All day breakfast was a smart move and it will continue to pay dividends. McDonald’s is better with it than without it. It is probably some of the best product they have.

But what they are fighting is a fast food trend that is moving in the wrong direction. And there is probably no turning it around.

Consumers’ desires have changed and brands without the “McDonald’s” name will take advantage of it. McDonald’s developed and rode its brand for decades successfully. It means something in the customer’s mind. That meaning is just not very valuable anymore.

Turning around a situation like this is even more difficult than starting from scratch.

McDonald’s no longer has a significant price advantage on its signature product (hamburgers) compared to chains like In-N-Out Burger, Culver’s and so forth. And it has a real problem in terms of food quality — not just the lack of freshness in the burgers themselves, but also the inability to customize. I know McDonald’s is trying to reconcile the quality issue with the “need for speed,” but some of its regional competitors have figured out that their customers (even at the drive-thru window) are willing to wait a little longer for better-tasting food. Until McDonald’s is willing to do what it takes to address this issue, nothing else (including breakfast) matters.

The introduction of all-day breakfast gave McDonald’s a nice year-over-year boost. However, when comparing sales to the first year of the introduction producing sales increase gets much harder. Customers are now very aware of the menu change and the sales increase from the change has occurred. Now sales comparisons are based on two like menus.

Eventually the sales increase will flatten out and McDonald’s will have to find another way to increase same-store sales. When I was a kid, it was a family outing to go to McDonald’s after the softball game – or even after school. Figure out a way to increase the family spend – not just individual customers.

I would focus on the original products that made McDonald’s the market leader and focus on improving their quality. Make the core products better, fresher, tastier and reduce the use of heat lamps. Train personnel for a better guest experience; greet your customers, keep a very clean dinning room and bathrooms, maintain a good stock of the supplies and condiments for them and be professional — it’s QSR but it is also food.

The market dynamics (labor costs, health trends, taste profiles) are going to change, but the core function of a restaurant is constant. I would encourage franchisees to run a quality restaurant while I run an effective marketing campaign to drive traffic into the store. If we deliver on the brand promise, we will be profitable together.

The challenge for the CEO and Board of McDonald’s is to deliver on being a fast food provider for the masses in a world where growth is defined by specialization and personalization. What a phenomenal opportunity that would be! Keeping in mind the meta-narratives impacting consumer behavior and continued investment in technology, I’d address 4 areas long term: Invest in workforce and training; Create new yet more simplified menu options; Pivot to healthier ingredient sets and; Humanize the stores. 1. Workforce: Even if ordering goes fully automated via kiosks, smart devices, and so on, I’d want employee-customer interactions to be exemplary and enhance the customer experience 2. Menu: Add options for wide swaths of the population that have dietary/health restrictions: reduced sugars, low carb, non-dairy (coconut and almond based milks and yogurts), and gluten-free options. 3. Ingredients: Reduce exposure to GMO products wherever possible; provide clear easy to understand transparent ingredient lists; celebrate locally sourced products. 4. Stores: Humanize these a lot more. While each McDonald’s should have a common “store template” to communicate quality… Read more »

Just the stat that only 20% of Millennials have ever eaten a Big Mac should send a thunderbolt through Oak Brook. McDonald’s should absolutely examine every aspect of the business, along with a SWOT comparison to competitors, to determine the way forward. It’s a big job — but it’s necessary!