McDonald’s seemingly never had a problem with customer loyalty & engagement on a global scale.
But during the company’s Jan. 23 fourth-quarter 2014 financial results conference call, McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson admitted that 2014 was a “difficult year.” One of the company’s key focus points for 2015 involves menu choice.
“We will also see a shift in the way we engage our customers and consumers in general,” Thompson said, according to Seeking Alpha. “We are being bold and direct as we talk about what matters most to customers, especially the quality of our menu ingredients. Collectively, these changes create the McDonald’s Experience of the Future, which brings the work that’s happening within each strategic priority together to deliver changes our customers will notice. It builds on the investments we’ve already made in technology, re-imagining our restaurants, and operations improvement with an increased emphasis on tangible customer-centric innovations for menu and service to profitability grow the business.”
Specifically, McDonald’s has renewed its focus on our customers with the evolution of its strategic plan.
“We brought in new talent in several major markets around the world to provide innovative thinking and fresh perspectives,” Thompson said. “We announced the changes that we are making to the U.S. organization to put decision-making and accountability closer to the customer. We redefined menu choice and personalization with the introduction of the Create Your Taste platform in Australia and the U.S. And we did more to bolster trust in brand McDonald’s, because we know that when our 
customers feel good about us and about eating at McDonald’s, they visit us more often.”
Beyond its existing menu, McDonald’s plans to assert “burger leadership” by offering greater customization and choice.
“Not only does Create Your Taste provide new menu news that excites consumers, it has the potential to lift sales of core classics, by bringing more customers into our restaurants,” Thompson said. “At the same time, we are strengthening the menu pipeline to create greater choice at the local level that reflects attributes like taste preferences and demographics, and those things that make each market unique. Greater localization enables us to take advantage of those attributes and tailor our menu and our marketing efforts to strengthen our relevance and appeal to customers in those regions.”
Changes in customer service models will create more memorable experiences and deliver unparalleled convenience, Thompson noted.
“For example, multiple order point strategies include self-order kiosk, table service, or mobile order and payments will modernize how our customers interact with our brand and, quite simply, make it easier to get McDonald’s their way, whatever that might be,” Thompson said.