy. Vision isn’t just about stating a goal for a future. It’s finding your business values and infusing them in all that you do. At the point-of-sale, people are buying quality {damn good food, in Chipotle’s case} but they are also buying into *why* you do what you do {your business values}. It’s a critical step that gets missed in business planning and strategy development. Glad to see your point-of-view on this. Nice post.
This post is so relevant to my Etsy shop. I first started making ring pillows because I saw them as vignettes for me to be creative and I saw a lack of fun colors and styles in the market. Once I opened my shop I panicked and thought I should be more like other people with my product and pricing and start selling neckties and bunting. Recently, I’ve changed my focus back again. I decided I want to be unique and special, and provide an awesome product. I created a signature design and photography style and scaled back my “menu” to include just ring pillows and matching boys bow ties. With focus, my shop is looking awesome, and I’m getting sales.
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