Accepting brand change
Consistency is a good thing, it helps build brand loyalty and we become comfortable with things being a certain way. Most people don’t like change and when it occurs we often relate to it as a disturbance or even as a threat to our costumed way of life.
There are four types of customers all with varying degrees of acceptance of change.
1: Early Adopters who are the risk takers. They like to try new things.
2: Pragmatists who are willing to use/try something new but only as a last resort.
3: Conservatives try to avoid anything new.
4: Laggards pride themselves on the fact that they are the last to try anything new.
Personally I am somewhere between an Early Adopter and a Pragmatist, you could say a cautious Early Adopter. Change grabs my attention initially but then in due course I accept it as the way it’s going to be.
An example of this was when I entered McDonald’s the other day to use their washroom. I was surprised by my experience. When I think of McDonald’s I think of yellow arches, the colour red, plastic molded furniture and spotty pubescent teenagers. This restaurant had just undergone a renovation and this time I was greeted by a young lady as she opened the door for me while displaying a smile. The inside was modern, new, bright and clean. The washrooms were spectacular, reflective of a quality restaurant.
As I didn’t eat there I can only presume the food has not seen the same upgrade as the interior (imagine a Big Mac served with silver cutlery and cloth napkins). Here lies the brand problem. The environment is no longer reflective of the cheap commodity food that it is selling. I experienced ‘brand confusion’. It would be the equivalent to eating at an expensive restaurant and the server bringing you your $40 steak to the table in a brown paper bag.
The roll out of McDonald’s new interior across all of its locations will take some time. As some restaurants will have the new look and some the old, this will also add to customers’ brand confusion. That being said, brand confusion will quickly disperse as McDonald’s are not changing their product, only the experience in which customers will consume their product. Customers will still get the same expected meal but can now enjoy it in a nicer environment. This will create a heightened dining experience for the customer.
For some customers accepting brand change can take time, but for the company the end result is worth the wait. With repeat exposure to something new, customer brand confusion or even reluctance will eventually subside and be replaced with acceptance (even for Conservative customers and Laggards).
This acceptance will eventually result in a more positive customer brand experience when compared to eating at McDonalds prior to the new interior renovations.
