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Whats the Five Guys mystique?

December 6, 2010 by Janet Eden-Harris — CMO & SVP Strategy, Market Force

A year ago, Market Force conducted a survey and asked consumers to tell us their favorite fast casual restaurant, and why they nominated them. And we did it again in June of this year. Some of the expected names showed up — McDonald’s, Panera Bread, Subway. But what was more striking were the names that not everyone might expect: Five Guys, Chick-fil-A. And not only did they show up, but they scored at the top of the pack.

The survey is not quite as simple as who gets the most votes. There are a lot of McDonald's restaurants around the country, and many consumers love them. But there aren’t nearly as many of the locally-treasured fast casual restaurants like Five Guys, In-and-Out Burger, SmashBurger, or even Panera. If you don’t happen to live next to an In-and-Out Burger restaurant, you’re not likely to vote for them as a favorite (unless you travel a lot, and make a point to visit the chain when you do… a number of my colleagues do precisely that!)

In the most recent survey, Five Guys bounded to the top of the favorites list, with almost 50% more votes per store than the number two, Panera Bread (also a stand-out in this survey). Just what made them a favorite? They do no advertising. Spend nothing on traditional promotion. And yet they’re a consumer fave. We asked consumers why.

Five Guys scored highest of all the chains on a number of metrics. Overall value. Speed of service. Friendly service. Cleanliness. They mystery shop those and other qualities to make sure they’re consistently delivering at every franchised location. But where they out-distanced everyone was on two key measures: quality of food and taste of food. Those juicy burgers and decadent fries win every time with consumers.

Maybe it’s not such a mystique after all. Good food. At good prices. Served by friendly staff. A winning combo.