How can an international fast food chain teach us about the best ways to offer choice?

1. The McDonald’s (UK) Model
A few years ago, McDonald’s in the UKrealised that they
would have to take steps to change their image. The
public perception of it being a company selling
unhealthy food, unsustainably sourced had been
growing for some time – arguably initiated by Morgan
Spurlock’s documentary film Supersize Me in 2004 –
and the company began a strategy to address this.
So they began to offer salads, fruit bags, carrot sticks
and healthy drink options. They published exhaustive
nutritional information. They also started to talk about
where their ingredients came from, featuring pastoral
scenes and friendly farmers. The campaign continues
to this day, with McDonald’s endeavouring to
demonstrate at every turn that they are not the
nutritional refuseniks many people assume that they
are.
And it is a great strategy, from a PR point of view. From
a customer point of view – well why do you go to
McDonald’s? You want a burger don’t you? And
probably fries, a drink….hardly anyone goes to
McDonald’s for a salad. But the fact that they offer
salads salves everyone’s conscience and gives a choice
to those people who do actually care about the healthy
eating option.
The same goes for funerals. The majority of people
arranging a funeral want what they expect a funeral to
be. They have gone to the Funeral Director expecting
some fairly standard things and many of them will be
happy with that. But there will be some (and this is a
growing trend) who want ‘salad’. They want a natural
burial or a wicker coffin. They want a celebrant or a
slide show. They want green alternatives or an informal
approach.
Whilst most of your customers will carry on as before,
it’s worth having a salad option isn’t it? Because if you
don’t, you can be sure that the company down the
street will have one and that is where your customers
will go.
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