Differentiation vs. Benchmarking

It was a sudden thought while eating a burger at Lotteria.

We are in an era where mobile devices are used to provide offline services due to the development and widespread adoption of smartphones, digital transformation, etc. As a result, many F&B companies are taking orders and delivering through apps.

Lotteria allows for ordering and delivery through an app called Lotte Eats. Lotte Eats was launched in 2020. This implies that they didn't offer such services before that, leading to a question.

On the other hand, McDonald's has been operating the McDelivery app since its launch in 2014. It seems that Lotteria ultimately benchmarked McDonald's, suggesting they followed their business operational strategy. Couldn't they have created their own differentiating strategy instead of simply copying the app?

The reason this question arose is because of a similar situation in the Japanese automotive industry, although in a different sector. The Japanese automotive industry was not actively involved in electric vehicle production. This was because they had strong hybrid vehicle technology and significant revenue from it.

However, they recently announced that they will actively invest in electric vehicle production. Ultimately, they shifted from a differentiation strategy to a benchmarking strategy.

So, does this mean that when the industry structure changes, international circumstances change, or culture changes, and one company establishes itself, benchmarking becomes an essential element?

Or can we consider it a differentiation strategy if we differentiate services, elements, and designs after benchmarking?

Ultimately, it seems that the question lies in determining the criteria for judging what is differentiation and what is benchmarking. It seems that my personal conclusion is that it depends on the point in time and the element being examined.

So, which aspects of our service should we pursue as a differentiation strategy, and which aspects should we benchmark? While I'm not a business management major, I think a discussion from a business management perspective would be interesting.