(2013·高考山东卷,D)Sparrowisafast­foodchainwith200restaurants.Someyearsago,thegrouptowhichSparrowbelongedwastakenoverbyanothercompany.AlthoughSparrowshowednosignofdeclining,thechainwasgenerallyinan
(2013·高考山东卷,D)Sparrowisafastfoodchainwith200restaurants.Someyearsago,thegrouptowhichSparrowbelongedwastakenoverbyanothercompany.AlthoughSparrowshowednosignofdeclining,thechainwasgenerallyinanunhealthystate.Withmoreandmorefastfoodconceptsreachingthemarket,theSparrowmenuhadtostruggleforattention.Andtomakemattersworse,itsnewownerhadnoplanstogiveitthefundsitrequired.
Sparrowfailedtogrowforanothertwoyears,untilanewCEO,CarlPearson,decidedtobuildupitsmarketshare.Hedidasurvey,whichshowedthatconsumerswhoalreadyusedSparrowrestaurantswereextremelypositiveaboutthechain,whilecustomersofotherfastfoodchainswereunwillingtoturnawayfromthem.Sparrowhadtodevelopanewpromotionalcampaign.
PearsonfacedabattleoverthefutureoftheSparrowbrand.Thechain’sownernowfavoredrebrandingSparrowasMarcy’srestaurants.Pearsonresisted,arguingforanadvertisingcampaigndesignedtoconvincecustomersthatvisitstoSparrowrestaurantswerefun.Suchanattempttoestablishapositiverelationshipbetweenacompanyandthegeneralpublicwasunusualforthattime.Pearsonstronglybelievedthatnumberswerethekeytosuccess,ratherthancustomers’spendingpower.Finally,theowneracceptedhisidea.
Thecampaignitselfchangedthetraditionaladvertisingstyleofthefastfoodindustry.TheTVadsofSparrowfocusedonentertainmentandfeaturedoriginalsongsperformedbyavarietyofstars.Insteadofshowingthesuperiorityofaspecificproduct,theintentionwastoputSparrowintheheartsofpotentialcustomers.
PearsonalsomadeotherdecisionswhichhebelievedwouldcontributetothenewSparrowimage.Forexample,heofferedtolowertherentofanyrestaurantswhichachievedacertainincreaseintheirturnover(营业额).
Theseeffortspaidoff,andSparrowsoonbecameoneofthemostsuccessfulfastfoodchainsintheregionswhereitoperated.
小题1:WhichwasoneoftheproblemsSparrowfacedbeforePearsonbecameCEO?A.Thenumberofitscustomerswasdeclining.B.Itscustomersfoundthefoodunhealthy.C.Itwasinneedoffinancialsupport.D.Most