Marketing Essentials Report: McDonald's and Burger King Marketing Mix

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of McDonald's marketing strategies and their application within the fast-food industry. It begins with an introduction to marketing concepts, including current and future trends like B2C, social media marketing, influencer marketing, and the use of chatbots and AI. The report then details the marketing process, including situation analysis, marketing strategies, marketing mix decisions (product, price, place, and promotion), and implementation and controlling. It further explores the role of a marketing manager, outlining key responsibilities such as supervising business activities, identifying potential markets, evaluating products, launching new products, creating marketing plans, and managing distribution channels. The report emphasizes the importance of the marketing department and its influence on other departments like HR, production, finance, and R&D. It concludes with a comparison of the marketing mix of McDonald's and Burger King, analyzing their products, pricing, placement, and promotional strategies. Finally, the report provides an overview of a marketing plan, offering insights into how McDonald's approaches its marketing efforts to achieve its business objectives.

Marketing Essentials

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
1: Marketing concept..............................................................................................................1
2: Marketing Process..............................................................................................................2
3: Role of Marketing Manager...............................................................................................3
4 : Influence of Marketing department on other departments................................................3
5: Importance of Marketing....................................................................................................4
6: Conclusion of Interrelation of Departments.......................................................................5
7 : Marketing mix of McDonald's and Burger King..............................................................5
8: Marketing Plan of McDonald.............................................................................................7
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is an essential component for every organization in order to generate satisfying
value to their customers. It refers to the set of activities which is associated with buying and
selling of goods and services (Dibb and Simkin, 2013). It deals with selling, advertising and
delivering the products to the final consumers. McDonald's is one of the UK fast food public
company. It was founded in 1940 by Richard and Maurice. Although it is known for its
hamburgers and along with this they also sell French fries, cheeseburgers, soft drinks and
desserts. This report explains about the role of marketing and its relationship with other
functional unit of an organization. Additionally this file also focuses on the uses of marketing
mix to achieve overall business objectives. Lastly this project evaluates about the basic of
marketing plan.
1: Marketing concept
Marketing concept is a strategy that is implemented by the company to attain maximum
profit, satisfy customer needs and increase their sales level. These can be implemented by
various methods such as social media marketing, B2C, and many so. However, there are many
current trends of marketing and future approaches that are considered to take over the market in
coming time. These are as follows.
Current trends: There are many marketing techniques that are adapted by the big or small scale
companies to promote their business. Some of them are as follows:
 Business to Customer- It is one of the strongest way of promoting the business where
technology and internet market is not that strong. Hence, B2C Technique is practised to
promote the business.
 Social Media marketing- This is one of the most low budget , high influential way of
promoting a business or a product that has been considered by many companies now a
days where the companies educate the customers about new product launches or product
through social media (Pike, 2015).
Future trends: The future of marketing is still emerging. However, some of the concepts are
considered to be the future of marketing. These are as follows
 Influencer Marketing- Bloggers, vloggers ans other influencers have quite a control on
customer decision making. The customers have a belief in their influencers, due to which

many companies has started cooperation with influencers and involve them in their
campaigns and marketing communication.
 Chatbots and AL- As usage of internet will probably rise in coming future. Hence, the
use of more social media marketing is considered to take place (Scarborough, 2016).
Chatbots can use Asking locals to guide the customer and recommend the brand which
will help attain more customers and promote the company on a large scale.
2: Marketing Process
It is a process of analysing the opportunities in the market, selecting the target marketing,
developing marketing mix and managing marketing efforts. The ultimate goal of marketing
process is to figure out customer needs and work on to satisfy those needs. Following is the
process of marketing.
 Situation Analysis- To fulfil the customer needs, a firm must understand the
environment in which it is operating and its own capabilities. Thus, the situation analysis
can be stated as external influence internal analysis of the company. Hence, there are
various tools that can be implemented such as PESTLE analysis and SWOT analysis.
 Marketing Strategies- After identifying the opportunities to satisfy customers, a
strategic marketing plan is developed. The market research provides the data which helps
the marketing team to select target market segment and position the products within the
segment. At last. The result that is acquired is the value proposition to the targeted market
( Hair and McDaniel, 2011).
 Marketing Mix Decisions- The tool of Marketing mix is composed of various factors
which have the power to influence the demand of the product and many others. It is
consist of Product, price, place and promotion. The organisation develops an effective
combination of these factors in order to attain greater customer values to accomplish
companies objectives.
 Implementation & Controlling- After developing a marketing plan and launching the
product, the results of the efforts that have been put in the marketing should be monitored
closely. Thus, if there is any change in the market, marketing mix can be adjusted
accordingly. In case of small changes in the market trend, small changes in the
advertising can work out. Where as, in case of any big significant changes, redesigning of
the product or new product launches can be considered.

3: Role of Marketing Manager
The role of marketing manager is to manage the marketing resources of a company or the
product. A manager needs to be highly focused,spontaneous and detail oriented. However, there
are many responsibilities that are taken care by a marketing manager. These are as follows:
 Supervise Business activities- A marketing manager establishes effective coordination
among various businesses operations such as purchase, sales, packing, transportation,
advertisement and many more.
 Identifying Potential Market- The marketing manager have to continuously explore
new market in order to expand their business and increase the demand of the products
along with managing the current operating market ( Malhotra and et. al., 2013). This role
is fulfilled through carrying out a market research.
 Evaluate the product- As with the changing demands of the customer and updating
market trends, it is important to keep upgrading the and modifying the existing products
as per the market changes in order to sustain the market share.
 Launching new Products- To lead among the competitors in the market and attract more
customers, it is important to launch new product and services to upgrade the services of
the company so that demands of prospect are fulfilled appropriately. This duty is taken
care by the marketing manager of the company.
 Create market plan- As per the marketing nature of the organisation, the marketing
manager creates an action plan to decide when, how and where would the marketing
activities be carried out such as advertisement, sales forecast, distribution of products,
etc. (Brassington and Pettitt, 2013).
 Distribution Channels- The distribution of the products are carried out by various means
and channels such as wholesalers, retailers, etc. Hence, the decision regarding the
selection of the channel is taken by the marketing manager of the organisation.
4 : Influence of Marketing department on other departments
Marketing is one of the most important function of McDonald. It is an activity which is
consist of buying and selling of the products. Marketing also includes advertising, delivering the
products,etc. Though marketing is completely different segment, it still interrelates with the

functions of other departments of the company. The relation between various department in
context to marketing is given below:
 Marketing and HR- The HR department of McDonald helps by appointing suitable
candidates which are skilled enough for the marketing department. HR makes sure to
select the best candidate which have similar experience and skills which helps in
increasing the productivity of the organisation through improved marketing efforts.
 Marketing and Production- The marketing department sells the products that are
produced by the production department of the respective organisation. If the production
department won't produce good quality products then the marketing department won't be
able to sell it. However, if marketing department doesn't operate its functions, then the
produced goods won't be able to reach the target customers of McDonald's (Jones and
Rowley, 2011).
 Marketing and Finance- The finance department works towards providing budget for
the operational functions. The marketing operations require proper budget to conduct the
activities. Hence, finance team can help them by providing adequate budget by which the
market department can work towards attaining McDonald's goals.
 Marketing and R&D- The R&D team of McDonald is responsible for collecting data
and research regarding new trends and customers needs. Such data can help the
marketing team to target the right market according to their preferences and attain
maximum response which will help in lowering down the cost of the respective company
and attain more profitability.
5: Importance of Marketing
The marketing department plays a very crucial role for a successful business growth.
Many of the businesses fail due to poor marketing. No matter how good the product is, if proper
awareness is not created via marketing, the business will not be able to make any major sales. If
adequate marketing strategies are implemented, they can help the organisation grow very rapidly
and earn good profit levels. Some of the factors which reflects the significance of marketing are:
 Increases Awareness- Marketing helps in increasing awareness among the targeted
market about the respective companies products and new launches. This helps in
attracting more customers which further leads to attaining more sales.

 Raises Sales - The market team is responsible for distribution, advertisement and buying
and selling of the products. The affective marketing functions and strategies leads to
increase in the sales level of McDonald's.
 Business Expansion- It also helps in business expansions if the activities are done evenly
throughout the target areas. For example, the marketing team analyses the market and its
demands and further conduct distribution according to the taste and demands of the
customers which helps in successful business expansions (Papasolomou and Melanthiou,
2012).
6: Conclusion of Interrelation of Departments
After going through the relation of marketing department with finance, production and
human resource. It has been concluded that, finance division is that which provide fund for
overall marketing activities such as advertisement, promotion, events and so on. Same as in the
production division also for producing goods there is requirement of resources and other raw
material. The marketing department use several tools and technique for promotion of respective
goods and services in market area. Apart from this, human resources department is also related
with marketing because they are the one who recruit people in the company as per there skills
and vacant position requirement (Purvis, 2015). Thus, all these department are related with
marketing division and for them it play important role.
7 : Marketing mix of McDonald's and Burger King
Marketing mix is a tool which is made of combination of 7 factors which are Product,
Price, Place, Promotion, People, Process and Physical Evidence. These are the factors that can be
managed by McDonald's to influence its sales positively.
Basis McDonald's Burger King
Product The company primarily deals in
breakfast, burgers, chicken, snacks,
drinks and many so. Additionally,
McDonald's tries to provide more
variety of options to the clients
such as Egg McMuffin, Egg White
Delight and various other options.
Burger King deals in various fast
food products such as hamburger,
coffee, onion rings,etc. Some of
their products have been repetitively
on and off the menu with time such
as Mushroom Sandwiches, Double
Whopper and Swiss cheese.

Price The organisation uses various
pricing strategies to provide a
competitive price such as value
pricing, Cost discrimination,etc.
Prices vary slightly between
different McDonald's Outlet due to
many factors. However, franchises
need to provide competitive value
driven price for their customers.
Burger King uses competitive
pricing because of the big
competitors in the market. However,
the price need to be maintained to
assure that it is under budget and is
not low enough to raise doubts
towards the quality. Hence,
Psychological pricing is also used by
the respective fast food company.
Place The concerned company have
different distribution strategies
among various countries.
McDonald's offer home delivery
services to many countries. Also,
many outlets are open 24 hours a
day which is a classic example of
intensive distribution method
(Lane, 2015).
Burger king is serving in 79
countries with an estimate of 13000
outlets. Some of the locations where
the company operates its functions
are Singapore, Europe, Oceania and
many so. It has also established
many subsidiaries and providing
many franchising options to expand
the business.
Promotion The company uses various means
of promotion such as television,
newspapers, magazines, Internet
and many other means. The
restaurant also gives various
discount coupons and freebies on
many products.
The promotional strategy of Burger
king is based on two key elements
which are reorganizing and
revitalizing (Pike, 2016). The
organisation has worked on its
strategies related to advertisement,
new agencies,menu and many so
over time.
People The total number of people
working in McDonald's in UK and
Ireland is near by 97,000. The
The company focuses on speedy
customer services. To provide such
services, the customers order are

company invest £40 Million on
training their employees every
year.
taken on continual basis. After
taking the order, Customer moves
down to another line where the
employee if preparing the order.
This leads to systematic operations
of the respective organisation.
Process There are number of activities that
McDonald's. For example, the
activity of food preparation which
is an important part of process for
the company. This process is
transparent i.e is visible to the
customers. Apart from this, the
delivery of the final product is
quick and satisfactory.
The company is concentrating to
adding new restaurant and market
strategies. It has added approx 400
new outlets in last 3 years (Baker
and Magnini, 2016). Burger King is
seeking future growth with the help
of its creative market promotional
activities such as Television
commercials which will help in
attracting more consumers for the
respective company.
Physical evidences McDonald's have many outlets
across the globe which can be
considered as a physical evidence.
Also, the Staff working in the
organisation are the witness. The
building is maintained, hygienic
and clean. Also, interiors of the
restaurant is quite appealing and
welcoming.
Burger king has an internet presence
with it official website where the
history of the company and other
information is uploaded. The
company is also planning to make
certain changes in its interior décor.
The new outlets will showcase
modern lines and industrial building
material.

8: Marketing Plan of McDonald's
A marketing plan is consist of overall business plan. It should be based on the future
perspective of the McDonald's. There are various elements that are considered while making a
business plan of the respective company. These are market research, competition, market
strategies, budget, goals and Monitoring the results (Nguyen and Simkin, 2012).
Executive Summary
McDonald is a fast food chain that is operating in more than 100 countries across the
globe where 80% of its outlets are based on franchise model. It serves approx 69 million
customers daily across 36,900 outlets all around the world. They sell variety of consumable
products such as cheeseburgers, salads, fish, soft drinks and many so. The organisation earns its
revenue from rent, royalty, sales and fees that is paid by the franchisees ( Pappas, 2017).
Vision- McDonald have a vision to provided the quickest service and best restaurant
experience by enhancing the quality, services and values.
Mission- The mission of the respective company is to be the customer's most preferred
place for dining. There global strategy focuses on providing exceptional customer experience.
Goals and objectives – To introduce McVeganwrap so to enhance business profitability
in by 20% within 1 year..
SWOT of McDonald's – To identify the influence of internal as well as external forces,
SWOT analyses can be practised on the company. This analysis studies the strength, weaknesses,
opportunities and strength of the respective organisation which helps in making various decisions
in the operations of McDonald.
Strength Weaknesses
1. It is the second largest chain in the world
having a big market share and turnovers.
2. Adequate staff training is provided which
ensures the quality and standardisation of food.
3. It also sponsors many international sports
events like football world cup and Olympics
which helps in developing high brand values.
1. The products that are served by the company
contains high calories due to which the
customers are unable to increase the amount of
consumption.
2. Due to different franchise schemes, the level
of services also varies which affects the quality
of operations of the company.
Opportunities Threats

1. The respective organisation needs to opt for
better technology solutions for it delivery
service and communication with the
consumers.
2. McDonald can also increase its
sustainability by providing suitable recycling
facilities.
1. Due to lack of franchise friendly framework
in some countries, the strategies and business
expansion of the concerned company gets
restricted.
2. The growing concern of obesity may lead to
raise in taxation which will hamper the profit
margin of McDonald.
STP model- The segmentation, targeting and positioning of McDonald's is one of the
important component of its marketing strategies. It is one of the most common tool of marketing
that has been practised. The STP model is helpful in creating marketing communication plans as
it helps the marketer to prioritise proposition and furthermore develop and deliver relevant
message to engage different customers.
 Segmentation- The Segmentation for McVeganwrap includes dividing the population as
per different characteristics such as Geographical i.e region and density, Demographics
i.e age, gender, income, etc. , Behavioural and psycho graphics.
 Targeting- It is consist of choosing the specific groups that is obtained from segmenting
the groups in order to sell the McVeganwrap of McDonald.
 Positioning- This involves selection and practising 4 p's of marketing mix and
concluding which element would be most suitable for the targeted customer (Griffitts,
2016). The respective company practices adaptive product positioning and accordingly,
the product like McVeganwrap is modified or re positioned as per the changes in the
segment.
Ansoff Matrix-
It is used to develop business strategic options for the organisation. Also, it is one of the
most commonly used tool due to its ease of use and less complexity. It is consist of four elements
which are market penetration, product development, market development and Diversification.
 Market Penetration- This element of strategy focuses on increasing the amount of sales
of the existing product in the existing market. McDonald practices various schemes to
penetrate the amount of sales such as family combos, Discount and various other
schemes.

 Product Development- This strategy can be described as introducing new product in
existing market. Hence, McDonald increased the variety of burgers and ice creams in
order to attain more market share.
 Market Development- When a new market is approached with an existing product, it is
called market development. McDonald have been approaching various new market.
 Diversification- Reaching new market with new product describes the diversification
strategy. Mc Cafe and The Golden Arch Hotel in Switzerland are some of the examples
of diversification of McDonald.
Thus, in order to promote and increase the number of sales of McVeganwrap , the
concerned company will adapt Product Development strategy in order to introduce its new
product in the existing market.
Marketing Budget
Marketing budget
Particulars 1st year 2nd year 3rd year 4th year 5th year
Initial money 6000 8500 12000 14500 18350
Investment 14000 25500 32000 13500
Total 6000 22500 37500 46500 31850
Marketing outlay
Promotion 6500 3200 4300 3300 3250
Sales publicity 2200 2100 3300 2200 2000
Direct selling 4200 2500 6000 3000 4650
Total 12900 7800 13600 8500 9900
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that this fast food company is one of the
biggest company in fast food industry. Along with this, various current and future marketing

strategies of the respective company can also be understood such as Social media marketing,
influencer marketing and many so. From the brief study above, it can also be concluded that all
the department of an organisation works towards attaining the final goal of the company.
Additionally, the impact of external and internal factors can also be seen on the company. The
role of marketing manager is critical and requires to make lot of strategies to attain higher level
of sales and income growth.

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