So, it turns out that before this new CEO at Cracker Barrel, Julie Feless Masino, who nuked poor Uncle Herschel off of the company’s logo, has been bouncing around corporate America for years like a mouse in a cheese factory looking for a tasty block of cheddar. Before Cracker Barrel she was at Taco Bell (where she created serious customer backlash for cutting favorites off of the menu). Before that, at she was at Mattel toys. She had come to Matel from Sprinkles cupcakes. But these gigs were preceded by Starbucks. Macy’s, Godiva Chocolate, J Crew and….

Let’s say she’s been around. No question, she landed a good gig at Cracker Barrell where her annual compensation last year was a tasty $5,000,000. Yum. Especially since her attempted $700,000 dollar face lift of the brand tanked the company’s stock $100 million. In fact, the company’s share price has fallen almost 60% since she became CEO.

This is something Kim John Un would be proud of.

But according to Julie, customers love the rebrand, calling customer response, “Overwhelmingly positive”.

That’s funny, because according to news reports, the “minimalist logo sparked immediate and fierce backlash from loyal customers and online communities. Many felt the redesign stripped away the brand’s nostalgic charm.” AP News

From this

To this

Apparently Julie was unaware of the fact that a logo forwards the brand and it’s message.

MacDonald’s Golden Arches

The Nike Swoosh

The Macintosh Apple

The Starbucks logo (where she worked).

The customer and investor backlash was instant and brutal.  The company quickly put Uncle Herschel back on the logo and much of the $700,000 remodel was cancelled. I read one press release yesterday that said Julie had been fired. But others simply say she is under a lot of pressure.

I don’t wish her ill. Instead, assuming she still has her job, I offer her what was the obvious solution to her challenge and would be the solution to such challenges going forward: SURVEY! Ask your customers, ask your prospects. Restaurants survey regularly. Here’s  the results of one we did.

“The business we received from these surveyed menus was phenomenal. Our take-out business increased 150% in just a few days. It has leveled off in a range about double what it had been before the survey was done.”
P
PB Manager

Of course, you don’t need to own a restaurant to take advantage of the
fantastic marketing intelligence that surveys provide. We just completed a survey for a client who has been in business for 3 decades. And in so doing, the client, very surprisingly, uncovered points about what her prospects thought about the service she delivered she was unaware of. This instantly provided some new marketing channels for her.

This isn’t rocket science. You would have thought our friend, Julie would have asked her customers. Next time, Julie….

And if we can be of any service to you by surveying your existing clients or prospects, give me a call or shoot me an email.

Surveys are inexpensive and just might help increase sales and income.

Best,
Bruce