Higher Ed Lessons From a Fried Chicken Empire

“We looked like an old-fashioned chicken chain from the ‘60s. Tired, dirty, and slow.”
~ Cheryl Bachelder, Popeyes CEO

Okay, so we can’t reasonably use “dirty” as a descriptor for higher education, but tired and slow could still be fair game. It’s no secret that change within higher education is being sought at every level and by all invested individuals. That being said, we promised you a fried chicken comparison in the title, so let’s get into it.

Popeyes Chicken was founded by Al Copeland in 1972. By 1992, Popeyes Chicken went bankrupt after a failed acquisition of Church’s Chicken. The company reorganized as AFC (America’s Favorite Chicken) Enterprises and purchased Cinnabon and Seattle’s Best Coffee, but the conglomerate was short lived. AFC Enterprises sold off Cinnabon and Seattle’s Best Coffee but retained Popeyes Chicken. Since that time, Popeyes has maintained a limited market presence and sustained itself by continuing to serve loyal customers.

In 2007, Popeyes Chicken made a bold move and hired Cheryl Bachelder as CEO. Bachelder was previously the marketing chief for both Domino’s Pizza and KFC. She realized the enormity of the task ahead of her, not least of which was removing the “cringe factor” from Popeyes’ franchises. She was certain that her proposed re-design for the franchise would garner immediate support, but she was wrong, very wrong. Franchisees balked at the new design and the costs of renovation. So, she decided to take a different approach: she let the data speak for itself.

Bachelder implemented new accounting software in over 1,000 restaurants to prove the new promotional ideas were generating record operating profit. The new system tracked restaurant profitability and delivered detailed quarterly reports comparing individual franchisee results against regional and national averages. Bachelder knew that she needed buy-in from her franchisees, and she appealed to them in a language they could understand—profit data.

Additionally, Popeyes underwent a re-branding. Now known as Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. They know their product and stand behind it. They aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel or offer a salad. They are “not trying to solve the world’s problems here” and it seems customers are just fine with that.¹

So now that you’re hungry for fried chicken, let’s talk about the lesson for higher education. The public perception of higher education has taken a beating in recent years. With the American education system falling in the global rankings, it’s time for a change in direction. While tradition is not to be ignored, it seems higher education is slowly losing touch with the students that will be served as the global marketplace continues to change. No longer are a majority of students graduating from high school and entering four-year colleges and universities. High school graduates are now facing a world of growing responsibility and lack of resources (financial, knowledge, and abilities) to be successful in a “typical” college or university environment.

The data is out there, but collaboration between administrations and faculty needs to be prioritized. Too often, colleges and universities attempt to pivot to keep up with trends (online learning, MOOCs, competency-based education, and other disruptive innovations) without guaranteeing faculty buy-in. Popeyes had to make necessary changes to continue their sustainability within the market; higher education is at the same crossroads.

So what, specifically, can higher education learn from Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen?

1. Show me the money! (or the data set)
   In today’s age of fast-food and ready access to information, students are not patient, nor are state and federal governments. Stakeholders want to see action being taken to improve areas that need change. At Popeyes, Barchelder won her franchisees over by showing them exactly what they had to gain by making changes. If higher education institutions want to win stakeholders over to their proposed changes, they need to show them why these changes matter. The most eloquent speech or artistic presentation can’t touch a good dataset in terms of persuasion.

2. Stop, Collaborate and Listen. (Ice is back with a brand-new invention)
   Change does not happen in a nice, neat vacuum; it spills out into the surrounding departments and can easily have unforeseen consequences. This shouldn’t be scary but should be taken into consideration. Every department and individual involved in making a change needs to understand the current need, the proposed solution, and their role within the process. Popeyes could have done all the updating and rebranding they wanted to, but, at the end of the day, if their employees still answer the phone “AFC, how can I help you?” or refuse to use the new computer system, it’s not going to do much good. Collaboration is key. Before launching a new initiative, listen to the people on the ground that will actually be doing the doing. Welcome their input and allow them to be collaborators—after all, they are a huge part of whether your initiative will succeed.

3. Who are you? (who, who, who, who?)
   Everyone employed within a college or university should understand their target student population and the particular strengths of the institution. Don’t try to be all things to all people. It doesn’t work, and if you aren’t careful, you’ll end up with a truly gross salad that no one wants to order. Popeyes gets this. They understand their product is fried chicken and their goal is to serve the best fried chicken. Could they offer breakfast cereal, flan, and a Niçoise salad? Sure, but why? Their identity is fried chicken. If your institution is the best at helping a particular subset of the student population succeed in one particular field, do that. And do it excellently. Not every institution needs an MBA program, and if you try to jam one into your program offerings despite it not fitting your institution’s identity/mission, it’s probably going to be about as good as a Niçoise salad from Popeyes.

This is a simplistic look at higher education, but these observations hold a lot of truth. There came a point when Popeyes could no longer survive within the marketplace by doing the same thing it had always done. We’re kidding ourselves if we think the same thing isn’t true for higher education. As the world rapidly changes, many industries are struggling to keep up, but higher ed can (and should) be leading the call for change. With the right focus and a collaborative effort, the next iteration of higher education is ours to define and build. Will it be delicious and lead students to “love that chicken from Popeyes”? Or will it be a lukewarm salad full of potatoes, eggs, olives, and tuna, leaving students slightly confused and likely dissatisfied?  

¹ (Summarized and Quoted from KFC Killer: How Popeyes Reinvented Itself to Win the Fried Chicken War: article by Brian Solomon)