Shake Shack built its brand on slow, premium burgers and no drive-thrus, but customers wanted speed. The company cut wait times, added drive-thrus, and pivoted to fast food, recovering tens of millions in lost revenue and proving that founders must question their own assumptions about what customers actually want.
Shake Shack almost went out of business because they wanted the longest wait times possible. Well, here's why. Let's say you're hungry and you want a burger, but not a cheap, greasy, make-you-feel-like-crap fast food burger. McDonald's? Nah. Burger King? Nah. Wendy's? No thank you. Shake Shack. It's quality and affordable. In other words, the perfect meal. But it's insanely popular. Lines are out the door, down the street, and you need to cancel your afternoon meetings just to experience their food. And that's because Shake Shack isn't fast food. Or are they? You see, Shake Shack differentiates themselves by branding away from fast food. Originally, they don't have drive-thru, just a dine-in option. It takes 8 minutes to prep the meal, but people want their food quickly. So Shake Shack's strategy starts to limit their business, losing tens of millions of dollars in revenue. So the Shack shake things up. The lesson is that smart entrepreneurs are willing to rethink their beliefs about their market. When customers tell them something, they listen and make changes. And today, Shake Shack is offering drive-thru. They're cutting prep time, getting people their food faster. So good. It's helping them become the most successful fast food burger chain.
