International marketing

This assignment it’s split in 2. Assignment 1 contain LO1 with 1200 words and Assignment 2 contain LO2 + LO3 with 2800 words. Please follow the requirements.

International Marketing
part 2

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
SECTION 1......................................................................................................................................1
Trends in the environment and market for the sector..................................................................1
Market structure for the sector.....................................................................................................3
SECTION 2......................................................................................................................................4
Summary of product and market focus with the reasons for the company's domestic, regional
and internal success to date..........................................................................................................4
Basis of current competitive advantage.......................................................................................5
The strategic marketing challenges..............................................................................................5
SECTION 3......................................................................................................................................6
Recommendations on the way in which sustainable competitive advantage could be built for
future............................................................................................................................................6
Implementation of the actions that will be critical in building competitive advantage...............6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
International marketing is the process of formulating strategies for the purpose of
promoting products and services of the organisation at global level in multiple countries. For all
the companies which are executing operations in different location it is very important to pay
attention towards the efforts which are made by them to market the goods and facilities (Baker,
2014). It can help them to formulate best strategy to enhance awareness of all the items sold by
them. The organisation which is selected for this project is Mc Donald's. It is a fast food
company which carry out its operational activities all around the world. It was founded by
Richard and Maurice McDonalds in year 1955. This assignment covers various topics such as
trends in the environment, market structure of industry, summary of product and market focus,
reasons for domestic, regional and international success, basis of current competitive advantage.
Additionally, strategic marketing challenges, recommendations to build sustainable competitive
advantage and implementation of the actions are also discussed under this project.
SECTION 1
Trends in the environment and market for the sector
Mc Donald's is operating business in the food and beverage sector and there are various
new trends which are taking place in the industry. All of them are affecting the company in
positive and negative manner. Analysis of them with their affect on the organisation is as
follows:
 Healthy dieting: It is one of the common trend in the food and beverage industry as
customers are becoming fitness freak and they do not want to consume such food items
which may affect their health. It is affecting Mc Donlad's negatively because the
organisation is mainly known for its burgers which are not at all healthy. In order to deal
with this problem the management may take decision to add some new burgers made
from multigrain bread and other healthy products (Brannen, Piekkari and Tietze, 2017).
 Instagram-able meals: In current era all the people are addicted to the social media
websites such as Instagram and Facebook. They post images all the food items which are
eaten by them so they prefer to go to such places which ar providing them instagramble
meals. This trend is leaving positive impact of Mc Donald's because all the meals which
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are offered by it are highly presentable and for all the burgers whether it is veg or non veg
they are having separate packagings.
 Meat free food: In UK and other countries individuals are becoming vegetarian as they
do not want top harm animals. It is the main reason they prefer to go to such places where
they can get vegetarian food. There is also a positive impact of this trend on Mc Donald's
because the organisation is offering both types of meals which are veg and non veg to all
its clients to retain them for long period in future.
In order to analyse the market of food and beverage sector PESTLE analysis could be
used. It is a strategic tool which guides companies analyse the external environment of business.
There are six different elements of this model which are discussed below in context of Mc
Donald's:
 Political: This element of the analysis is highly focused with the impacts of
governmental actions and policies which are imposed by political parties. Currently the
internal trade agreements are increasing which is a great opportunity for Mc Donald's to
develop its business and market all the items offered by it. Different public health
policies are also launched by governmental bodies which is a threat for the company
because if it is not providing food according to to policies then it will affect the business
(Buckley and Casson, 2018).
 Economic: This factor takes different economic factors such as exchange, inflation,
deflation etc. rates in to consideration. With the help of it organisations such as Mc
Donald's can enhance their understanding about the economic conditions and trends
which may leave negative impact upon their business. The grow of developed and
developing countries is stable and rapid which can help the enterprise to develop its
business in different location but it is possible with the effective marketing strategies. On
the other hand the economy of China is getting slowdown which is an unfavourable
condition for Mc Donald's because it may affect the growth of the entity.
 Social: All the elements which are affecting consumer behaviour are considered as the
part of this component of PESTLE. Currently most of the customers are moving towards
healthy lifestyle and Mc Donald's is a fast food company so it may affect the profitability
of it. Disposable income of clients are rising which is an opportunity for it to grow the
business.
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 Technological: All the factor which are related to technology are focused in this element
of the analysis. Currently business automation is increasing which is a threat as well as
opportunity for Mc Donald's because if it will not be able to automate itself then it will
affect customers bade. On the other hand it all the services of it are automated by
management then it will help to attain competitive advantage in the market.
 Environmental: All the elements which are related to ecology are considered as the part
of this factor. One of them which is an opportunity for Mc Donald's is rising interest for
corporate environmental programs as it can help it to establish good image in the market.
Climate conditions in some regions changes frequently which may affect the availability
of goods to make the eating items for customers (Charter and Polonsky, 2017).
 Legal: All the laws and acts which are formulated to guide companies to run operations
appropriately are considered as the part of this element. Currently the health regulations
at workplace are increasing is these are not implemented by Mc Donald' then it may
affect its operational efficiency or result bin legal interferences in operations. Animal
welfare regulations are also increasing in the market by complying with them the
organisation can establish a good market image.
Market structure for the sector
Market structure can be defined as the characteristics of an organisation or industry that
decides the level of competition, pricing etc. There are various types of market structures which
are as follows:
Monopolistic: It can be defined as the market where various organisations compete with
each other for the purpose of attaining growth. All the entities under this structure sell similar but
slight differentiate products.
Oligopoly: It is a market structure in which market is dominated by small number of
companies. If it is followed by the marketplace then it will result in limited competition among
the organisations (Cornwell and Kwak, 2015).
Perfect competition: When large number of small firms compete with each other then it
is known as perfect competition market structure. There is a free entry and exit in the industry
where it is applied.
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Monopoly: When a single firm rule the market then it is known as monopoly
marketplace. The market power of company in this structure is very high and price of all the
products is dominated massively.
From all the above described market structures food and beverage sector is having
monopolistic structure because there are various organisations in the market which are
competing against each other. The geographic spread of the entities such as Mc Donald's which
is operating business under this industry is very high as it offers its burgers in different locations.
Customer segment of the enterprise is not specific because customers of all ages can have
burgers sold by it (De Mooij, 2018). The main target segment of the organisation is kids and
adults as they mostly prefer to have fast food. In order to position the business in food and
beverage sector in competitive manner it is very important for the entities to use unique ways to
market all the products which are sold by them. For example Mc Donald's is using a different
way in which a man wearing yellow suit with red nose and wig is used to present a separate
image in the market. There are various key players in the fast food market which are Mc
Donald's, Burger King, Burger Farm etc.
SECTION 2
Summary of product and market focus with the reasons for the company's domestic, regional and
internal success to date
Mc Donald's is one of the biggest companies in the fast food sector. It is running its
operations successfully since last 64 years. Currently it is offering different ranges of burgers,
shakes, fries and drinks all around the world to the customers. In order to attain success at
domestic, regional and international level the managers in the organisation pay attention towards
different elements such as product and market focus. Description of all of them at different levels
is as follows:
Product focus: All the organisations are mainly focused with some of its products as
with the help of them higher profits are generated. This process is known as product focus. There
are various types of eating and drinking items which are sold by Mc Donald's (Background of
Mc Donald's, 2019). These are happy meal, Chicken McNuggets, Premium salads, Snack Wrap,
Double cheese burger, bakes apple pie, McGriddles, large wraps etc. The main focus of the
company from all of them is on happy meal because most of the customers take this as their
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food. It includes a burger, French fries and a drink. All of them could be selected by the client by
their own. In order to attain success in the domestic market the company try to offer best
products to all the clients. In California such types of items are sold by MCD which are highly in
demand. For the purpose of continuing success at regional level the organisation try to provide
such food items to customers which are loved by them. In US there is a high demand of non veg
burgers so it is highly focused with the sale of them. While operating business at global level and
planning for attainment of success, culture of all the countries where Mc Donald's is operating is
taken in to consideration. It helps the company to accomplish all its goals successfully.
Market focus: The area which is mainly focused by the company to operate business is
known as market focus. Main aim of it is to understand the customers, known the competitors
and then formulate strategy for growth (Kasemsap, 2015). Mc Donald's is currently operating
business all around the world and attained success at global, regional and domestic level. In
order to achieve success in all these markets the company is strongly focused with customer
service as it can help it to reach all its long as well as short term goals. Due to this market focus
the enterprise is progressing till the date.
Basis of current competitive advantage
The competitive advantage of Mc Donald's is very high due to good quality of all its
burgers and good market image. The quality of eating and drinking items which are sold by it is
very good which helps the organisation to satisfy all the clients and retain them for long period in
future (Competitive advantage of Mc Donald's, 2019). The company is considered as an industry
leader in the fast food sector. The main basis of its competitive advantage are innovation,
affordability, value added services, quality, hygiene, nutrition, convenience etc.
The strategic marketing challenges
Marketing is the process of developing ideas for the purpose of spreading awareness
about different products and services which are sold by the organisation. There are various
strategic marketing challenges which are faced by Mc Donald's. Details regarding all of them is
as follows:
Up to date menu: It is one of the main challenge which is faced by Mc Donald's because
it offeres different types of new and innovative burgers and other items to the customers
(Ogasavara, Boehe and Barin Cruz, 2016). It is very important for it to up date information of
them in the menu which could be provided to clients in hard copy so that they can take it with
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themselves and recommend to others. MCD do not offer such menu cards to the customers which
is a threat for it because due to this it may have to face issue of lower awareness of new items.
Social media presence: In order to market all the items which are offered by an
organisation it is very important to update information of them online so that large number of
customers may get aware of them (Schniederjans, Schniederjans and Schniederjans, 2015). It is
also a challenge for Mc Donald's because it is required to be active on social media all the time.
It is also an opportunity for the company because by keeping up to date information on social
media it will be able to attract large number of customers.
SECTION 3
Recommendations on the way in which sustainable competitive advantage could be built for
future
Sustainable competitive advantage is the key factor to get success in the business because
it forces the business to focus on sales, profit margin, increase customer base, employee retention
and at the end focus on competitors. Without sustainable advantage, organization enable to
perform well or achieve business goals & objectives. There are some recommendations that how
to build sustainable development in the future. Some of them discussed below:
 McDonald have to understand the market condition and the segmented area where
competitors not able to perform well. So company have to target those area with
effective strategies (Taiminen and Karjaluoto, 2015). Competitors weak areas can be
opportunity for the company which provide sustainable competitive advantage.
 Before making any strategy regarding product development, company have to
identify that what customer wants and establish the value proportion which grab the
attention of customers.
 McDonald have to focus on key areas which required support to deliver the value
proposition. For example: Company have to maintain the quality of their food
because it is related to the health & safety aspect of customers. Along with this,
business have to maintain their brand image, set affordable price etc.
 Every organization have to identify their core strength for the effective
competitiveness and analyse that how core competencies helps in creating
innovation.
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 McDonald have to design their business model as well as modify it on timely basis.
It further help the business in delivering value proposition to the customers.
With the help of above recommendation, McDonald can improve their business
operations which further helps in providing sustainable competitive advantage (Tedlow and
Jones, 2014). It is beneficial for the company to maximise their productivity as well as
profitability. It helps in achieving business goals & objectives.
Implementation of the actions that will be critical in building competitive advantage
There are various actions which taken by the organization in order to build competitive
advantage. Some of them discussed below which can be implemented by the McDonald
company for better competitive advantage:
 Cost leadership action: Under this strategy organization sell their products on affordable
price in order to attract more customers because of low price of their goods. In context of
McDonald, management can adopt this strategy to get competitive advantage from its
competitors.
 Differentiation strategy: Branding is the most popular strategy to make their products
different from others. Such as McDonald know for the burgers and Domino's will bbe
identify for the Pizza's. So McDonald have to make these kind of more strategy which
make them different from others and customer will prefer to consume it.
 Innovation strategy: Organization have to focus on innovation in order to give
competition to their rival firm. (Varul, 2014) In order to maintain their position in the
market they have to timely innovate in the food range. It further maintain the customer's
interest in the company. Such as new food product added in the mane will make maintain
customer loyalty for the brand.
 Technology based copulative strategy: It is one the action which help the company to
get competitive advantage through developing their technology in the business
operations. Use of latest technology will provide effective competitive advantage make
them popular in the market. It will further increase the demand among the consumers
which increase the productivity as well as profitability.
Above mention implementation actions will help the McDonald company to build
comparative advantage. It further helps in achieving business goals & objectives through
maximising productivity as well as profitability.
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CONCLUSION
From the above project report it has been concluded that international marketing is the
process of promoting all the products and services at global level. There are various current
market trends in fast food sector which are healthy diet, vegetarian food etc. In order to analyse
the environment of a business PESTLE analysis could be conducted. There are various types of
marketing challenges which are faced by companies and to overcome them effective decisions
are required to be formulated. In order to build sustainable competitive advantage the
organisations are required to form appropriate strategies for betterment of business.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Baker, M. J., 2014. Marketing strategy and management. Macmillan International Higher
Education.
Brannen, M. Y., Piekkari, R. and Tietze, S., 2017. The multifaceted role of language in
international business: Unpacking the forms, functions and features of a critical
challenge to MNC theory and performance. In Language in international business (pp.
139-162). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Buckley, P. and Casson, M., 2018. Marketing and the multinational: extending internalization
theory. In The Multinational Enterprise. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Charter, M. and Polonsky, M. J., 2017. Greener marketing: a global perspective on greening
marketing practice. Routledge.
Cornwell, T. B. and Kwak, D. H., 2015. Sponsorship-linked marketing: Introduction to
topics. Journal of Sport Management. 29(2). pp.133-136.
De Mooij, M., 2018. Global marketing and advertising: Understanding cultural paradoxes.
SAGE Publications Limited.
Kasemsap, K., 2015. The roles of cross-cultural perspectives in global marketing. In Analyzing
the cultural diversity of consumers in the global marketplace (pp. 37-59). IGI Global.
Ogasavara, M. H., Boehe, D. M. and Barin Cruz, L., 2016. Experience, resources and export
market performance: The pivotal role of international business network
ties. International Marketing Review. 33(6). pp.867-893.
Schniederjans, M. J., Schniederjans, A. M. and Schniederjans, D. G., 2015. Outsourcing and
insourcing in an international context. Routledge.
Taiminen, H. M. and Karjaluoto, H., 2015. The usage of digital marketing channels in
SMEs. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development. 22(4). pp.633-651.
Tedlow, R. S. and Jones, G. G. eds., 2014. The Rise and Fall of Mass Marketing (RLE
Marketing). Routledge.
Varul, M. Z., 2014. Consuming the campesino: Fair trade marketing between recognition and
romantic commodification. In Cultural Studies and Anti-Consumerism (pp. 146-171).
Routledge.
Online
Competitive advantage of Mc Donald's. 2019. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.grin.com/document/269111>
Background of Mc Donald's. 2019. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us.html>
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