Steve Easterbrook has been CEO of McDonald’s for 15 months and, during that time, he has witnessed a transformative focus on the customer that has re-ignited brand loyalty.
During the Bernstein 32nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference 2016 on June 1, Easterbrook spoke about the brand’s iconic image that holds a legacy with “inherent competitive advantages.”
“Our iconic brand is clearly an advantage,” he said, according to Seeking Alpha. “We are one of the most, if not the most, recognizable valuable brands in the world. We believe the strength of our model is enduring, but no business or brand has a divine right to succeed. Early last year saw the urgent need to reset the business, how we think, how we act, and how we make decisions. And the biggest change in the business was really to put the customer back at the center of everything we do. And we started adapting our business to their needs, rather than asking them to adapt to ours, and this mindset has ignited our turnaround.”
McDonald’s size and scale makes it the biggest player in a highly fragmented $1.2 trillion global informal eating out category.
“Our geographical diversification gives us a broad base of markets with different economic and social conditions,” Easterbrook added. “And our franchising model is also a competitive advantage. Our independent local owner operators get us closer to the customers in the communities we serve and unleash more entrepreneurial spirit, risk taking, and innovation.”
Easterbrook noted the three phases of the turnaround were revitalize, strengthen, and lead. He discussed the revitalize theme.
“This was really encapsulated by the turnaround plan that was launched last May, and the goal was for customers to recognize McDonald’s as a modern progressive burger company,” he said. “And that plan was built on a foundation of running great restaurants, where we re-emphasized the passion for quality, service, and cleanliness, which has long been hallmark and probably the DNA of brand McDonald’s. “
McDonald’s restructured the business, eliminated layers, sharpened focus, and accelerated decision making, Easterbrook said.
“We also brought in fresh perspective with the new global Chief Communications Officer, Global Chief Marketing Officer, and a Global Chief Strategy Officer joining the business,” he explained. “As a further part of the turnaround plan, we are also working hard to build brand excitement as a whole range of activities going on from where we launched All Day Breakfast here in the U.S. and, subsequently, Australia. We have been far more vocal about the quality of our food and the sourcing standards that we exercise, I think, from the Artisan Grilled Chicken Patty, The Buttermilk Chicken Sandwich, Antibiotic-Free Chicken, Hormone Free Milk, and our shift to Cage-Free Eggs.”