Marketing Essentials Report: Roles, Mix, and Plan for McDonald's

This report provides a comprehensive overview of marketing essentials, using McDonald's as a case study. It begins by examining the key roles and responsibilities of marketing functions, including customer service, market information, finance, product distribution, design and development, promotion, pricing, and branding. The report then explores the roles of the marketing function within an organizational context, emphasizing the importance of collaboration with other departments such as operations, finance, HR, sales, R&D, and IT. Furthermore, the report delves into the implementation of marketing mix elements, comparing McDonald's and Burger King, and culminates in the development of a basic marketing plan tailored for McDonald's, considering product, price, place, and promotion strategies. The report highlights the importance of understanding customer needs and adapting marketing strategies to achieve business goals.

MARKETING
ESSENTIALS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1: Key roles and responsibilities of the marketing functions...............................................3
P2: Roles and responsibilities of marketing function in organisational context ...................5
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................7
P3: Comparing ways to implement elements of marketing mix in marketing planning process7
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................9
P4: marketing plan for Mc Donald.........................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCE.................................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Marketing plays a essential role in the development of modern business firms. It helps in
identifying market, demands and requirement of customer, potential customers for the
promotions of products and in developing close relations with the customers. Marketing
strategies drives customers towards the quality products. Marketing involves various factors that
effects the performance of the firm. Every business is introducing their unique marketing
strategies in order to gain an competitive advantage to their rivals. Businesses understands the
importance of good relationship with customers and they are focused on implementing new
marketing strategies for making this relationship strong. The taken company for this assignment
report is McDonalds which is one of the biggest food companies of United Kingdom. The
company is known for providing different varieties of food prodcts to their customers in order to
gain growth and profit. This report will discuss the key roles and responsibilties of the marketing
function for the chosen organsiation. Further elements of marketing mix are discussed along with
a developed basic marketing plan for McDonalds.
TASK 1
P1: Key roles and responsibilities of the marketing functions
Marketing is considered as the philosophy of management which argues that every
business firms is focusing on demands and requirements of customers in the market place
necessary for more profit and revenue for company. The marketing function plays a important
role in decision making process which needs to be carried out in all business operations.
Effective implementation of marketing function is required for producing new and innovative
products for gaining an competitive edge over the competitors(Baines, Fill, and Page, 2013).
Roles and responsibilities of marketing function
Every business firm desires to understand the demands and requirements of customers
and wants to fulfil them through different varieties of products and services. The basic roles and
responsibilities are discussed below: Customer services: Customers are considered as the king of market as the businesses are
focusing on satisfying the demands and requirements of customers for generating profit.
As one of the world's largest food chain McDonald's is trying to provide high quality of
food products to their customers for sustaining them in long run. Company is

concentrating on gaining a large market share by offering broad varieties of products and
services. Company is implementing various strategies and policies for attracting more
and more customers for high performance and profit of the company (Campbell, and
Martin, 2015). Market information: For more productivity and success, companies are dividing their
operations into various departments where people are assigned with roles and
responsibilities based on their skills and knowledge required for the tasks assigned. Every
department has their own roles and goals. The main role of marketing department of Mc
Donald is to collect the information and data of the demands and trends of the market and
customers, then implement suitable strategies upon their analysis for sustaining in the
market place. Financing: A firm requires financial support for carrying out different operations and
activities at the right time. Managers at marketing department of Mc Donald prepares
various marketing plans and strategies with the right resources needed to implement these
strategies. It gives better opportunity to the company for providing quality products and
services to its consumers. It is necessary for managers to allocate and distribute budget
and finance on the basis of their operations (Clow, and James, 2013). Product distribution: It helps in distributing products and services from one place to
other for providing them to consumers. It is necessary to chose a suitable and proper
channel for distribution process for creating a positive effect on the consumers mind's.
The distribution channel of McDonald’s is quite good in their distribution channel than
the others firms available in the sector. Marketing department is responsible for selecting
these channels based on their analysis for delivering quality products on the
predetermined time. Product design and development: The design and development of products and services
are based on the demand and requirement of the consumers. Good quality products
attracts customers and enhance the productivity and sales of the product. It is the prime
responsibility of the Mc Donald to provide good and better products based on the demand
and need of customers. McDonald regularly communicates with customers and take their
feedbacks for providing improved product to the customers.

 Promotion: Promotion of products and services helps in attracting customers which
results in increase sales and productivity. Marketing department is responsible for
promotion and pricing of a product through latest trend and techniques. Main reason of
promotion is to raise awareness of the product and to develop more demand in the market
(Lancaster, and Massingham, 2010). Mc Donald use various strategies and policies such
as publicity, sales promotion, offers & discounts etc. for attracting customers towards the
product. Pricing: Pricing is a important factor in attracting customers. It effects the purchasing
power of buyers. If the cost of product is high then there are chances that customers will
buy less quantity or none at all. For increasing sales and profit, it is necessary for the
company to adopt suitable price strategies for the customers. Mc Donald has a vast
variety of products ranging from low cost to high cost which helps customers to chose
from these ranges based on their economic conditions.
 Branding: Brand image of the company also plays a vital part in attracting customers and
increasing sales of the products. A well known brand image allows customers to purchase
their food due to their good image in the market. It is a obvious thing that company with
good quality products will have a good brand image. Brand image of Mc Donald is very
good due to quality based products and services in satisfying the customers and market
needs.
P2: Roles and responsibilities of marketing function in organisational context
Marketing department of any company aims to develop good and strong relationship with
the customers in order to satisfy their needs in an effective or better way. The concept of
marketing includes promotion, sales, marketing and delivery of products. It is essential for
managers to conduct research for collecting relevant information and data to compete with the
rivals in a upgraded manner (Joshi, 2012). The marketing function works with the other
department at McDonald for developing better and improved strategies. This interconnection
with various departments is given below:
Marketing function with Operation function: Production of a product is done by
operations department who is responsible for managing raw materials and resources in an
efficient manner. The main task of operation department is to develop improved products and
services which includes planning, organising, controlling and coordinating of resources which

are required for the production. Coordination between marketing and operational department of
McDonald is necessary for bringing customers as marketing department requires data from
production department about the qualities and information of product which then conveyed to
customers. Better coordination is helpful in providing better quality and value in products to
customers in an effective manner.
Marketing function and finance function: The function of finance department is to
allocate funds and expenses to the marketing department for doing their activities. Without
finance, marketing department can't do their activities. It is the duty of finance function to
provide money to marketing department for promotion and marketing of products and services.
The marketing function carries out their activity with the proper funds allocated to them for
achieving business aims and goals in a specific time (Perreault, 2010).
Marketing department with HR department: Human Resource Department is the back
bone of an firm whose roles includes hiring, selection, provide training and development,
develop better policies, payroll etc. For generating high profit and to increase market share, It is
necessary to hire capable and skilled staff and provide them adequate training and programmes
so that they can work hard for achieving their organisational as well as their-selves goals and to
deal with costumers in a proper manner. Qualities and skills of employees are connected with the
revenue and performance of the organisation. With skilful staff, marketing department can work
efficiently and effectively for bringing new and innovative policies in attracting customers.
Marketing department with Sales department:The functions of marketing and sales
department are interconnected each other. Various and tools techniques of communication are
used by marketing managers to communicate with its consumers and also to effect their
behaviour for purchasing the products and services which will increase the sales and profit of
company. McDonald should use proper marketing and sales strategies for impacting the decision
making of customers to purchase their products.
Marketing department with R&D department: Research and development is required for
an organisation in order to improve and build better products with proper research of behaviour
and demands of customers. Marketing department needs information from R&D department in
order to tell customers about the improved products and services and how they differ from old
products. All this will help marketing department to attract more customers due to improved
quality and design of product.

Marketing department with IT department: The IT department provides new and
innovative tools and equipments to other departments in order to perform well in the market
place. Marketing and IT department should coordinate with each other in order to do their job
effectively. latest tools and techniques are used by marketing department of Mc Donald in order
to satisfy their customers and market demands effectively. Company is using various social
media and digital platforms to attract potential customers.
These are the few departments which are connected to marketing department for
performing well and to improve the productivity of Mc Donald. It is necessary for Mc Donald to
select proper channel of communication for successful coordination between these various
departments. Company can improve their market share and performance if the marketing
department cooperates with other department efficiently.
TASK 2
P3: Comparing ways to implement elements of marketing mix in marketing planning process
Marketing mix is the fundamental model of marketing. It is used for evaluating the
performance of company. These are most suitable for introducing new and innovative products
to the market. This is also called as the integrating marketing approach in which work is
combined with each other (Desai, 2013). Marketing mix consist of 7 elements i.e. product,
place, price, promotion, physical evidence, process and people. It is necessary for an organisation
to use these elements effectively. The marketing mix of two companies i.e. Mc Donald and
Burger king are compared below:
Marketing mix of Mc Donald Product- Mc Donald is one of the world's largest fast food restaurant. The company
provides wide range of food products to the customers to fulfil their demand. The main
products of the company are sandwiches, burgers, deserts, drinks etc. Recently, the
company promised to enhance the nutritional value of their food items. Price- Companies charges for their products and services from the customers for
providing their quality based products and services. The products of Mc Donald comes in
a broad price range which makes it easier for customer to purchase them at affordable
rate. Mc Donald follows the cost leadership strategy of business for setting their prices in
the market.

 Place- Mc Donald has over 36,000 restaurants in over 119 countries. The company aims
to establish its more reach to the rural as well as urban areas. McDonald always look for
better and suitable locations for expanding their restaurants in order to provide food to
more customers at their convenience. Promotion- It is necessary for an organisation to reach out to their potential customers in
order to aware them about the products and services of the company. The main targeted
audience of McDonald are children. Mc Donald promotes their products with the help of
various digital channels. The company places attractive banners and discounts offers on
their outlets from all over the world. Process- Mc Donald uses transparency in the process of food production and it is visible
to consumers. Company has acquired the license for training. This company continuously
adopt new policies and methods of distribution channel as well as packaging for
attracting more customers. McDonald has spent around € 4.4 billion on conducting the
market research for their restaurants. People- In Mc Donald, the uniform of staff members is standard and their main focus is
on providing professional and friendly service to the customers. Managers includes
employees in the decision making process (McDaniel, Lamb, and Hair, 2012). The
company provides clean and hygienic environment to its customers specially for families. Physical evidence- Physical appearance of Mc Donald restaurant sis must for attracting
the customers. This will not only impact the impression on customers but also on
outsiders. Physical appearance and locations of Mc Donald are very attractive and clean.
The company emphasize on the hygienic and clean interiors of its restaurant.
Marketing mix of KFC
KFC is also using the marketing mix due to changing dynamics of global fast food
industry. Main aim of KFC to use marketing mix is to increase the competition among its strong
competitors. Products: Kfc has a broad range of products includes burgers, wraps, French fries, bread
rolls, salad, Pepsi-Co soft drink etc. Company aims to provide good, healthy and hygienic
products to the consumers in order to get an competitive edge over its competitors.

 Prices: The pricing strategies are implemented keeping in mind of the economic
condition of consumers. KFC's products are affordable and quality based for attracting
more customers. Place: KFC is the second largest food chain in the world with over 20,000 restaurants in
over 120 countries (Malhotra, 2015). Company is still expanding to other cities where
demand of fast food is high to satisfy the customer and market needs. Promotion: Company uses various digital platforms like television, social media, internet
etc. for promoting their products globally. Effective strategies and policies are
implemented by KFC to attract more customers to their outlets. People: The staff of KFC is trained by the company to provide quality and standard
services to the customers who visit the outlets. Company has several guidelines for
employees to communicate properly. Process: The company ensures that the customer get what they want. Easy and
convenient process will lead to customer's satisfaction. Company ensures hygienic and
clean process in preparing the food products which is visible to the customers who visits
the outlets
 Physical evidence: The physical appearance of KFC is quite attractive. The outlets of
KFC are clean and hygienic along with LCD displays for showing menu and orders.
TASK 3
P4: marketing plan for Mc Donald
Marketing plan is required for the proper marketing and promotion of a product in a
business. It states the outline for the strategies and policies for business marketing and
advertising in the future. Marketing plan is helpful in performing activities in a systematic
manner. The main reason for developing marketing plan is to determine the future activities of
company for increasing sales of products and services. The marketing plan for McDonald is
given below:
Company Background
McDonald is a fast food restaurant chain founded in year 1940. It is the largest chain of
restaurants in terms of revenue. The products of McDonald are burgers, milkshakes, desserts,
chicken products, breakfast goods etc.

Vision
The vision of McDonald is to provide quick and quality service for better experience of
customers.
Mission
Mission of McDonald is to become to favourite place of their loyal consumers for eating
and drinking purpose.
SWOT Analysis of Mc Donald
Strengths Weakness
 Wide range of products will attract
more customers
 Known brand image across the globe
leads to more customers.
 Decreasing market share due to health
issues of fast foods.
 Allegations of Beef constituents in their
burgers.
Threats Opportunities
 People are turning to healthy eating
habits.
 Fluctuations in foreign exchange rate of
countries.
 Expansion in developing countries.
 Mergers with regional restaurants can
increase market share.
STP of Mc Donald
Segmentation: Mc Donald generally use demographic segmentation. But Company can
also use pshychographic and geographic segmentation.
Targeting: McDonald generally targets teenagers and kids due to interest of fast food
products.
Positioning: McDonald uses various strategies for the targeted market. The company has
created a positive image in the eyes of their customers by providing quality based product and
services (Dudu, and Agwu, 2014).
Marketing mix of McDonald
Product- McDonald products includes chicken products, hamburgers, soft drinks,
desserts etc. It also provides smoothies, fruits, salads and fish wraps.

Price- The wide price range of products makes it easy for customers to purchase the
products based on their economic conditions.
Place- The chosen locations of McDonald are very attractive and meets the demand of
market as well as of customers. It provide its products through restaurants, mobile application
and website.
Promotion- McDonald’s promotes their products to attract huge number of customers.
Company is using digital platforms for advertising and promotions of their products.
Marketing strategy
Mc Donald should develop and implement effective marketing strategies to achieve their
desired target on time (Hsu, 2011) . Relationship marketing is suitable to adopt as it will increase
the loyalty, interaction and long-term engagement of customers and company.
Execution
Company should follow all the steps properly in a systematic manner in order to acheive
set goals and objectives. It helps in gaining monetary benefit and enhance the growth and success
of the company.
Evaluation
It refers to decision making process which includes number, value and amount. It is the
evaluation of all operations of a company. Various methods of evaluation are given below:
Sales Analysis: It refers to the number of sales on yearly basis according to the products.
Market-Share Analysis: It is the part of market analysis which tells the performance of
an firm in doing its business.
Efficiency Ratios: Asset Turnover Ratio- Revenue (Sales)/Net Assets
Cost-Profitability Analysis: It consists of evaluation of profit with costs. It shows the gap
between sales and cost.
CONCLUSION
It has been analysed from above discussed content that proper allocation of roles and
responsibilities of marketing function are necessary for organisational growth and better
performance. The coordination between marketing and various other departments are necessary
for improving the sales and performance of products as well as company. Various elements of
marketing mix are also discussed along with specific reference to the Mc Donald and KFC. A
detailed marketing plan has been developed for Mc Donald in order to effectively implement the

required strategies for expanding the business and enhancing the performance of the
organisation. Managers of Mc Donald should use effective strategies for improving the
efficiency of marketing department.