Find Your One Thing
The news about Subway getting into the breakfast game made me question the move. Did they have to do this? Not everyone can do everything well. Five-dollar foot long sandwiches are working well for them. Why the need for breakfast game? It's because the quick service, aka fast food, category is ruthless. It never stops - morning, noon and night. Does it have to be that way?
A scene from the classic movie City Slickers has always stuck with me as a metaphor for both business and life. Shot on a cloudless, blue sky day in the desert while riding on horses, the old salt cowboy, Curly (played in understated glamour by Jack Palance), lectures city slicker ranch hand, Mitch (Billy Crystal in one of his greatest acting roles), about life - "Find one thing, just one thing, and stick to it."
What great advice. Too bad many brands don't adhere to it. In business, you can't be all things to all people. You end up with a fractured personality. That's true of almost every quick service restaurant today. They stand for everything and stand out for nothing. It's a vast wasteland of fast food sameness. They don't subscribe to Curly's "one thing" philosophy.
It isn't true of all. Five Guys Burgers and Fries have perfected their one thing - burgers and fries. You could argue that their point of difference is being fanatical about freshness. You won't find anything frozen. Quality is more than a buzz word. The best salespeople are their customers. They don't play the discount game or cater. Want it delivered - nope! In a hurry? Sorry, you'll have to wait.
Granted you can get hot dogs and grilled cheese (for the kids), but it's all about burgers and fries. The beef is 80% lean, the buns are toasted on the grill and fries are northern Idaho potatoes noted for their density. 17 topping offerings are a plus. They don't cut corners. Today, they have 570 stores across the U.S. and Canada, with new stores opening at a rate of about four a week. Sales are close to $500 million and climbing. That's a lot of revenue for being true to one thing - burgers and fries. Being rated ten years straight on the Zagat's survey says something for a simple burger shack with red and white decor.
At some point after growth stops it will be interesting to see if they have to get into the brand extension game, especially if they get acquired and become a public company. That's when the year-over-year sales game starts to be played.
The FAQ section of the Five Guys Burgers and Fries website gives a glimpse into how adamant they are about staying true to their one thing.
Q. Does Five Guys plan to add any menu items (i.e, milkshakes, chili, etc.)?
A. Five Guys does not currently have plans to add any items to our menu. We follow the philosophy of focusing on a few items, and serving them to the best of our ability. If we were to add to our menu, then you can guarantee that we would only do so if we could serve the highest quality product possible. For example, there are a lot of great milkshakes out there, and at this point we think that others are doing it better than we could!
Isn't that a novel marketing and sales admission? Someone does something better than you. How many people or businesses are willing to say that? What they don't boast about is that they do burgers and fries better than any competitor. There is real money to be made doing something really well. Whether it's in business or your personal life, seek out the one thing that you do well and better than anyone else. Find your one thing.
You make a great point, Bill. Five Guys seems like one of the all-too-rare fast food restaurants that has found success in focusing their efforts towards quality over quantity. It would be great if more businesses followed this mentality!
- Andy
This is great brand positioing advice. Positioning is all about being exclusionary not inclusionary - easy to say, not so easy to do. It seems to be the same way with obsession to always get bigger. Whatever happened to being a great, small, niche player brand with high margins - what is wrong with that?
As far as taking it personally... stay tuned!*&$?
Subway is definitely setting themselves up for failure, to your point of trying to be all things to all people. They are entering a fierce and competitive market. Look at the all the major players in the quick service breakfast segment- they all have one similar POD: an established coffee brand (D&D, Starbucks, McD's, etc.) with dedicated brand loyalty. Another key barrier is going to be location. They don't have as many "road facings" as the Quick Service Breakfast competition, let alone drive-thru access. It'll be interesting to see how they roll out to market.
Maybe they'll help fund the sequel to Happy Gilmore for product placement of the new breakfast menu.
This reminds me of Dunkin Donuts current ventures away from their core business and brand. As a consumer I want the company to continue to entice me with coffee and donuts - something I think the new dark roast achieves. As a marketer I don't want to see chicken parm sandwiches or jalapeno cheddar twists. I want DD to reinvigorate the business of breakfast whether it's 6:00 am or 6:00 pm. The question that still lingers - why do successful brands assume success translates into any venture the company decides to enter?
I don't know. Subway has always been about location and cost, not quality - if you've eaten there, you know what I mean. If they can offer breakfast at their typical low cost - to the customer, and to their franchisees - they can add some revenue during hours when the stores are typically stagnant. People who buy whatever junk they're offering will do so for convenience and low cost. My guess is this is a carefully controlled experiment - they won't put much money into it until they see if they can do it profitably.