Marketing Essentials: A Case Study of McDonald's

This assignment explores the fundamental concepts of marketing through a case study of McDonald's. It delves into the key roles and responsibilities of the marketing function, examining how they interrelate with other organizational units. The assignment also compares the marketing mix elements of McDonald's with those of Burger King, highlighting how both companies utilize the 7Ps to achieve their business objectives. Finally, a basic marketing plan is developed and evaluated for McDonald's, incorporating the 7Ps of marketing mix to ensure its effectiveness.

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Table of Contents
Introduction:..........................................................................................................................................2
Task 1.....................................................................................................................................................3
LO1: Explain the role of marketing and how it interrelates with other functional units of an
organization.......................................................................................................................................3
P1. Using examples from your chosen organization, explain the key roles and responsibilities of
the marketing function..................................................................................................................3
P2: How roles and responsibilities of marketing relate to the wider organizational context........5
Task 2...................................................................................................................................................10
LO2: Compare ways in which organisations use elements of the marketing mix (7Ps) to achieve
overall business objectives..............................................................................................................10
P3: Using your chosen organisation and another organisation, compare how organisations use
the various elements of the 7Ps marketing mix in the marketing planning process to achieve
business objectives......................................................................................................................10
LO3: Develop and evaluate a basic marketing plan.........................................................................14
P4. Using your chosen organisation, produce and evaluate a basic marketing plan to meet
marketing goals and objectives...................................................................................................14
Conclusion:..........................................................................................................................................16
References:..........................................................................................................................................17
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Introduction
Today, marketing has become the crucial tool for the modern business organisations.
Marketing involves the successful understanding of the customers as well as the market. It
involves market research and building strong and healthy relations with the customers. The
following assignment is based on the concept of marketing. In the following assignment, we
will discuss the various roles and responsibilities of the marketing function as well as the
importance of the interrelationship between marketing and other functional units of the
organization. In addition to this, we will also discuss the use of the elements of the marketing
mix for achieving organisational objectives.
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Task 1
LO1: Explain the role of marketing and how it interrelates with other functional units
of an organization.
P1. Using examples from your chosen organization, explain the key roles and
responsibilities of the marketing function.
Marketing: Marketing may be defined as the process through which the business identifies
the successful products for the potential market and then help the business in its promotion.
Marketing helps the business in increasing its sales. Marketing usually consists of market
research, planning of product, its development, promotion, finance, sales, distribution etc.
The marketing function is very crucial for business organizations like McDonald’s and is
responsible for the success or failure of the business (Kotler, 2012).
Marketing Concept: The marketing concept believes that understanding the needs of the
customers is the essence of every business based on which the business should develop its
products and services and achieve its goals. There are five components of marketing concept:
production, product, selling, marketing and social marketing.
McDonalds is one of the biggest fast food retailers of UK which uses marketing concept in its
business operations. The brand equity of the McDonalds is very strong which provides a
competitive advantage to the organisation. McDonalds is famous and popular because it
knows how to serve people with the changing market trends. McDonalds understands the
value of the culture and therefore serves differently in different nation based on their religion
and culture. For example: They do not use pork in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia while in India
they don’t serve beef (McDonalds, 2018).
Common Roles in a Marketing Department: Following are the key roles within the
marketing department of McDonalds:
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Marketing President: The main person responsible for the marketing activities of
McDonalds is the Marketing President or Marketing Director of organisation. The marketing
president makes the marketing plan and identifies the long term as well as short term goals
for the business.
Product Manager: The product manager is the person mainly responsible for the product
research, its development as well as its promotion. The product manager identifies the present
needs of the customer and develops the product plan to make sure that they meet the needs of
the market (Pike, 2015).
Advertising Manager: The advertising manager of McDonalds is generally responsible for
writing brand messages and creating texts, ads etc. for the advertisement purpose.
Public Relations Manager: The main responsibility of the public relations manager is to
communicate and share information about the company and its products. These persons are
the company’s media spokesperson which interacts with various media in order to attract
customers.
Marketing Manager: The main role of the marketing manager is to carry out the marketing
strategy of the company. He reviews the marketing department and develops the marketing
plan and also coordinates with other functional units of the organisation (Pike, 2015).
(Source: https://in.askmen.com/)
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P2: How roles and responsibilities of marketing relate to the wider organizational
context.
Roles and responsibilities of marketing relate to wider organisational context in the following
way:
Marketing Communication: Roles and responsibilities of marketing includes marketing
communication with other functional units of the organization and customers as well in order
to have the feedback about the organization.
Enhance the liability of organization: It is the responsibility of the marketing to enhance
the liability. For example: McDonalds is the best provider of fast food services in the
minimum period of time (Dibb & Simkin, 2013).
Quality of services and products: The success of any organisation depends upon the quality
of its services and products. It is the responsibility of marketing function to identify the
standards of the services expected and provide services accordingly. McDonalds need to
understand the needs and wants of the customer and provide products and services
accordingly.
Promotion of services: The other responsibility of the marketing function is to promote the
products and services of McDonalds in the market. It can be done through websites, etc. by
introducing several offers and discounts on the products of the organisation online. It is the
responsibility of the marketing to communicate the offers to the potential customers in order
to increase the sales and productivity of the organisation (Dibb & Simkin, 2013).
M1: The various roles and responsibilities of marketing in the context of marketing
environment are:
Market Strategies: The basic responsibility of marketing is the identification and
development of the marketing strategies for the organization. The marketing manager of
McDonalds need to identify the various needs of the customers and develop their services and
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products in accordance with the needs. It will help the organization in the achievement of the
organisational objectives.
Marketing Information System: The market information system provides important
information related to various aspects of marketing to the organization. The information
related to market research, product planning and development of strategies is provided by
marketing information systems (Cannolly, 2014).
Monitoring of marketing environment: It is the responsibility of the marketing department
to identify the changes occurring in the marketing environment of the business in order to
remain competitive. It helps in the effective development of products according to the
changing needs and trends. The marketing environment consists of political, social,
economic, legal changes etc.
Market Research: The main responsibility of the marketing function is the appropriate
market research in order to develop the best product and services for the customers. The
research should include knowledge of competitive prices, products as well as potential
customers in market.
Market Segmentation: It is the responsibility of marketing to divide the customers on the
basis of similar needs and characteristics. This will help the business in analysing the
potential customers for business (Howell, 2015).
M2: The interrelationship between the marketing function and the other functional units of an
organisation is very significant for the business organisations. Marketing, being an important
part of the business organization is concerned with the other departments as well as the
functional units of business organization. In order to be effective, the marketing functional
needs the coordination and support of all the other functional departments of the organization.
All the departments of the organization needs to operate together with the support of each
other in order to effectively carry out the various business operations. This can be understood
as in order to be carried out, the marketing functions needs the finances which are provided
by the finance department of the organization. Similarly, the effective carrying out of a
marketing plan also needs the support of the sales department, resource department as well as
the production department for the success of the marketing plan. In order to introduce any
offer or discounts so as to boost the sales of the products, the marketing team needs to discuss
the same with the production department as well as the finance department of the
organization. Thus, it can be said that in order to increase the productivity as well as the
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profitability of the organization, the various units of the organization gets linked with each
other. The main aim behind this is to increase the overall sales of the organization, thus
leading to enhanced productivity of the organization. In order to implement the marketing
plan successfully, the organization needs the finances which in turn is provided by the
finance department of the organization. Similarly, to fulfil the demand of products and
services, the support of production department is required. Human resources required for
carrying out the various activities are provided by the HR department. Therefore, a successful
marketing plan is the result of strong interrelationships between the various functional units
of the organization (Lewis, 2013).
D1: Marketing is crucial for the success of the business organization. In today’s business
world, no business organization can survive or achieve success without successful and
effective marketing function. The key elements of marketing function are as follows:
Marketing Research: Research is the most important and crucial element of the marketing
function. In order to produce a successful product or service, a business organization needs to
perform market research so as to get all the necessary and important information related to
the product and services as well the current and future trends of market. A business
organization identifies the target market as well as the potential customers with the help of
market research and the product is then developed accordingly (Baines, et. al., 2014).
Marketing Plan: Another important element of the marketing function is marketing plan
which consists of product specific as well as market specific plan clearly describing the
marketing activities that needs to be carried out with the pre-defined time frames. It starts
with the identification of the needs of the customer and the requirements of the market
identified through market research. It includes budget forecasting, sales forecasting etc.
Product Development: The next element of the marketing function is concerned with the
creation of new products according to the customer requirements or the modifications in the
existing products so as to fulfil customer needs.
Strategy: Development of strategies for effectively carrying out promotion, advertising,
distribution as well as sales is another important element of marketing function. These
strategies provide strong guidance to the business organization so as to achieve success.
The interrelationship between marketing and other functional units of the organization is very
important for increasing the productivity of the organization. There is a close
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interrelationship between marketing function and other operational units of the organization.
As discussed above, the successful completion of one function depends on the support of
other. For example: in order to effectively carry out a marketing plan successfully, the
marketing department needs resources which are provided by the finance department of the
organization. Similarly, human resources for marketing research and other activities are
provided by the HR department and information about products and services from production
department. Without the support of other functional units, it is impossible for the organization
to carry out its marketing plan successfully. It needs the support of all the other operational
units of the organization whether it be finance or production. Thus, the marketing plan of an
organization needs to be backed up by all other departments of the organization so as to
achieve success. All the departments of the organization are interlinked with each other so as
to increase the productivity of the organization (Lewis, 2013).
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Task 2
LO2: Compare ways in which organisations use elements of the marketing mix (7Ps) to
achieve overall business objectives.
P3: Using your chosen organisation and another organisation, compare how
organisations use the various elements of the 7Ps marketing mix in the marketing
planning process to achieve business objectives.
The various elements of the marketing mix are used by the McDonalds in order to achieve the
organizational objectives. Below is the comparison of the marketing mix elements of the
McDonalds and other organisation Burger King:
Product: Product refers to the range of products and services offered by the organization so
as to satisfy the needs of the customer (Khan, 2014).
McDonalds is one of the leading fast food restaurant of UK which provides a variety of
options to the customer. Its menu includes variety of burgers, fries, snacks, sandwiches,
deserts, shakes, drinks and salads. In order to remain competitive, McDonalds regularly
updates its offerings in the form of products. On the other hand, Burger King adopts the
theme “Have it Your Way” in order to offer different varieties of burgers, fries, sandwiches,
onion rings etc (McDonalds, 2018).
Price: Price refers to the amount that is charged by the organization in exchange for its
products and services.
The primary objective of McDonalds is to offer its products at a competitive price which is
based on the demand of the products. However, McDonalds do net set any prices for the
franchises and they can set their prices according to the local market structure and based on
the competition. On the other hand, in order to give competition to McDonalds, the Burger
King makes reductions in its prices for the same products which has ultimately led to the cut
in the profits of the Burger King.
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Place: Place refers to the distribution and the location where the customers can get the
products from (Khan, 2014).
McDonalds adopts different distribution strategies in different countries. The home delivery
service is offered by the company in many of the countries while in some countries, the home
delivery by McDonalds is not available. Similarly, Burger King is also located at prime
locations in almost all the major cities of UK including restaurants at malls, residential areas
etc.
Promotion: Promotion refers to the process through which the organization communicates
its services and products with the customers (Lee, et. al., 2016).
McDonald’s advertisements are the most effective form of its communication with its
customers. It advertises through television, magazine, newspapers, website and other means.
In addition to this, various different sales techniques are also used by the company. On the
other hand, promotional activities of Burger King includes advertising through television,
hoardings, placing of banners and pamphlets etc.
People: People refers to all those who are involved in the business operations from customers
to employees, management and other staff members.
McDonalds considers its people to be the most important by adopting proper strategies in
order to satisfy the needs of the customers as well as the employees of the organisation.
Similarly, preference is given to the employees by the Burger King and therefore proper
training is provided to them to enhance their customer services skills as efficient employee
leads to more customers (McDonalds, 2018).
Physical Evidence: Physical evidence refers to the experience of the customers of using the
products or services of the company.
In order to provide good experience to its customers, McDonalds focuses on its interiors and
maintains hygienic and attractive interiors at its restaurants. It provides good impression on
the customers of the McDonalds. Similarly, Burger King is also in the process of changing its
image and reinventing its interior by providing new décor to its various outlets.
Process: Process refers to all those methods and procedures through which organization
provides its services and products to its customers.
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The process of food preparation at McDonalds is transparent and the company provides
hygienic and timely and proper customer service is provided to the customers. In the similar
way, the food manufacturing process of Burger King is also transparent (McDonalds, 2018).
(Source: http://www.percentip.com/poll/115?Burger-King-vs-McDonalds)
M3: Following are the different tactics applied by the McDonalds in order to achieve its
organisational objectives:
Analysis of Business Environment: The first and the most important step of marketing is
the analysis of the business environment in order to have the knowledge of the present
situation of the market (McDaniel & Gates, 2014).
Planning: The second step is the planning. Planning is required after successful analysis of
business environment so as to act like a guide in the implementation of the various marketing
activities as proposed in the marketing plan.
Implementation: Implementation refers to bringing plan into action. The various activities
proposed in the marketing plan needs to be implemented in the proposed order and within
proposed timelines (Brassington & Pettitt, 2014).
Control: As soon as the marketing plan gets executed and various activities takes place,
marketing departments needs to control the various activities and keep a check on them so as
to check if any activity is deviated from the proposed plan and what measures needs to be
done.
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Marketing Strategies: In order to execute the marketing plan in a successful manner,
various strategies needs to be adopted by the marketing department. These involve pricing
strategies, distribution strategies, promotional strategies etc.
LO3: Develop and evaluate a basic marketing plan.
P4. Using your chosen organisation, produce and evaluate a basic marketing plan to
meet marketing goals and objectives.
The basic marketing plan for McDonalds in order to achieve organisational objectives can be
developed as following:
 Firstly, the company needs to identify the target market and the potential customers in
order to understand the objectives of the products and services of the McDonalds.
 The McDonalds need to develop its product in accordance with the customer’s needs and
requirements. In order to beat the competition, the McDonalds should find out the
uniqueness in its products.
 After identifying the target market and potential customers, the McDonalds should create
a marketing plan which should meet the objectives of the company.
 Next, the McDonalds should identify their competitors and their marketing strategies in
order to have the information about the market trends.
 After successfully evaluating the market research, McDonalds should make marketing
strategies in accordance with the needs and requirements of the competitive market by
creating well defined goals and objectives.
 McDonalds then needs to promote its various products and services to its customers in
order to boost its sales and increase the productivity of the company which is the ultimate
objective of the company.
 The results of the promotion then needs to be monitored carefully by the McDonalds in
order to check the overall effectiveness of its marketing plan (Armstrong, 2012).
 It should consider the 7Ps of marketing Mix in its Actions and Tactics:
(M4) Product: The product of the company should be able to satisfy the needs of the
customers and provide value for their money.
Price: The McDonalds needs to set prices of its products keeping in mind the prices of its
competitors.
Place: The various outlets of the McDonalds should be located at the locations easily
accessible by its customers.
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Promotion: McDonalds should adopt sales promotion, personal selling and various other
promotional techniques.
People: McDonalds should be able to identify the various needs of its customers as well
as its employees.
Process: McDonalds should adopt a customer focused process.
Physical Evidence: The overall experience of the customers with the company should be
good and attractive.
The company needs to check the implementation of its marketing plan at regular intervals in
order to have the feedback so as to take proper measures to avoid any flaws in the future
operations of the company. The managers need to make proper amendments in the operations
of the business so as to increase the productivity of the organization.
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Conclusion
The above assignment is based on the marketing essentials of McDonalds. Various concepts
of marketing with respect to McDonalds have been discussed in the above assignment. We
have discussed the roles and responsibilities of the marketing function with reference to
McDonalds. In addition to this, we have also compared the marketing mix elements of the
McDonalds with that of the Burger King. The basic marketing plan has been devised for
McDonalds including 7Ps of marketing in the above assignment (Lorange, 2013).
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