What do you suggest they do...

In a recent interview in Brand Week the new CMO of Chipotle, Mark Crumpacker, made some interesting points about their customer and the task at hand.

1. Most Chipotle customers always order the same thing "That’s something I’d like to change with our marketing. I can tell you I like my new carnita bowl better than I like my chicken one" How should they do this?

2. "We found that people are coming to Chipotle because they love the food, which is great. But we found that they are not using the fact that we spend a lot of time and effort on making all of our food as sustainably and naturally-raised as possible. We all assumed that that was a big driving factor. Even people who were coming to Chipotle for a long time, they appreciate it, but it’s not the reason they are coming in. They just love the way the food tastes" Should they stop promoting their form utility?

3. "We can give them new things to talk about. It’ll be more along the lines of, ‘Oh, did you know Chipotle is doing this? Did you know they’ve got all these great things going on?’ We’ll be spending a significant amount of our energy in terms of ramping up those conversations that consumers are having." What could they do, that they are not doing now to give customers more reasons to talk about Chipotle?

Is Failure An Option...

In an economic crisis, the weak die first. So it was no real surprise that the first sports casualties of the current recession came from minor professional leagues: Last month the WNBA shuttered its premier franchise, the Houston Comets, and the Arena Football League, which had been scratching out a living since 1987, canceled its 2009 season. (The LPGA is cutting three tour stops and $5 million in prize money from the 2009 tour, so they're feeling the pinch, too.) Click here to read the entire article.

The question is, were these failures part of a normal, recessionary, thinning of the herd? Or were they the early warning signs of a pro-sports bubble that may be about to burst? Who is next? What should pro sports teams be doing to overcome this?

They Don't Get It Anymore...

Starbucks is in the news again in attempt to get same store sales back on track. The company is considering offering a value menu along with rolling out instant coffee. I find this humorous, since Howard Shultz, CEO in the past has said he does not see McDonald's as a direct competitor...hmmm? I have always admired Starbucks for trying to be the leader in new product development but in the current economy people want to see more value in their $3.00 cup of coffee. Starbucks is going to attempt this by selling instant coffee which will cost about a dollar a cup for $2.95 for a pack of three where one can but a 30 cup can of Folgers for $2.65. Click on the links above and read the articles for more information.

Do you think Starbucks "Gets It" anymore? Selling a $1 cup of coffee, what will that do to the Starbucks brand? Is it better to be developing more products instead of offering promotional discounts? Should they be offering better promotions with more value before they lose even more customers to McDonald's and their $0.67 coffee. In times likes these how do luxury brand companies hold on and maintain their customer base especially when there are so many available substitutes? I would love to hear your thoughts

See if you can spot the celebrity...