Lessons from a Customer Engagement Leader

In 1999, upstart Chick-fil-A had just 9% share of the quick service chicken market. KFC was the leader among all chains with 40% market share.

Times have changed.

Today Chick-fil-A is the category leader, with 26% market share compared to KFC’s 22%.   It generates more revenue per outlet than any quick service restaurant chain in the U.S., and more than three times as much revenue per outlet as rival KFC. Chick-fil-A does this despite the fact that KFC has more than twice as many locations, and is open for business 52 more days per year.1

So how did Chick-fil-A manage to overtake its competitors to achieve financial and market performance leadership?

Many reasons have been given, including a differentiated menu, quality of food offerings, clever marketing and advertising campaigns, and company beliefs and values.2

We think there may be at least one additional factor in play:  Chick-fil-A is the industry leader in Customer Engagement (CE), and one of the top CE brands in any of the sectors we have examined.

For several weeks now, CX Solutions and Voice Crafter have been sharing results of our2016 Benchmark Study of Customer Engagement.  We have offered a definition of Customer Engagement, tried to demonstrate why it matters, revealed some of the brands that are CE leaders, and discussed why/how they have achieved such leadership.

At this point, we cannot demonstrate cause-and-effect.  However, we believe Chick-fil-A’s CE leadership probably has contributed to its achievement of positive business results:

  1. Fifty-one (51) percent of Chick-fil-A customers we surveyed are highly-engaged with that brand, compared to only 31% for KFC.  
  2. According to our survey, on average, Chick-fil-A’s share of all quick service restaurant visits is 31%, compared to 22% for KFC.   Note that these figures generally are consistent with the market share numbers cited earlier.

Interestingly (but perhaps not surprisingly), when we look at how customers rate Chick-fil-A and KFC on basic satisfaction attributes, we see little or no difference when it comes to things like value for price paidfood quality and variety, or convenience of location

On the other hand, when it comes to the “high touch” elements of the customer experience, Chick-fil-A bests its biggest rival.   Specifically, Chick-fil-A receives significantly more favorable ratings than KFC on:

  1. Customer service
  2. Staff and employees
  3. Making me feel like a valued/important customer

Furthermore, when asked “what one aspect of your experience with (Chick-fil-A or KFC) stands out the most, and why?” 33% of Chick-fil-A customers mention something positive about customer service and/or staff, compared to only 11% of KFC customers.   

A closer look at some of the comments themselves provide further insight into Chick-fil-A’s CE advantage:

“The girl behind the counter recognizes me and is very kind.”

“They are always polite and they even gave my dog a treat in the drive-thru at one of the locations I visit.”

“The employees are always friendly and make each visit very enjoyable.”

“The employees are always amazing.  Friendly, accurate, polite.  I’ve never seen another fast food restaurant run this well.”

“The way employees talk to customers is different than other fast food companies.”

“The environment and staff are the most friendly anywhere.  Everyone seems to really care.”

Simply put, customers engage with brands whose employees attempt to engage with them. The quick service restaurant industry is full of companies having outlets that are conveniently located, provide good food and beverages, and generally speaking, do so quickly and accurately.   These are the “table stakes” required to play in this industry.

Chick-fil-A does all of the above.  However, the brand achieves Customer Engagement leadership largely because of how its employees treat and engage with customers.  Chick-fil-A excels at high touch — and customers notice and remember.

Think Customer Engagement leadership might have something to do with why Chick-fil-A has risen to become the industry leader in market share and revenue?

We do.

We’ll be sharing more findings from our 2016 Benchmark Study of Customer Engagement next week.  So, please stay tuned!

Notes:

  1. Peterson, H. (2015).  “How Chick-fil-A is Dominating Fast Food.”  Retrieved from businessinsider.com.
  2. Lutz, A. (2014).  “Three Reasons Chick-fil-A is Destroying KFC.”  Retrieved from businessinsider.com.