The One Problem Even the Best Marketing Strategy Can’t Overcome

Sales at McDonald’s have been steadily declining for years.

Last month, the company announced its Chief Creative Officer of 14 years was leaving. This month, McDonald’s launched a social media campaign to directly address concerns about its core menu items, mainly their burgers.

Believe it or not, some people have doubts about the quality of the ingredients used to make and preserve Mickey D’s burgers.

It seems like the folks at McDonald’s are trying to use social media to convince people that their burgers, named the worst in America in a recent Consumer Reports survey , are actually fresh and taste good.

And all of that chatter about pink slime? Way overblown. Nothing to see here.

But this campaign doesn’t address the real problem.

The best marketing strategy in the world formulated by the best marketing minds in the world will not change the taste of their burgers or the nutritional value of its menu.

If McDonald’s has any hope of reversing sales declines, they need to start selling better-tasting burgers and offer healthier foods.

I don’t mean to pick on McDonald’s, but they’re a prime example of a company with a problem that can’t be overcome with marketing.

If you have a bad product or service, or you don’t run your business properly, don’t expect marketing to ride in on a white horse and save the day.

I’m all for transparency and addressing concerns head on as McDonald’s is supposedly doing with this social media campaign.

But it ignores the core problem – crappy burgers.

When I was a kid, we used to joke about how McDonald’s burgers could be used to patch a hole in a tire. That was 30 years ago.

Today, the jokes have moved from the playground to Facebook and Twitter. But that’s the least of their worries.

People demand to know what’s in their food and how it’s made. If they don’t think you’re telling the truth, they’ll find the truth on their own.

More importantly, they’ll find better-tasting, healthier foods someplace else.

Marketing can help to shape and even change perceptions, but it can’t fix a bad product or service.

Suppose a marketing campaign is successful and people go to your website or shop at your store. If they have a bad experience, they won’t buy anything.

Suppose they do buy something and end up disappointed by a product or service that doesn’t meet expectations, or they receive poor customer service. They’ll never buy from you again.

This isn’t a marketing problem. This is a business problem.

Before you invest in marketing, invest in your product, your people and your processes.

Make sure all three are aligned so your company is capable of delivering on the promises made in your marketing.

The formula that may have worked for 20 years may not work today. You have to be willing to make changes if you expect to remain successful. That could mean a few minor tweaks, or it could require a complete overhaul.

We’ve all heard the saying that doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is the definition of insanity.

Changing up the marketing strategy, incorporating new tactics and modifying your marketing message won’t do any good if your product or service isn’t any good, or the way you run your business isn’t any good.

In fact, the best way to expose a lousy product or poor operating procedures is with great marketing.

When McDonald’s promoted #McDStories on Twitter in January of 2012 to promote the quality and freshness of its food, the campaign was quickly overtaken by a flood of negative tweets. McDonalds even got into a testy exchange with PETA.

The campaign lasted less than two hours. The negative tweets continued for days.

I’ll be curious to see what kind of reaction McDonald’s will generate from their latest social media campaign. Unfortunately, it won’t do anything to solve the real problem.