Case study: Minimal change can be best

The story

Konnopke’s Imbiss is probably Berlin’s most famous snack bar. Set up in 1930 in Prenzlauer Berg, a then working-class district, it has become legendary for its currywurst, a Berlin speciality of fried sausage served with ketchup, chilli sauce and curry powder.

By 2010, it had been run in the same location for 34 years by Waltraud Ziervogel – who took over from her father, Max Konnopke, who started the business and ran it until 1976. The snack bar had two branches – the original at the Eberswalder Strasse subway station and another in the suburban district of Pankow.

The challenge

Until the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, customers at Konnopke’s Imbiss were mostly workers who called in during the morning or at lunchtime, or families. But by the turn of the century that had changed, as Prenzlauer Berg had become a hip neighbourhood of young, affluent freelancers, tourists and partygoers.

Then, in 2010, Ms Ziervogel learnt that the snack bar would have to close for a year because of nearby construction work on a subway station.

Strategic considerations

The proposed disruption offered an opportunity for some fundamental rethinking about the positioning and marketing of Konnopke’s Imbiss, not to mention the business model. Should it move to a spot with even more tourists and potential customers? Should it have a healthier menu? Other questions included whether to raise prices, extend the opening hours (the snack bar often had to turn away customers when it closed at 8pm) and even whether it should sell merchandise or start franchise operations.

Received wisdom on strategy and marketing would have recommended changes on many if not all of the classic “four Ps”: product, price, place and promotion. The new, affluent locals and the tourists could easily afford higher prices, while later opening hours and a more comfortable location would be in line with their expectations on service quality. The same would be true of more healthy options on the menu.

At 74, Ms Ziervogel also had to consider potential succession planning and her children, Mario and Dagmar, who, respectively, worked at the original and the suburban location.

What happened

During the construction work, the snack bar operated from a small stand just 100m away. Despite being offered a substantial sum of money by city authorities to move away permanently, and potentially attract even more customers at one of the tourist hotspots, Ms Ziervogel declined. She decided to rebuild her stand in exactly the same place with almost the same 1960s look and feel, save for a refurbished, bigger seating area and a slightly different outward appearance. The menu remained unchanged, as did the opening hours and the prices. Ms Ziervogel resisted all temptations to modernise her business.

After the reopening, the queues patiently waiting for a currywurst every day were as long as ever.

Key lessons

In sticking to the same modus operandi, Ms Ziervogel understood three important issues. First, many customers – especially tourists, who make up 90 per cent of its customers – care about “authenticity”. By not radically changing, Konnopke’s positioned itself as Berlin’s most authentic snack bar.

Second, as owner and manager, Ms Ziervogel had clear opinions about how to run her business, what to focus on and how to lead people. Too much change simply would not have fitted her or the culture of her business.

Third, successful businesses need to carefully balance and align different elements such as strategy, formal organisation, critical tasks, people and culture. Substantial changes in any of the “four Ps” would have required the rearranging of these elements in order to maintain their equilibrium. For instance, increasing the price from €3.20 to something nearer the €17 charged by some five-star hotels would have required different processes, people and organisational culture.

- Financial Times, 30 Apr 2012