Stop Making The Product Better. Start Making It Useful.

McDonald’s wanted to sell more milkshakes.

So they did what most businesses do:
They tweaked the recipe.
They tested new flavours.
They tried to make the product “better”.

Nothing changed.

Sales stayed flat.

So they changed the question.

Not:
“How do we improve the milkshake?”

But:
“Why do people buy milkshakes at all?”

That single shift changed the outcome.

People Don’t Buy Products. They Hire Them.

When they looked closer, a pattern appeared.

Most milkshakes were sold:

• early in the morning

• to commuters

• during long, boring drives

People weren’t buying milkshakes for taste.

They were buying something to pass the time.
Something to do with their hands.
Something that lasted the journey.

The milkshake wasn’t the product.
The experience was.

Once that was clear, the solution was obvious.

The Fix Wasn’t More Features

They didn’t add more flavours.
They didn’t change the branding.
They didn’t redesign the cup.

They changed how the product fit into people’s lives:

• Thicker shakes so they lasted longer

• Faster pickup so commuters could grab and go

• Chunks inside so it was more engaging

Sales jumped.

Not because the milkshake was better.
But because it finally matched the moment it was being used.

Strategy Is About Context

Most businesses focus on improving the thing.

Better features.
More options.
More polish.

But growth doesn’t come from polishing the product.
It comes from understanding the moment someone needs it.

People buy in context:

• when they’re busy

• when they’re bored

• when they’re stuck

• when they want progress without friction

If your product isn’t working, it’s often not because it’s bad.
It’s because it doesn’t fit cleanly into the real situation your customer is in.

Ask Better Questions

“How do we make this better?” is easy to ask.

“Why does someone choose this in the first place?” is harder.
But that’s the question that changes outcomes.

When you understand:

• where someone is

• what they’re feeling

• what problem they’re trying to quietly solve

You stop guessing.
You start designing solutions that actually get used.

Build for Real Life

People don’t wake up thinking about products.

They think about:

• getting through the day

• making progress

• avoiding friction

• not wasting time

The best strategy isn’t adding more.
It’s fitting better.

Better fit beats better features.