(Cracker Barrel, Rialto, California)
You’ve probably heard me rant about companies that fail to differentiate.
But what’s worse are the companies that have clear differentiation, but then dump it to be just like everybody else.
Take Cracker Barrel.
Changing the look and feel
Despite their manufactured nature, they clearly present themselves as a place with an old-time retro feel.
- Their menu pays homage to Southern cooking, even if you’re eating at a Cracker Barrel in California or Connecticut.
- The store features country music, Moon Pies, and records…sorry, vinyl.
- Even the walls are covered with decorations that reflect the past. In California, that means citrus crates, plus farming implements and sepia-toned pictures.
Well, one of the items above is changing.
“The Tennessee-based company, known as much for its tchochkes as its Southern fixins’ like chicken fried steak and grits, has tossed the kitsch that drew generations of diners in favor of booths and crisp white walls.”
A move which gives the New York Post to describe the new look as “sterile.” A good word in healthcare, and maybe a good word in a restaurant kitchen, but not in the dining room.
So why do it? Because:
“CEO Julie Felss Masino admitted the chain is ‘just not as relevant’ as it used to be.”
Ah, RELEVANT. If you maintain a retro look that your competitors don’t have, you’re not relevant.
But what will Cracker Barrels become with white walls, no rocking chairs, and no Burma Shave signs?
Yawn.
A fast (food) lesson
McDonald’s learned about customer indifference the hard way. Throwing the old look into the dumpster doesn’t please people.
Years ago when I was growing up, McDonald’s was easily identifiable by its huge golden arches on the red and white striped buildings.
But then McDonald’s decided that the 1950s-1960s look was no longer relevant and shifted to square brown buildings straight from an industrial park.
But today?
McDonald’s is making its customers happy by building huge restaurants with huge golden arches again. One is being built in my local area in Upland at Foothill and Benson. You may know Foothill Boulevard as Route 66. There are two existing golden arches restaurants on Foothill near Euclid in Upland and near Archibald in Rancho Cucamonga.
How are you differentiated?
So what happens in 2035 when some old man is telling his grandkids how cool Cracker Barrels USED to be?
You’ll have a new CEO ordering the high-traffic restaurants to cover the walls with farming implements again.
And maybe your technology company is in a similar state, sounding just the same as everyone else.
Ask yourself WHY your company is great and your competitors suck.
And emphasize your differentiators.
Bredemarket can help. Talk to me.
Bredemarket 
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