The new laws popping up which require restaurants to post calorie counts next to food listings have me concerned. This may come as a surprise to those who know me – after all, I am a fitness enthusiast and I try to practice healthy eating. So the nutritional content of food is really important to me.
But I just don’t agree with the menu labeling laws. Here are my reasons why I think they’re bad for business:
The other day I found myself doing something quite curious – after having placed an item into my grocery cart, I turned around, took it out, and returned it to the shelf. That momentary act wasn’t strange because I’m generally a decisive person — but rather because of what caused me to reverse my actions. My change of heart was prompted by a ½” inch square – or actually, the absence of it.
When it comes to mishaps, most companies seem to have adopted Discovery’s song “It’s Not My Fault” as their anthem – but it would be so much better for them to follow Akon’s lead and plainly state “Sorry, Blame It on Me.”
To be clear, I’m not talking about issuing apologies for the sweeping mistakes companies have made for, say, running our economy into the ground — nor about mea culpas for the indiscretions of executives with poor personal judgment. I don’t even mean the situations in which a company clearly screwed things up for a customer, like failing to provide a promised service or selling a defective product. By now, companies who haven’t figured out the importance of an appropriate apology in these situations are just helpless and hopeless.
I’m talking about saying “sorry” for little things – the millions of seemingly-forgettable occurrences that happen every day as companies go about their business and end up inconveniencing, or disappointing, or causing some trouble for their customers.
I recently had two experiences that exemplify the right and wrong way to handle these apologies.
I’ve been doing research on some companies and have spent quite a bit of time looking at companies’ corporate reports – e.g., annual reports, official statements, corporate presentations, etc. I’m amazed at how many companies completely overlook these reports as touchpoints through which people experience their brands. Often the reports are dry and pedantic or fluffy and full of corporate-speak – they don’t communicate or reflect what is differentiating or compelling about their brands.
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Apparently my “Outside Insights” column, How to Defeat McDonald’s**, on QSR Magazine‘s home page has prompted concern among the folks at McDonald’s. 
It was intended as a service piece for fast feeders looking for insights on how to establish competitive advantage — but the Golden Arches media relations team seems to view it as a judgmental report on their strategies.
Quite frankly, I’m surprised by their reaction — but I’m curious to hear what you think. Here’s the original piece, followed by the comments submitted by a McDonald’s spokesperson (she initially emailed these comments to me with a request for a correction to be issued.)
Just a heads up I’ll be speaking in the Sales and Marketing Management‘s Virtual Trade Show webcast this Thursday, 10.02.08 at 2:00PT/5:00ET, on “Aligning Your Remote Salesforce.” My main point (more…)
Michael Phelps is going to appear on Kellogg’s Corn Flakes and Frosted Flakes cereal boxes.
Apparently Phelps passed on posing on Wheaties boxes where he has appeared before, (more…)