A Surefire Way to Increase Revenue

Back in the 1970s, before the drive-through, one of the McDonalds in Arizona saw a sudden decline in sales.  It turns out that the commander of a local army base issued an order that soldiers were no longer allowed to go into restaurants while wearing their uniforms.

As much as soldiers may have wanted a Big Mac, they weren’t going to enter the store and risk punishment for breaking a rule while driving to and from the base. So, sales dropped.

The local franchisee, though, had a great solution.  He decided to slice a hole in the side of his restaurant, add a sliding window to take orders/money and then pass the food into the driver’s window of the car.

Problem solved!  Soldiers could enjoy their Big Macs and fries without getting out of their cars and sales went up.

Alas, the first McDonald’s drive-through restaurant was born.  Fast forward to this year and drive-through orders are now about 70% of McDonald’s business!

Moral of the story – Solving a real problem that your customers have is a surefire way to increase revenue.

One of my clients sells very fashionable jewelry.  That is except when the new jewelry flavor of the month eclipses my company’s appeal in the fickle hearts of their customer base.  And while their customers often feel the need for new jewelry, my client is only one of many companies to satisfy this general need.

So, we decided to research and solve a real problem of our customer base – and it wasn’t about fashion or style.  We found it was about the need for human connection.

It turns out my client’s customers often bought their jewelry because it had words on the jewelry that resonated with feelings that they had.  Like Faith, Belief, Strength, Resilience and Perseverance.  And they would wear this jewelry to connect with others who felt similarly, and as a source of support in their journey.  They would also gift them to friends who needed similar support – creating powerful emotional connections as a result.

The company pivoted from cutting edge jewelry fashion first, to a focus on human connection.  And, of course, sales increases followed.

Do you know what pressing problem your customers have right now?  And how your company can singularly solve it for them?

Answer those questions, and your customers will drive through to your doorstep!