McDonald's in France: An International Marketing Entry Strategy

This report provides an internal and external audit of McDonald's, focusing on its potential entry into the French market. It assesses the current marketing conditions, including competitor analysis, and conducts a SWOT analysis to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The report...Read More

McDonald’s
International Marketing
in France

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Main Body.......................................................................................................................................4
Internal Audit..............................................................................................................................4
External Audit.............................................................................................................................4
The marketing condition ............................................................................................................6
Competitors analysis ..................................................................................................................6
SWOT analysis............................................................................................................................6
Marketing objectives-..................................................................................................................7
Entry mode strategy....................................................................................................................7
Marketing mix.............................................................................................................................8
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

Executive summary
This report includes internal audit as well as external audit of McDonald's. The report states the
marketing condition that the company is facing along with competition analysis. The company
wants to enter in a new market which is of France. In this report entry mode strategy is provided.
The marketing mix which can help the company in entering a new market is also given.

Introduction
International marketing refers to selling of goods and services in more than one country. It is an
important activity of import and export and it is important for the countries to make sure that
they are planning these activities carefully so that the products and services of the cop-any can
capture the market. With the constant changes in the taste, preferences, demands and choices it is
important for the markets to expand globally (Martínez-López and et. al., 2018.). It provides
more competitive market to the companies which is why the consumer get a chance to have bet

in class products and services as the companies know that if they do not provide good products
and services then the consumers will jump on to another goods and the switching cost is also
low. In case of McDonald it is an American fast food chain which is providing its services in
more than 100 countries. The company was founded in the year 1940 and is headquartered in
Chicago, Illinois. The company wants to enter the markets of France and company is looking for
the market information of the country so in this report information about the market will be
provided.
Main Body
Internal Audit
McDonald's is one of the most popular fast food chains in the world. It has presence in more than
100 countries and are serving for billions of customers each year. The company has a legacy of
hard work and innovation which leads them towards success and will make sure that the
company is continuously moving towards the success (Park, H.H. and Jeon, J.O., 2018.). The
company is focused on building a best in class workforce which can provide exceptional services
to its customers. The company has launched new services such as home delivery services and
digital services which can help the company in making sure that they are working according to
the industry and its trends.
External Audit
Political factors- It refers to the factors that tells the company about the degree up to
which the government can intervene in free market of up to which they can interfere into the
workings of the company. In context to France, the market is stable and plays an important role
in the western world. France has a strong alliance with united nation as well as Germany which
provide high benefits to the market.
Economic factors- It refers to the factors that tells the company about the economic
performance of a specific market. Before entering in to any new market it is important for the
company to make sure that the economic performance of a certain market is stable(Buckley, P.
and Casson, M., 2018.). In context to the market of France, it is one of the top ten economies in
the world. The closest trading partner with France is Germany. The economy is stable of the

country as it has some of the best and largest companies in the market such as AXA, EDF,
Areva, etc.
Social factors- These factors are related to the society in which the company is working.
It is important for the company to make sure that the norms and customs of the society is
fulfilled by the company in order to avoid any disturbance in the workings. In context to France,
the population of the country is nearly 63.3 million. The country is one of the most open and
modern country in the world.
Technological factor- These are the factors that tells the company about the prevailing
technology in the market. It is important for the company to analyse the type of technology that
is prevailing in the market or the technology that is possessed by the competitors so that they can
bring better technology and can get competitors advantage in the market. In case of France, it is
one of the most advanced technological country in the world. The competitors will definitely
have one of the most efficient technology and it is important for McDonald to have upgraded
technology.
Environmental factor- These are the factors that are concerned about the environment.
In today's world people are highly concerned about the environment and its well being.
Government has also introduced certain laws and regulation regarding the safety of environment
(Cleveland, M. and Bartsch, F., 2019.). Before entering into any new market it is important for
the company to make sure that their workings are not harming the environment or there is no
laws and regulation which are against the workings of the company. In case of France, it is one
of the most visited place by tourist in 2018. Approx 90 million people visited the country which
provides a major scope for McDonald's as it can significantly affect the sales of the company.
Legal factors- It refers to the factors that tells the company about the laws and
regulations that the country have. Each country have a particular amount of laws which the
company have to follow in order to enter any new market. The laws of the different countries are
different and it is important for the company to comply with those. The difficulty appears when
the company has presence in more than 2 or 3 countries because it may become difficult to
follow different rules of each country. In case of France, the legal working hours of all the
companies are 35 hours a week. No company can work more than that otherwise they have to
pay overtime to their workers.

The marketing condition
The recent focus of food industry is on providing healthy food alternatives for the customers. As
people nowadays are very concerned about their health and wants to consume a healthy diet, it is
important for the company to make sure that they have something to offer to health conscious
people so that they can attract another segment of the market (Huang, H. and He, J., 2019.). In
context to McDonald's, it is important for the company to add some more variety in their food in
order to survive in the market and to have a competitors advantage in the market.
Competitors analysis
McDonald's is on of the biggest names in the food industry. The company is famous for
its exceptional services and inexpensive meals. The company is focused on growth and
innovation which provides company a competitors advantage in the market. One of the major
and closest competitor of the company is Burger King which is a privately owned company and
the competitors advantage that the company is having is due to the effective marketing strategies
of the company which helps the company in capturing the market (Motsi, T. and Park, J.E.,
2020.). It is important for the company to make sure that the market share of the company is
continuously increasing and the company is developing a loyal customer base which is utmost
important for the company in order to survive in the market.
SWOT analysis
Strength- The company is one of the most popular brand in the food industry and is able
to provide world class services to its customers. The company offers a wide variety of foods and
taste of the food is exactly the same no matter from where the customer is buying the food which
describes the consistency of the company.
Weakness- The negative rumours that the company and its food have to face (Kang,
J.Y.M., 2019.). The rumours include the fast food that contains high calories, fat, cholesterol,
sugar, etc. which is not good for the health of individual. People may not be willing to purchase
these types of foods and the company may have to face negative consequences such as low
profitability, low sales, etc.
Opportunities- the company has a major opportunity of expanding its business in other
countries as well. The popularity of the brand will help them in getting success in other markets
which is extremely beneficial for the brand as well as for the sales of the company.

Threats- Government policies can be a threat of the company as the ban on certain
ingredients may differ the taste of the food of the company (Peterson and et. al., 2020.). Another
threat that may create difficulty for the company is the immense level of competition in the
market. The competitors of the company includes Burger King, Pizza Hut, Subway, etc.
Marketing objectives-
In context to McDonald's the company can explore the market of other countries as well.
Maldives can be a good market for the company as the country has a wide variety of tourist
around the year and the company will be able to serve them. The country also has low
restrictions on the entry in the market which can be serve as a benefit to the company.
Segmentation: It refers to the division of market on the basis of certain characteristics
(Thrassou and et. al., 2018.). It is important for the company that they are dividing their market
properly and there are mainly 4 segmentation criteria such as demographical, geographical,
behavioural, psycho graphic. In context to McDonald's, the company uses demographical
segmentation strategy based on age factor.
Targeting: It implies that a company chooses a certain specific group which they want to
target. It is important for the company to make sure that they are targeting the correct market as
only in that way the will be able to attract potential customers and will be able to have a market
share. In case of McDonald's, the company seek different target markets and then customise their
products according to that market.
Positioning: It refers to the selection of marketing mix according to the market segment
that the company wants to target (Naik, A. and Sharma, A., 2021.). In case of McDonald's, the
company uses adaptive type of positioning and product which helps the company in having a
significant market share in the industry.
Entry mode strategy
It is important for the company to choose their entry mode strategy carefully in order to
avoid losses. As the company is going to enter in a completely new market and all the markets
have their own rules and regulations, it is important for the company to enter with a plan which
can help the company in capturing the market share and also will help in getting competitors
advantage in the market. The company must opt for joint venture it will help the company in

getting insights about the market and will also help in getting expertise of the other party
involved.
Marketing mix
Product: It refers to the items which the company is offering to its customers. It plays a
major role in the success of the comp-any as it will help the company in capturing the market. In
case of McDonald's the company is selling food product on the stores and are also providing
services to the customers (Hagen, B. and Zucchella, A., 2018.). The food items of the company
includes, beverages, hamburger, sandwiches, French fries etc. it is important for the company to
make sure that they are following all the safety measures and are complying with rules related to
food and safety department.
Place: This refers to the location from where the company is interacting with its
customers. It is important for the company to make sure that the stores of the company are
located in a place where they can attract majority of people. In case of McDonald's, the company
makes sure that the outlets of the company are located in malls, busy streets, etc. these place will
attract most of the customers for the company.
Price: It refers to the pricing strategy of the company. It is evident that the markets are
highly price sensitive and the companies must make sure that they are in the set limit. In case of
McDonald's the company is providing best in class products and services to its customers at
affordable prices. It is important for the company to analyse the price band as it may differ from
country to country.
Promotion: It refers to the advertising and promotion activities of the company. It refers
to the marketing strategy that the company is using in order to promote their products and
services (Hassan and et. al., 2018.). The marketing activity will help the company in providing
information the customers about the offerings of the company. In case of McDonald's the
company have an effective marketing strategy which helps the company in getting competitors
advantage in the market.
Conclusion
From the above report it is concluded that expansion is an important aspect of businesses. In
order to increase the market share of the company and in order to explore new market in order to
find the capability of the brand and the product it is important for the company to do expansion.

While entering the new market the company must understand and analyse the internal and
externa factors of the market so that they can strategies accordingly.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Buckley, P. and Casson, M., 2018. Marketing and the multinational: Extending internalization
theory. In The Multinational Enterprise. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Cleveland, M. and Bartsch, F., 2019. Epilogue on global consumer culture: epistemology and
ontology. International Marketing Review.
Hagen, B. and Zucchella, A., 2018. Entrepreneurial Marketing as a Key Driver of Early and
Sustained Internationalisation. In Key success factors of SME internationalisation: A
cross-country perspective. Emerald Publishing Limited.
Hassan and et. al., 2018. Exploring the role of technological developments and open innovation
in the survival of SMEs: an empirical study of Pakistan. International Journal of
Business Forecasting and Marketing Intelligence, 4(1), pp.64-85.
Huang, H. and He, J., 2019. When face meets globalization: How face drives consumers’
attitudes toward global consumer culture positioning. International Marketing Review.
Kang, J.Y.M., 2019. What drives omnichannel shopping behaviors? Fashion lifestyle of social-
local-mobile consumers. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An
International Journal.
Martínez-López and et. al., 2018. Fifty years of the European Journal of Marketing: a
bibliometric analysis. European Journal of Marketing.
Motsi, T. and Park, J.E., 2020. National stereotypes as antecedents of country-of-origin image:
The role of the stereotype content model. Journal of International Consumer
Marketing, 32(2), pp.115-127.
Naik, A. and Sharma, A., 2021. Impact of cultural differences in marketing on buying
behaviour. International Journal of Engineering and Management Research, 11(3),
pp.228-236.
Park, H.H. and Jeon, J.O., 2018. The impact of mixed eWOM sequence on brand attitude
change: Cross-cultural differences. International Marketing Review.
Peterson and et. al., 2020. Exploring customer orientation as a marketing strategy of Mexican-
American entrepreneurs. Journal of Business Research, 113, pp.139-148.
Thrassou and et. al., 2018. The agile innovation pendulum: A strategic marketing multicultural
model for family businesses. International Studies of Management &
Organization, 48(1), pp.105-120.