#mitsloansectionb

[enformation-blog]

Eat Mor Chikin!

As I read the McDonald’s article, I tried not to gag at the thought of eating their food. I was unsuccessful. I then began searching my mind to identify at least one fast food chain that has gained the trust and loyalty of its customers with consistency over time. KFC? No. Taco Bell? Nope! Chipotle? Ehh..they were doing well up until that E. coli outbreak last year.

….and then it dawned on me…Chick-fil-A is the clear winner!

Chick-fil-A is viewed highly in the minds of its patrons because

1.) The company makes great food, and 2.) Great customer service is at the core of its user experience.

They do an amazing job at increasing brand awareness and retaining equity by going the extra mile for customers—whether it is their “my pleasure” response that follows a customer's pleasantries,  or their willingness to give you extra sauce without charging  a condiment fee, they consistently provide a quality experience. Quality is the norm, not the exception, at Chick-fil-A.

It sets itself  apart  by making the “fast” food experience more personable, enduring, and memorable than the rest. The company has humanized an experience that is largely designed to be robotic by  nature. Thus, Chick-fil-A provides a 1-2 punch that others can’t beat, which is also why the brand invests so little on marketing and advertising. The experience sells itself!

[enformation-blog]

Intel’s Response is More Important than the Issues they Face

Intel should remain as agile now as its ever been. The press is prematurely proclaiming that the fat lady is singing on Intel, but the microchip giant is not down and out just yet. Rather, Intel is in a transitory phase. As PC sales drop and remain stagnant worldwide, Intel is now forced to look elsewhere to counter decreasing revenue from PC sales by entering new markets. Most importantly, Intel is facing this challenge head on…just as it always has!

For instance, when IT heads and consumers failed to keep pace with Intel’s cyclical R&D schedule that produced annual microchip releases, it responded by introducing the groundbreaking Intel Inside campaign via a co-op advertising model. Similarly, when their pace accelerated even more quickly, PC producers failed to keep up due to their inability to integrate Intel’s advanced chips into older models. Intel responded and removed that barrier by developing its own chip sets and motherboards for easier integration.

Likewise, Intel now faces another monumental pivot. It is well known that the company has recently announced its intentions to layoff 12,000 people. However, that is not much cause for concern considering its global workforce totals over 107,000 employees. Actually, being more lean by trimming excess fat is positive because proactivity in this manner will decrease operating costs. Also, by focusing on quality over quantity, it should be better prepared to face the increasing competition within its biggest growth opportunity: the cloud! Although the press surrounding Intel is largely negative at the moment due to the layoffs, a closer look at its financials reveals that cloud computing and the Internet of Things (IoT) accounted for “40% of [its] revenue last year and 60% of its profits” (Fortune, 2016). That figure will continue to rise as Intel focuses more of its time and efforts on research in this area.

Additionally, Intel is doing a great job at becoming a company of the future by focusing heavily on its seminal diversity initiative. The company is leading the tech industry by being one of the first to openly disclose its diversity numbers and its plans to invest $300M to increase representation amongst a homogenous workforce. One must not also forget that Intel is still the leader in the microchip processing business, and that sector of its business will remain a sizable portion of total revenues into the foreseeable future—even if PC sales are stagnant. So, what is most important is not that Intel is facing trying times, but rather that it is responding to changing times by readily responding with action!