Efforts to revitalize a business generally entail change. Change may involve introducing new things that the company has not done before. It may also entail taking away something the company was already doing.
Handling these changes can be challenging for a company. Companies must be careful so changes intended to attract new customers, or to get existing customers to buy more, do not alienate too many existing customers that the company wants to keep.
This can be especially challenging when the changes involve taking away something that has been there for quite a while. What is intended to be an attractive update can easily end up alienating existing customers who expect what was already there and are very disappointed if it is taken away.
An example of this recently had considerable media attention. The example is Cracker Barrel, a restaurant chain that has been making changes in order to improve its business. The chain took away its existing logo, which included a picture of a man near a barrel and the words Cracker Barrel. The new logo only had the words Cracker Barrel, without the picture.
This change led to considerable reaction in the marketplace. There was widespread consumer disappointment with the new logo. In fact, there was so much backlash that Cracker Barrel soon brought back the old logo.
The lesson here is that businesses need to be especially careful when they take something away, especially if it’s something current customers really like. Granted, Cracker Barrel did receive considerable media attention from this, so there was some promotional/awareness benefit for the company. However, this example illustrates how important it can be to not take away something that existing customers really like.
When taking something away, companies must evaluate the risk of losing customers who really wanted what is being removed. If a desired product or service is taken away, customers might deflect to the completion to try to get what they want. And, since added new offerings often fail, the company may risk losing more customers due to what it discontinues than it gains by adding something new.
This doesn’t mean companies should never discontinue what they were previously doing. But, it does mean they should carefully think through their decisions before taking something away. Existing customers may really want what is slated for removal. If so, taking it away can really hurt the business instead of bringing on the intended revitalization. Companies should pay attention to this when attempting to revitalize their business.
