McDonald’s recently announced their financial results for 2012…
“The company, which has enjoyed a stellar few years following the economic crisis, said that its turnover had increased by 12pc to $27bn, with net income increasing 11pc to $5.5bn.
This is the ninth consecutive year that sales have increased after it suffered from a crisis of confidence at the end of the 1990s.”
More here…
“McDonald’s hits record $27bn turnover”
Mickey D’s is a somewhat unfashionable company that the chattering classes love to disparage.
But they must be doing something right.
The financial performance is solid…impressive even…by any standards…
…and they seem to know a few things about increasing sales.
And the report brought to mind a comment from Dan Kennedy in his marketing newsletter a few months back (meant to post about it at the time…but you know how it is).
Dan was talking about “Limited Editions” and how any business can use them to boost sales.
“Limited-time offers and temporarily available products are very commonly used in the fast food and mid-range restaurants. RED LOBSTER gets a 12% bump in traffic when they run their once a year “lobster festival”. It works so well because it is tied to an already accepted fact…that lobsters are “in season” once a year.”
Dan goes on to talk about the formula for successful promotions like this, namely…
(something special) + (special value) + (limited time period) = sales boost
…and mentions Quizno’s and Burger King as chains that rely heavily on limited-time items.
McDonald’s isn’t specifically mentioned by Dan, but they certainly make use of the tactic.
There’s another factor too, that I think plays a significant role.
Over the last 10 years or so, they’ve become a lot better at product innovation and giving people reasons to come back to their restaurants.
Sure, they’d always tried new things (remember “McPizza” anyone?) but they never seemed to be very successful.
But now, they seem to have developed a surer touch with innovations like McCafe and “premium” lines like the “Angus” burger range (gee, I’m getting hungry just writing about it).
One of the biggest challenges for any business, especially restaurants, is giving clients a reason to come back.
Limited time offers and new products are among the ways to do that.
So keep an eye on what successful companies like McDonald’s are up to…
…and see how you can use the “sales boost” formula in your own business.