How Your Business Can Be Like McDonald's

A man named Ray Kroc founded one of the greatest businesses of our time, and McDonald’s is the company that I am referring to. Whether you eat in fast food chains or not, agree with fast food chains or not, his simple philosophy for growing a business is completely transferable to any company wishing to grow.

When Ray first saw the potential of what McDonald’s could be back in the 50’s, he got to work but unlike many ventures that start up, he saw the importance of the processes as well as the people. He realized he couldn’t duplicate a person, but he could duplicate a process, and it was his attention to getting his team to follow the processes that enabled him a huge chunk of success. These processes were drilled into each and every crew-member and became the basic elements that ensured each store succeeded.

You may be thinking at this point that your business is nothing like McDonald’s and nor do you want it to be (wouldn’t mind the growth and profit though eh?) but read on because a process he was hell bent on is totally transferable to your business too.

What Ray preached at all costs was QSC and V, and that every customer experienced it.

QSC and V stand for Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value.

Quality

Are you offering a mediocre product or could it be better for the price? How can you innovate it, make it better, stop cutting cost corners and raise the quality level of it? McDonald’s 15c hamburgers were never allowed to have more than 19% fat from beef, and only contain meet not the cheap bits like heart. If the product could not be made to this specification for 15c, then the price would have to be raised, but it was a quality product he strived for 100% of the time.

Service

Do you and your team offer consistent service each and every time? Not only when you are customer facing, but on the telephone, via email, on social media, in your advertising? What about after the sale has passed, is the standard of service just as good or have you lost interest and moved on to the next customer?

Cleanliness

You may not have a kitchen to worry about but your customers and prospects see other things that make up your ‘kitchen’. Stand outside your premises, preferably across the street from it and take stock. Are the windows clean, is the entryway tidy, is the reception area scruffy and how are your team presenting themselves?

If you don’t have a premises that receives visitors, remember your website, your social channels, your brand, are they all consistently tidy?

I moved house recently and the team from the removal firm turned up clean and tidy and in their uniform so I knew my belongings would be looked after properly. Compare that to the team that were moving the new owners things in, scruffy and unkempt, would their possessions be looked after quite as well? Perception matters.

Value

How can you increase the value of your product or service without increasing the cost, what else can you add in? What else will ease your customer’s problem and be of value to them with very little or no cost to you? If your 15c hamburger equivalent is not worth the 15c you are charging for it, you are on to a loser not a winner.

Maybe this article will endure some comments about how McDonald’s has perhaps lost it’s way and who knows what goes into each burger or nugget or pie now, but it’s not about that. He built a brand that is now known by almost every human being on the planet making a tidy sum of money along the way.

Ray died in 1984 aged 82 but still went into the office most days during those last few years even though he was not in good health and in a wheelchair. He cared.

Remember QSC and V because the basics are very, very important. They certainly worked for Ray.

What do you instill into your business like Ray? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

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