“Convenience is king. But brand is queen.”

Discussing brand, franchise and voice with Gary Vaynerchuk.

There is no question dramatic changes are upon the restaurant and franchise industry. Bookstores were first. Hotels and Taxis next. It continues.

Last mile will be key, which of course also has to do with fulfilment capabilities. Often the discussion focuses on delivery for the last mile, ‘only’. One should not forget the aspect of a brand’s fulfilment footprint. Especially when it is freshly prepared food that needs to be delivered on that last mile. 

Above all is the customer, expecting a seamless, convenient order process that will very soon lose the process with orders being automatically placed, initially suggested, by the apps, devices, channels, platforms. Amazon is already today sending ‘proactive’ trial boxes to its customers before they even ordered the items included in the box.

If done right, this is the ultimate convenience, maybe especially for food choices. Imagine, the food delivered to your desk or the food you pick up, is actually exactly what you wanted, craved in that moment - and you did not have to decide, line up, wait, order, pay... Just as Amazon knows what you want to buy next, your device will know what you want to eat next, today, and tomorrow.

In the past running great restaurants was getting 4 things right: great food, clean restaurants, fast and friendly service and great value. Platforms and gatekeepers can already today democratise all of the above and will get more sophisticated in guiding customer decisions towards their own brands or towards the brand that pays gigantic fees to be named brand of choice by the gatekeeper. The only way to compete with those gatekeepers is by constantly evolving and transforming your brand, making sure you are the first choice across all channels and the brand, that is allowed to interact directly with individual customers. 

I suspect almost nobody wants their phone to chose what it will be for lunch tomorrow? It is already happening. Convenience is king, already today.

"But brand is queen - and she runs sh***." as Gary put it.

Watch the video for more details: “How Business Will Change In A Voice-First World”