Marketing Essentials and Strategies

This assignment delves into the core principles of marketing, exploring essential concepts like competitive strategies, social marketing, and cause-related marketing. Students will analyze the application of these strategies across different industries, such as retail, healthcare, and hospitality, considering factors like consumer acceptance, ethical implications, and the impact on corporate image. The analysis should draw upon provided academic sources to support arguments and demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of marketing's multifaceted nature.

Marketing Essentials

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1: Roles and responsibilities of marketing functions................................................................1
P2: Roles and responsibilities of marketing related to organisational context...........................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
P3: Compare ways to use elements of marketing mix................................................................5
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
P4: Basic marketing Plan............................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is a process of reaching the information about the products and services to the
customers with an aim of attracting and influencing their interest and buying behaviour which
increases sales figure and revenue of an organisation. It mainly consists of 7 components which
includes product, price, place and promotion, people, process and physical evidence. Marketing
activities includes selling, purchasing, advertisement and also delivering products and services to
the customers. The marketing manager play an important role in formulation of an effective
marketing plan in order to direct their department to execute marketing activities in more
effective and efficient manner. The present assignment report is based on McDonald which is
American fast food company deals in offering multiple variety of food products such as
hamburgers, chicken products, French fries, beverages etc. The project report includes roles and
responsibilities of marketing functions and its how they are interrelated with other departments
in an organisation. Marketing mix of MacDonald along with its competitors Burger King are
discussed under this report. All other aspects are also summarised under this report with the
context of McDonald (Arguello, 2013).
TASK 1
P1: Roles and responsibilities of marketing functions
Marketing: It is the process of reaching products and services to the customers with an
aim of attracting and influencing their buying behaviour which enhances their sales and revenue.
It is an effective way of informing customers about the quality, price and benefits of products
offered by them in market.
Therefore, the marketing managers of McDonald are responsible to formulate all plans
and policies that will help company in reaching to their targeted customers and convince them to
buy their products in order to maximise their level of satisfaction. Marketing manager performs
several roles and responsibilities which are determined as below:
 Identifying the changes in the needs and preferences of customers through making an
effective research.
 Analysing competitors pricing strategies in order to set up an effective prices which
increases the chances of shifting new customers towards company's products and
services.
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 Making an effective decision regarding adoption of various marketing tools and
techniques in order to grab an interest and buying behaviour of customers across
worldwide. Advertising through TV, print media, social media etc. are such marketing
tools.
Therefore, such duties are liable to to performed by marketing manager of McDonald so
as to increase their customer base and retain them for longer period of time (Bačík, Štefko and
Gburová, 2014).
About McDonald:
It is an American fast food company which has operated its 36900 outlets in more than
100 countries due to which the company has generated huge revenue every year. According to
the company's report, the revenue earned by them in the year of 2016 is approx. $24.622 billion
which makes them one of the largest restaurant chain. It has attained over 375,000 workers
which assist company in serving products and services to more than 69 million customers every
day.
Roles and responsibilities of marketing functions:
There are mainly seven functions of McDonald and their roles and responsibilities are
described as below:
Product: It refers to a material or substance which is produced by company for the
purpose of meeting customer's needs and requirements in market. The main thing towards which
the customers are easily attracted is quality. McDonald is popular for the quality of their products
due to which it has attained strong customer base across worldwide. Conducting research on
regular basis will help in identifying the changes in taste and preferences and accordingly inform
management to make improvements in their menu cards (Cleverley, 2017).
Selling: This the last stage at which the company finally deliver their products and
services to their customers. Every organisation wants to increase their sales figure due to which
they need to get support from marketing department to advertise their products in order to attract
large number of customers. The marketing manager should required to adopt an effective
distribution channels through which they can reach their products to the final customers.
Pricing: It is an important factors which largely affects the interest and buying behaviour
of customers therefore must required to identify the capabilities and willingness of customer to
pay for products and accordingly set an effective pricing strategies that will help in maximising
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the satisfaction level of customers. Setting pricing strategies on the basis of purchasing power of
people which are different in different countries.
Management Information System: It is essential for company to adopt such system as it
help them in providing the relevant and accurate informations related with customer's reactions
towards price, quality of products. This will help marketing manager to focus on their targeted
customers and their preferences on the basis of which marketing activities are done.
Financing: It is considered as the backbone of any organisation which provides valuable
support to marketing department in executing their marketing activities in more effective and
efficient manner. Marketing manager need to prepare budget for each marketing activity and
accordingly allocate cost on the basis of the outcomes received in near future (Desai, 2013).
Distribution: Selecting best distribution channel through which the company can easily
locate to the customers and provide them their quality products and services in satisfied manner.
McDonald has number of outlets in many countries in which number of food items are served by
their staff members to the table of customers. Therefore, welcoming customers and treat them
well will help in making customers more loyal.
Promotion: The marketing managers of McDonald are liable to reach company''s
products and services to the targeted customers through using different marketing tools and
techniques such as TV Advertisement, campaigns, online marketing etc. These tools help in
creating positive image in customer's mind about the products and services of McDonald.
P2: Roles and responsibilities of marketing related to organisational context
Marketing department of McDonald always tried to establish strong bond among their
loyal customers through contributing maximum efforts in maximising their level of satisfaction.
Marketing includes promotion, sales, delivering products to the customers in an effective
manner. Such all activities are performed with an objective of increasing sales figure of company
due to which revenue also goes high. To perform in better way, marketing department need to
get adequate support from other departments which includes finance, operation, HR, R&D
department etc. For example, Marketing department bring out the changes in market trends and
thereafter communicate with the production department to manufacture demanded products in
more quantity so that they can able to meet increased market demand (Dibb and Simkin, 2013).
Therefore, there is interrelation of marketing department with other departments which can be
further understood in following ways:
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Marketing department with production department: The production department is
responsible to manufacture quality products which becomes the best way of attracting and
retaining new as well as loyal customers respectively. To perform their operations, it requires
maximum support from marketing department who help them in providing relevant information
about the market trends and demanded food items. Through this, production department mainly
focuses on direction given by marketing department and produces demanded product at
minimum cost so to avail in market at an affordable prices.
Marketing department with finance department: Fund is a valuable asses of an
organisation on the basis of which all business activities are executed properly. Therefore, if an
organisation has attained good financial position then they are more capable to spend more on its
marketing activities. Along with this, the finance department is also liable to form budget, profit
& Loss account, balance sheet etc. Adopting various marketing tools and techniques requires
huge amount of funds thus need to get financial support from finance department (Draelos,
2010).
Marketing department with HR department: The main roles and responsibilities of
marketing department is to appoint employees to perform market activity thus required to get
support from HR department who recruit and provide knowledgable employees to them so that
all the business functions can be performed in an effective way.
Marketing department with R&D department: The research and development
department is held liable to conduct research in order to find out an effective marketing tools and
techniques which makes huge impact on the interest and buying behaviour of customers and on
the basis of information collected through research, the marketing department follows an
effective marketing tools accordingly in order to attract lots of customers across worldwide.
IT department with marketing department: The marketing department of McDonald can
able to identify the targeted customers with the help of information given by IT department.
Using Management Information System (MIS) helps in storing information about list of loyal
customers which help marketing manager to make plans and strategies to attract them towards
buying company's food items (Gummesson and Grönroos, 2012).
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TASK 2
P3: Compare ways to use elements of marketing mix
Marketing mix consists of 7 elements which includes product, price, place, promotion,
people, process and physical evidence. These all elements should required to be considered so as
to make an effective marketing plans and decisions with an objective of achieving desired goals
and objectives of McDonald. In order to make an effective marketing plan, it must required for
company to analyse its marketing mix with their rivals so that further improvement can be made.
Therefore, following are the comparison between the marketing mix of McDonald and Burger
King:
Marketing mix of McDonald:
Place: McDonald has attained more than 36,528 restaurants in over 119 countries due to
which an organisation can achieve huge revenues every year. The company also tried to expand
its business to rural areas through opening multiple number of outlets. This will help company in
increasing their sales figure through selling food times in large quantity on daily basis.
Price: McDonald has charged an effective prices for their quality food products and
services thus can easily influence the interest and buying behaviour of customers. It mostly
attracted higher income group due to their prices thus capture limited market share (Hsu, Hsu
and Yeh, 2010).
Product: McDonald is one of the largest fast food restaurant which is more reliable in
form of giving quality food items and valuable services. Due to dealing in providing wide
varieties of food products such as hamburgers, desserts, sandwiches etc. the company is
successfully attracted number of customers across worldwide.
Promotion: McDonald is a known brand name in food sector generating huge revenues
every year. Therefore, the company having adequate amount of financial resources which allows
them to invest more money in adopting different marketing tools and techniques such as
hoardings television, social media etc. Hiring celebrity is also one of the most effective
marketing which grabs more attention of customers towards company's products and services.
People: McDonald has attained qualified and knowledgable staff members who knows
how to deal with customers coming from different cultures and backgrounds in more effective
way. There are number of outlets attained by McDonald in which large number of customers are
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visited on daily basis thus requires to create healthy and friendly environment which maximise
the interest of customers to visits at their outlets on continuous basis.
Process: The process of manufacturing quality food items is done in front of the
customers and thus they make more trust on the quality of their products and services. There are
number of outlets located at every place of nations thus serving their food items across
worldwide.
Physical evidence: McDonald is very popular and known for their quality food items
thus can be easily recognised in the market. The outlets of McDonald are having good interior
design and structure which attracts lots of customers (Lancaster and Massingham, 2010).
Marketing mix of Burger King
Price: Burger King charged lower prices as compared to McDonald as they mainly
focuses on attracting middle income group so as to increase their market share. Therefore, in
terms of price Burger King gives tough competition with their rivals.
Product: Burger King deals in offering multiple number of products which includes
desserts, French fries, sandwich and many more due to which brings difficulties towards
McDonald to maintaining their strong position in market. Offering multiple number of discounts
on products help them in grabbing an attention of customers across worldwide.
Place: Burger King also attained number of outlets located at different countries such as
Japan, India, South Korea etc. In figures, the company has attained over 13000 outlets in more
than 79 countries due to which it becomes tough for both of them to survive in market for longer
period of time.
Promotion: Promotional strategies are adopted by every organisation with an objective of
attracting large number of customers across worldwide. Advertisement on TV, print media,
social media etc. help in spreading information about the price, quality and varieties of food
products along with the offers given. It makes positive impact on the sales figure and revenue of
company.
Process: Burger King manufactures quality products to their customers which makes
positive impact on healthy lifestyle of customers. The company has attained work culture, taste,
supply chain etc. and makes changes in their menu card so as to achieve huge customer
strengths.
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People: Burger King has number of outlets in various countries in which skilled and
knowledgable employees are employed who knows how to maximise the satisfaction level of
customers. Treating well and serving with smiley face will bring good image in customer's mind
thus it becomes easy for them to retain loyal and attract new customers (Martin, Campbell and
Harmsen, 2014).
Physical evidence: Burger has operated its business in over 15000 locations in more than
71 countries thus achieve strong presence in development countries. Heir area of business
operation are also expanded over a period of time such as opening outlets in India where large
number people prefer to consume fast food products.
TASK 3
P4: Basic marketing Plan
Marketing plan is an essential need of every organisation which directs their employees
to perform marketing activities in pre-determined manner so that maximum outcomes can be
received in near future. Marketing is like a blueprint which informs and guide engaged
employees to perform accordingly. The main objective of preparing marketing plan is to identify
the future activities along with the challenges that may comes in the process of execution which
in results increasing sales figure and revenue of company. Before marketing plan, the marketing
need to first consider the mission, vision and objectives of company and accordingly form in a
proper format so that each and every activity is executed in an expected manner. It also requires t
make changes in existing marketing plan according to the changes in business environment. For
this, marketing managers are required to enough capable to implement an effective changes
(Martin,Campbell and Harmsen, 2014). The marketing plan for McDonald are described as
below:
Company Background
McDonald is fast food restaurant which were first established in 1940 by Richard and
Maurice McDonald. It has generated huge revenues every year which makes company one of the
largest chain of restaurant in the world. McDonald deals in multiple number of products such as
milkshakes, desserts, chicken products, breakfast goods and many more due to which the
company has attained large market strength.
Vision
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The vision statement shows that the company mainly focuses on providing quick services
to their customers in order to enhance their experience through offering quality, value,
cleanliness and valuable services
Mission
The mission of McDonald is to be our loyal consumers, way to drink and eat and
favourite place.
SWOT Analysis of McDonald
McDonald's is consider one of the leading fast food restaurant which is having more than
34000 local restaurant. It is serving almost 70 million people in 119 nations in everyday. It has
been found that about 80% of McDonald's restaurant at international are owned and regulated at
local franchisees. Some crucial products of food items those are offer by this companies to sell
hamburger, cheeseburgers, breakfast products with soft-drink and dessert too. In context to
changing consumer taste. It is operating at global food business that are preferred by all age
group all around the nation. It is one of the multinational foods delivering company to evaluate
overall internal department business in effective manner. It is one of the most favourable burger
company which is providing delicious food item to various customers. It is a brand that is more
commonly responsible for drawing overall attention of people towards their own businesses. The
internal aspects of McDonald's is mentioned the reasons that a company has been able to attain
this height of frame (Nguyen and Simkin, 2012).
Strength: As this particular restaurant is consider more effective number of fast food
chain in global market that succeed to their competitors such a burger king because of their
secret strategies so called Just in Time. The main aspects of this restaurant is related with brand
equity in various parts of the country. More than 42% of UK are covered with fast food
hamburger business operations. There is regular consistency of food in various market segment.
It mainly related items are fire, happy meal. Big Mac and Egg Mc Muffin and promotion.
International market present is another important strength of the company which would make
them more large business company as compare to another. Some important strength is to be
taken into account underneath:
 Largest fast food market presence in the overall market.
 The overall brand value of the company is about £ 40 billion.
 Operating through using various best brand in the market.
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Weakness: It is creating negative impacts on the business as well as profitability postiion
of the company. The majority of limitation of the company is arises in economical mature
nations where food and restaurants operation are having more scope. Annual growth percentage
is affecting in nowadays. Some vital drawback of this particular restaurants are mentioned
underneath:
 Stagnant annual growth rate in all those nations which are already developed. Companies
overall share distribution law is restricted to Illinois state local government which cannot
be compatible with laws in different parts of the nations.
 Lack of innovation in food menu in previous period of time. Because of their previous
food segment are more similar.
 There menu is predominantly offer children demanded foods only at the time of any
birthday concussion.
Opportunities: It offers healthy product which is having nutrition information that are
printed on all packaging are providing more opportunities to the business organisation. It is the
first FDA approved services options which offers law fat and calories ham burger which make
them separate from other company. It is using essential strategies called Just in time. They are
offering formic restaurant setting which is still planning for more than international expansion of
product during the coming period of time. Some of them are discussed underneath:
 Consolidation of retailer is so effective enough to make satisfied all franchisee of the
company. They are quick enough to response social changes that are effective helpful for
the society to increase future growth and profitability in coming period of time
(Vanhamme and et. al., 2012).
 McDonald need to focus on attract attention through sponsoring various of events for
children and adults.
 The company need to enhance their image socially through helping people all around.
 They should required to offer various discounts in order to attract large number of
customers.
Threats:
 The sales of McDonald is largely depend on the economy of country thus if the country
faces recessions in economy then it makes positive impact on sales volume of McDonald.
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 Due to high competitions, it becomes difficult for their outlets to achieve growth and
success in new places.
 As nowadays the people are more conscious about their healthy which reducing the sales
of fast food products.
STP of McDonald
Segmentation- In order to increase the total sales of the refereed firm use of
segmentation is done under which the whole market is divided on the basis of demographic,
psycho graphic and demographic segmentation. It helps in doing planning regarding the best
possible ways through which people at distinct areas can be reached which assist in raising the
sales volume.
Targeting – this is another factor in which a particular group of whole society is
focussed and accordingly development of product is done. It also includes the marketing styles
which are formulated according to the targets group. MacDonald is dealing a business type
whose main customer is teenagers therefore planning is done keeping them in mind. Apart from
this families and kids are also attracted towards the brand using distinct variety of products.
Positioning – This is related to how the brand is introduced in the market so that it has its
long lasting effect on its customers. The refereed brand is successful enough in doing same as it
has adopted effective strategies like delivering economic products in the market which helps in
achieving the competitive advantage and giving a close rivalry to the distinct competitors dealing
in the same sector (Marketing Structure, 2010).
Marketing mix of McDonald
Product: It is one of the leading fast food restaurant across worldwide dealing in
providing multiple variety of products which includes chicken products, hamburgers, soft drinks,
desserts and many more. In addition with this, smoothies, fish wraps and salads are also offered
by company. McDonald believes that offering quality easily attracts large number of customers
due to which they achieved growth and success in market.
Price: The pricing factor makes huge impact on the interest and buying behaviour of
customers thus required to consider pricing factor after analysing the willingness of customers to
buy their fast food products and services. An effective pricing strategies should required to be
adopt in order to attract maximum number of customers.
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Place: The restaurants of McDonald has located at various places in different countries
due to which they can capture large market share through providing quality products and services
across worldwide.
Promotion: McDonald has generated huge revenues if the company successfully attract
large number of customers through adopting various promotional strategies such as
advertisement, social media, print media, public relation etc. Through this, the customers can
achieve its customer strength by influencing them in favourable of company.
Marketing strategy
In order to achieve desired aims and objectives within pre-determined time period, it is
must required for McDonald to develop an effective marketing activities. In regards to this,
relationship marketing is better method which established a good relation with the customers.
Financial Projection of McDonald
Income statement All numbers in thousands
Revenue 31/12/17 31/12/16 31/12/15
Total revenue 22820400 24621900 25413000
Cost of revenue 12199600 14417200 15623800
Gross profit 10620800 10204700 9789200
Operating expenses
Selling general and
administrative 1068100 2460200 2643700
Operating income or
loss 9552700 7744500 7145500
Income from continuing operations
Total other
income/expenses net -57900 6300 48500
Earnings before
interest and taxes 8573500 6866000 6555700
Interest expense - - -
Income before tax 8573500 6866000 6555700
Income tax expense 3381200 2179500 2026400
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Net income from
continuing ops 5192300 4686500 4529300
Non-recurring events
Net income
Net income 5192300 4686500 4529300
Net income
applicable to
common shares 5192300 4686500 4529300
Execution
Under this, it is required to follow such steps in systematic manner so that expected
outcomes should be received in near future. For this, an effective strategies need to be
formulated in order to achieve desired aims and objectives. It helps in gaining maximum benefits
for McDonald at market place (Papasolomou and Melanthiou,2012).
Evaluation
It refers to analysis of marketing activities performed in future business activities so as to
identify the level of effectiveness of each marketing activity. There are several method through
an effectiveness can easily be identified which are given as below:
Sales analysis:
Market-share analysis: It is concerned with study concerning marketing shatter whether
it is low or high and there is large market share of McDonald.
Efficiency ratios: Asset Turnover Ratio- Revenue (Sales)/Net Assets
Cost-Profitability Analysis- It consists an profit examination in addition to costs. It
displays gap between sales as well as cost.
CONCLUSION
It has been concluded from the above project report that marketing plays an important
role in achieving growth and success for longer period of time. For this, the marketing manager
should required to perform roles and responsibilities which includes adoption of marketing tools
and techniques, preparing of marketing plan, conducting research etc. Due to this, an
organisation can easily achieve better possible outcomes in near future.
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