Marketing Strategies and Analysis of McDonald's

The provided report is an analysis of McDonald's marketing strategies, emphasizing their use of the marketing mix technique to evaluate the current market scenario and develop policies. The report highlights how McDonald's maintains speed and hygiene in their service, with a strong physical presence across almost every developed country worldwide.

MARKETING ESSENTIALS

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................1
1.Introduction to the concept of marketing, including current and future trends as they relate
to KFC.........................................................................................................................................1
2. Overview of different marketing process................................................................................2
3. Explanation of the role and responsibilities of a marketing manager in the context of KFC. 2
4,5.An explanation of how marketing influences and interrelates with other functional
departments of KFC....................................................................................................................3
6. The value and importance of the marketing role in the context of KFC.................................4
7. Application of marketing mix to achieve business objectives along with comparison with
the competitor..............................................................................................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7

Introduction
Marketing is the term used by the organisation to promote its product and services in the
global market. It refers to the activity of creating, promoting, transferring the goods to the
potential customers. Marketing is the vital task that every organisation has to perform so to
compete with their rivals. The company uses this technique to know where the product of the
company stands against their rival and the future prospective of that product in the market. The
organisation taken for the purpose of study is KFC which is headquartered in Texas US. It is the
company which deals in restaurants industry. This report consist of roles and responsibilities of
the marketing department and interrelation of marketing activities with other organisations
department. At last the application of marketing mix would be accomplishment with the effective
marketing plan for the chosen organisation.
1.Introduction to the concept of marketing, including current and future trends as they relate to
KFC.
Marketing is the activity which helps the organisation in achieving the customer
satisfaction. Through this the organisation connects to the different potential customers and fulfil
their demand accordingly. KFC is the big brand and operates its business in the different part of
the world. As the company is dealing in the food sector, it has to face the competition which is
presiding in the global market (Brassington and Pettitt, 2013). So to tackle the competition the
company has to formulate the effective marketing department as this will help the company to
raise the overall profit. The future and the current trends that are influence the marketing are
discussed below:
 Production concept: This concept is related to the production department of the
organisation. This concept states that the quality of the product and the price of the
product affects the customers preference. In KFC proper monitoring should be done by
the company so as to maintain the quality of the product and the price should be
maintained to make the product customer friendly.
 Product concept: This theory explains that the customer will buy that product which is
best in quality. Manager should focus on making high quality products then improving
them overnight. For KFC it is important that good standards are maintained and through
which competitive advantage can be gained.
1

 Selling concept: This concept focuses on the task of sales promotion and the techniques
which will increase the turnover of the company (Brooks and Simkin, 2012). KFC should
use the techniques which will increase the sales of the company and will promote its
product in the market.
 Marketing concept: This concept stands on the principle that the company has to make
the products that will beat their rivals. Here the concept of marketing mix is used by the
company.
 Societal marketing concept: The company determines the demand, needs, and the interest
of the target consumers and then deliver the product accordingly to the consumers.
Production of the product is done while taking care of the customer desires.
2. Overview of different marketing process
Under this concept the firm finds the way so as to fulfil the customer's needs and brings
the products that contributes to the satisfaction of the consumers. This process can be considered
in the sequence. So the different marketing process includes:
 Situational analysis: it involves the analysis of the situation in the market through which
the firm finds the way of satisfying the customer's needs.
 Marketing strategy: once the situational analysis is done the strategic plan has to be made
so as to pursue the opportunity (Clow and James, 2013). It will result in specific market
information which will make the firm to select the target market.
 Marketing mix decision: After this the detailed decisions are made so as to implement the
marketing mix tools.
 Implementation and control: in this the marketing plan has to be developed and
implemented and the monitoring of the implemented plan has to be done so as to achieve
the organisational goals.
3. Explanation of the role and responsibilities of a marketing manager in the context of KFC
The marketing manager performs different functions and have different responsibilities towards
the organisation so as to make the organisation achieve its goals. The roles and responsibilities of the
marketing managers are:
 Building customer satisfaction: This is the main task that the marketing department has to do. The
company aims to make their customers happy and satisfy so that they do not switch to the
products of their rivals (Dessain and Zeuch, 2015). The company perform several activities
2

such as product promotion, survey of the customers desires. Through this process the company
gets to know about the customer taste regarding the product and will also help them to maximize
their profits.
 Managing the acts on social media: As the world is changing and every thing is being digital. The
process of marketing should include the use of social media to compete with the other brands
which are prevailing in the market. The company such as KFC should use social media so as to
reach the mass number of consumers.
 Track the trends of competition: The company like KFC has large number of competitors in the
market such as McDonald's who are already having the dominance in the market. So it becomes
essential for the company to monitor the trends that are having impact on their promotions.
 Strategic marketing plan: For the company to achieve success it is important to define the
strategic marketing plans. The company should make the plans which are cost effective and
provides the strategies which promote the quality in their product.
4,5.An explanation of how marketing influences and interrelates with other functional
departments of KFC.
KFC is the big organisation which has the different range of departments which performs their
particular task. The role of each department is different and are interrelated to provide the best
result so as to achieve the organisational goal. The relation between different department are
discussed below:
 Marketing and production department: Marketing department in the KFC studies the
external trends in the market and informs the production team about the desired product
which has to be produced for the customers. This way both the department interrelates
with each other and perform their task.
 Marketing and finance department: The company main task is to keep the financial aspect
under control. As this department affects the profitability of the company directly it is to
be taken very seriously. With the help of this department the KFC marketing managers
can help the finance department to ensure that the best results are obtained from the
investment that has been made. Also by doing the market surveys this helps the finance
department to cut down the extra expenses that are made.
 Marketing and sales department: Selling the main department in any organisation. As if
this department is not their then nothing can be achieved from them (Dibb and Simkin,
2013). The marketing department evaluates the areas first where the product and service
3

can be given to the customer. And then the sales team sales the product in that area using
different sales techniques.
6. The value and importance of the marketing role in the context of KFC
Marketing plays an important role in making the company successful in the market. For
the companies like KFC marketing it helps them to gain the competitive advantage over other
rivals. Values of the marketing department are discussed below:
 It helps in transfer of the goods: It is very useful in the transfer and the exchange of goods
as the goods and services are provided to the customers through various intermediaries
such as whole seller and the retailers. In the case of KFC they have opened different
branches in different regions so as to make the goods available to the customer's.
 It helps in making decision: As the business is always confronted with the problems it has
the ability to perform the task in challenging way. In the modern times the marketing has
become very complex and tedious task (Illing and Anders, 2016). It has emerged as the
task that has to be performed by the marketing managers in a proficient manner. In KFC
the managers has to decide about what they have to produce and sell. With the help of
marketing technique a producer can regulate their production accordingly.
 It acts as the source of new ideas: It is a dynamic concept. As the consumer is changing
their taste and preference rapidly the marketing department has to adopt these changes so
as to achieve the organisational goals. As this is the instrument of measurement it helps
KFC in understanding the new demand pattern so as to make the goods available to the
users accordingly
4

7. Application of marketing mix to achieve business objectives along with comparison with the
competitor
Source: 7Ps Marketing Mix, (2018)
Basis KFC Mc Donald
Product KFC deals in various product
such as on the bone chicken
pieces, barbecue baked beans,
corn on the cob, mashed
potato, buggers, chicken
wings, dips bucket, veg longer.
The main aim of the
management is to introduce
the menu that satisfy the
customers demand (Kladou
and et. al., 2016). The research
about the market helps them to
It deals in the products such as
Mc Chicken burger, Wraps,
French fries and certain
beverages such as Mc Float
etc. The company provides the
wide range of products to the
customer including both
vegetarian as well as no
vegetarian range.
5
Diagram 1: Marketing mix tools

determine the actual trends
which persist in the market.
Price This technique will help the
company in determining the
best price which will satisfy
the needs and the demand of
the customers. For eg: if the
company charges low price for
the product to the customer
then the customer will think
that the quality is
compromised. So it is
important for the organisation
to charge the relevant price.
Different pricing policy should
be adopted by the company so
as to gain the competitive
advantage
In the case of McDonald's they
are having the tendency to
charge low price to the
customer for their product.
They uses different pricing
techniques that helps them to
acquire the market share.
Promotion This is the method that every
company adopts to promote
their product through different
techniques of marketing
(Mueller and et. al., 2015)).
The different types of
promotional methods includes
TV's, magazines, pamphlets,
posters etc. also the sales
promotion merchandising can
be used by the company to
promote their products directly
Basically McDonald's uses two
ways of promoting their
product. That includes the
social media and the
advertisement through print
media. They uses the
technique to sponsor the
events so as to reach the
masses.
6

to the customer.
Place This is the technique which
helps in deciding the
distribution points for the
product. In the case of KFC
they uses the concept of
maximum distribution
channels and they opens as
many outlets as possible so as
to cover the target market.
McDonald's uses this
technique to identify the
regions where the outlets have
to be opened and the product
has to sold. The company
provides the facility of drive in
drive out so as to attract the
large number of customer's.
People The way of treating the
customer in KFC is unique
from other rivals. The
employees of the organisation
follows the proper dress code.
The main focus is on the
customer friendly behaviour in
the organisation.
The management of
McDonald's has the focus on
both the customer's and the
employee's. They provide their
employee's a way to live better
life style. The customer
satisfaction level of the
McDonald's is very high as
compared to other rivals.
Process The process used by KFC has
improved over the period of
time. The technology used by
them has enhanced their
productivity (Pike, 2015). The
invests huge amount so as to
obtain the automated machines
that makes the process
smoother
The process that McDonald's
is using to operate their
business is designed by the
experts. They have designed
the process in a way that it
delivers the product effectively
and more quickly. This helps
them to maintain the same
taste across the continent.
Physical evidence The physical evidence of the
company is great. They have
McDonald's has the presence
in almost every developed
7

opened number of outlets in
the different part of the
countries and are managing
them effectively. The main
aspect that depicts the service
is speed and the hygiene that
they maintain.
country in the world. They are
introducing the new branches
that will be considered as the
opportunity for them. The
company hangs the boards
which can be noticed from the
long distance.
Conclusion
From the report it is concluded that marketing plays a vital role in every aspect of the
organisation. It emphasis on building the relationship among different department of the
organisation so as to achieve the organisational goals. The company uses the marketing mix
technique to evaluate the current market scenario and develop their policies.
8

Referencing
Books and authors
Brassington, F. and Pettitt, S., 2013. Essential of marketing.
Brooks, N. and Simkin, L., 2012. Judging marketing mix effectiveness. Marketing Intelligence
& Planning. 30(5). pp.494-514.
Clow, K.E. and James, K.E., 2013. Essentials of marketing research: Putting research into
practice. Sage.
Dessain, N. and Zeuch, M., 2015. Human Resources Marketing and Recruiting: Essentials of
Recruiting Events. Handbook of Human Resources Management. pp.1-10.
Dibb, S. and Simkin, L., 2013. Marketing essentials. Cengage Learning.
Illing, L. and Anders, F., 2016. Human Resources Marketing and Recruiting: Essentials of
Executive Search. Handbook of Human Resources Management. pp.139-171.
Kladou, S., and et. al., 2016. The role of brand elements in destination branding. Journal of
Destination Marketing & Management.
Mueller, J.Pand et. al., 2015. Community‐based livestock breeding programmes: essentials and
examples. Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics. 132(2). pp.155-168.
Pike, S., 2015. Destination marketing: essentials. Routledge.
Online
7Ps Marketing Mix. 2018. [Available through] <https://www.smartinsights.com/marketing-
planning/marketing-models/how-to-use-the-7ps-marketing-mix/>
9