Marketing Essentials Report: Analyzing McDonald's Strategies

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of McDonald's marketing strategies, encompassing key roles and responsibilities within the marketing function, and how these relate to the organization's overall objectives. It explores the application of the marketing mix, comparing McDonald's approach with competitors like Burger King, and evaluating a basic marketing plan. The report delves into branding, customer-centric approaches, competitive analysis, and the importance of innovation and budgeting within the marketing department. The analysis also examines how marketing functions contribute to business expansion, customer satisfaction, and brand loyalty. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of social responsibility and shareholder value in McDonald's marketing efforts. The report concludes with a detailed examination of the marketing mix elements of product, price, place, promotion, and people and how these elements help McDonald's achieve its business objectives.

MARKETING
ESSENTIALS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................................................................1
TASK 1...........................................................................................................................................................................1
P1Explaining the key roles and responsibilities of marketing functions .................................................................1
P2Explaining how roles and responsibilities of marketing related to the organisation............................................2
P3 Comparing the ways in which applies marketing mix to the process of marketing planning for achieving
objectives of business................................................................................................................................................4
P4 Evaluating a basic marketing plan for McDonald's ............................................................................................8
CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Marketing can be termed as one of the most important parts of the business enterprise. It
mainly involves activities of promotion selling of different products and services. In the present
scenario, it has become important for the companies to focus on carrying out effective marketing
of their products and services (Baines, Fill and Page, 2013). Further, there are different
promotional activities which are performed for attracting large number of customers. Marketing
directly results in affecting decision making of customers in terms of buying products and
services. Present report is based on McDonald which is engaged in selling fast food to wide
range of customers. It is a leading brand in market and carries out its operations in different
international markets. In this report, different roles, responsibilities of marketing function and its
effect on business has been mentioned (Baker, 2014). Further, the study also explains various
elements of marketing along with appropriate plan of marketing for selected business enterprise.
TASK 1
P1Explaining the key roles and responsibilities of marketing functions
Marketing functions can be termed as a process which involves various activities such as
conducting market research, development of product, formulating a marketing plan etc. The roles
and responsibilities of marketing functions at McDonalds are mentioned below as:
Keeping up with competition- It is essential for the company to evaluate different competitors
and further it helps to know what the people are serving and strategies adopted for meeting the
needs of customers (Blythe, 2012). In order to know the strategies of competitors, evaluation is
required as it provides adequate and required information about other market players. Along with
this, it also helps the company to develop innovative products. In context of McDonalds, it can
be stated that the selected business enterprise is efficient enough to develop competent strategies.
Branding- It is the process of developing a unique image and name for the products in the mind
of consumers with the help of advertising. McDonald is considered as one of the most renowned
brand in the market. They are successful in creating positive image in the mind of consumers all
over the world (Brady, 2014).
Managing research- It is important for the organisation to produce goods according to the
requirement and to fulfil needs of the consumers. Thus, to know the preference of consumers

they are required to organise appropriate research. It will also help to get information regarding
the strategies of different competitors (Clow and James, 2013).
Applying customer centric approach- In the modern era, for developing the product it is
important to consider needs and demand of customers. There are different companies which
adopted customer centric approach as their main focus is laid on meeting needs of their
consumers (Desai, 2013). For evaluating the demand of customers, it is the responsibility of the
marketing department to take some of the measures for conducting the survey. McDonald carries
out different types of modification in its products and services as per changing need and demand
of people in the market. They are also successful in providing products to all age group in the
market.
Being innovative- It is the key responsibility of the marketing department to make some
changes in products and promotional activities which can result in attracting the customers.
Innovation in products and strategies also results in providing competitive advantage to the
selected business enterprise over other market players (Dessain and Zeuch, 2016).
Budgeting- All the department have their own budgeting system and the marketing team ensure
the techniques of promotion which can be adopted according to the defined budget. In context of
McDonald, they make appropriate strategies on the basis of given amount so that it does not
create any issues in the future.
P2Explaining how roles and responsibilities of marketing related to the organisation
There are some of the elements which help in determining the effectiveness of marketing
functions in organisation and are described below:
Optimum utilization of resources- With the help of effective plan of marketing, the company is
able to carry out appropriate utilization of resources (Dibb and Simkin, 2013). This also results
in conducting the smooth flow of all operations and activities of the business enterprise. For
making optimum utilization of resources, McDonald is required to make effective marketing
plan.
Enhancement in satisfaction level of customer- The marketing team of McDonald have to carry
out survey at the regular intervals to analyze the needs and demands of the customers. This helps
in development of products which can satisfy need of customers in the best possible manner.

Thus, the company is required to ensure that the consumers are satisfied in order to increase the
volume of sales (Griffitts, 2016).
Expansion of business- It can be stated that flexible approach of marketing mix is adopted by
McDonald as it helps them to expand their business in different parts over the world. Company
carries out changes in its products as per changing need and demand of people in the country.
This results in enhancing the market share and increasing revenue of the company (Guffey and
Loewy, 2012).
Social responsibility- There is one of the most important duty of McDonald is to meet the social
responsibility in an effective manner. It involves that customers should not be cheated at the time
of providing services. They must make sure that the customers are provided appropriate quality
of products at the reasonable prices. It also increases the popularity of the stated organisation in
industry as the people are responsible for keeping the environment green (Hugos, 2011).
High return to shareholders-If there is increase in the level of profit then it will help them to
provide high rate of returns to shareholders. This also increases the demand in the market so that
people make investment of their money in organisation. Thus, with the help of money, the
organisation for the purpose of developing the products and various activities for delivering wide
range of services to the customers (Hung, 2010).
Overall increase in level of performance- There is appropriate implementation of marketing
functions in order to make enhancement in the performance of organisation. In order to increase
the sales of the company due to production of goods and services with high efficiency at
workplace. Thus, it is important for McDonald to manage the functions of marketing in an
efficient manner which can increase the overall performance (Jones and Rowley, 2011).
Increase in the loyalty of brand- Through efficient plans which are developed by the
organisation it will assist in serving high quality of products as per the needs of consumers. Thus,
it will help in increasing popularity of brand in the mind of customers which will enhance loyalty
of brand in the market. Thus, McDonald should come up with different services which can
enhance their brand loyalty (Joshi, 2012).

P3 Comparing the ways in which applies marketing mix to the process of marketing planning for
achieving objectives of business
McDonald is one of most popular food service retailer that is having their business
around the world. It provides different products such as mac-puff, burgers, soft drinks etc.
furthermore, they are also successful in developing a brand image in the minds of customers.
They are also known for delivering high quality of products at reasonable prices which can be
easily preferred by an individual (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, 2011). On the other hand, Burger
King is one of the top most competitor of the stated business. It is also considered as second
largest food chain in UK and they are providing a huge range of varieties in burgers. They are
also known for their taste and quality in the market. On the basis of comparison between both of
them it cane analysed that McDonald's serve food at reasonable prices. At the time of quality, it
has been seen that McDonald's providing fried burgers and Burger King serving grilled burgers
which is far better (Lancaster and Massingham, 2010). Moreover, at the time of range of product
it can be identified that McDonald providing wide range of products as compared to Burger King
as this company only serves different types of burgers to their customers. On the other hand,
McDonald serving various range of products such as meals, soft drinks and burgers. The main
focus of McDonald is on to provide fast services to the customers while Burger King mainly
concentrate on the quality of products rather than services (Pike, 2015).
Marketing mix of all of the businesses are different and there are different elements in the
marketing mix of McDonald that helps to achieve the objectives of marketing. In context of
marketing mix of McDonald it consists of various elements that helps organisation to form
system for achieving objectives (Tyson, 2014).
Product- The main focus of company is to develop the menu according to the needs and
requirement of customers. In order to ensure this, they are required to establish market research
for finding out the requirement of customers and provide services accordingly. There are some of
the changes in the preferences of customers which can be overcome through developing new
products (Baines, Fill and Page, 2013). Furthermore, they also make modifications in the process
according to the place of serving food. Some of foreign countries where more preference is given
to non-veg food so in such cases McDonald delivering broad range of products to the customers.
On the other side, in India most of the people prefer vegetarian food so that company provides
different products in order to satisfy them (Baker, 2014).

Price- In order to determine the prices of products and the perception of customers is also
consider for evaluating the prices (Blythe, 2012). If McDonald use low prices for their products
as a tool of marketing which can be danger for them as people think that product with low prices
compromises with the quality. It is important to be aware about the brand and integrity in order
to decide the prices. The strategy of pricing mainly includes the price bundling along with the
psychological pricing. Marketing mix element is important as it is directly connected to
attracting the customers (Brady, 2014).
Place- In this element of marketing mix it is not only related to the physical evidence or to
distribute the products rather than this it is a procedure that involves to brings the goods to its
final consumers. They are also making efforts and develop their outlets where the customers
easily reached. The stated business is having a large number of outlets around the world.
Furthermore, with the increase in the demand of products they are started providing services
option with drive in and drive out that provides high convenience to their customers as they just
required to get parcel of their goods (Clow and James, 2013).
Promotion- This elements includes different types of marketing communication which are
required in order to promote the brand and its products. Promotion is one of the most important
element for all of the organisations as the development of products is required to show the
customers so that they are ready to purchase it (Desai, 2013). Thus, there are certain methods of
advertising for the techniques of promotion are adopted by McDonald. It mainly includes
television, newspapers, online marketing etc. further, other techniques of promotion includes the
sales promotion, point of sale display that helps to promote the wide range of products to people.
This helps in attracting large number of customers for purchasing products and they are mainly
focuses on children. Thus, it can be stated that they are also providing happy meals to the
customers (Dessain and Zeuch, 2016).
People- There are highly skilled employees are appointed at McDonald. They serve in such a
manner with grace and dignity which helps to attracts the customers. Furthermore, they also
provided appropriate uniforms that determines the description of the brand. Moreover, the
employees are properly trained and always be helpful to their customers along with effective
services (Dibb and Simkin, 2013).

Process- At McDonald, the process of manufacturing is completely transparent that whole
procedure is visible to the customers. Moreover, the management of company is highly
concerned the hygiene factor at the time of preparing food. They also allow their customers to
enter the area at the process of manufacturing (Griffitts, 2016).
Physical evidence- The main focus of McDonald is on the cleanliness and hygiene factors which
helps in providing healthy food to customers. It also includes the interior which should be
attractive in order to attract large number of customers.
The marketing planning process
Setting marketing objectives- This is the first stage of marketing plan which is formed by
McDonald. In this, the company defines the purpose and objectives which are required to
achieve for the growth and development (Guffey and Loewy, 2012). The main objective of the
stated business is to increase in the share of market by 20% and volume of sales by 25% in next
10 months.
Assessment of resources- In the second stage, the assessment of resources is carried by the
marketing plan. The cited business have appropriate amount of human, financial and other
resources for achieving the described plan. To assess the resources as per the requirement at the
time of implementing the plans which are essential.
Development of marketing strategies- There are effective marketing strategies are defined in the
process of planning (Hugos, 2011). In this, the decisions are taken on the basis of selecting the
tools and techniques of marketing. McDonald using both of the techniques such as online and
offline marketing. Strategies are developed in order to make the plans which are beneficial for
the organisation.
Defining the budget- in this, the business define the budget which is required to carry out and
implementation of the marketing plan in the company.
Implementation of plan- McDonald implement their specific tools and techniques which are
already selected for creating awareness among the customers and attract them.
Evaluating marketing strategies- In the last stage of marketing planning process where the stated
business evaluate the different tools and techniques which are carried out. Here, the company
mentions whether it attains their outcomes or not (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, 2011).

On the other hand, the marketing mix of Burger King is different and which is mentioned
below:
Product- Burger King is a fast food hamburger restaurant that provides a huge range of variety
of burgers to their customers. Along with the changes in time they started providing different
types products such as beverages, veggies and desserts. They also make appropriate research in
order to evaluate the competitors products as what they people are serving to the customers. This
helps to covers huge range of customer and it is required to attain competitive advantage in the
market. Furthermore, they serve the people as per their preference and on the basis of regional
tastes of the local people (Lancaster and Massingham, 2010).
Price-In earlier times, the prices of Burger Kings were high so that it makes less popular in
marker as compared to other competitors. Through effective survey, they came to know amount
the services of other firms as they are serving high quality products at reasonable prices. In
respect of this, they also cut down their prices as of now the prices are equivalent to McDonald
(Jones and Rowley, 2011). Further, it has also been identified that due to the reduction in prices
it leads to decrease in the level of profit but there is enhancement in the volume of sales of
organisation.
Place-Burger King operates their business through the franchise but in old time it was confined
only some of the countries or places. This is because of prices of products were high and all of
the people are not able to afford it (Lane, 2016). There are some of the changes with time as
there is decrease in the prices of cost so that they are able to enhance their outlets to different
countries. Thus, it helps to increase the volume of sales along with the profit of company.
Promotion-Burger King adopted different techniques in order to promote their products. The
strategy of promotion is on the basis of recognizing the brand image on regular time intervals.
They are using different techniques such as advertising, sales promotion and public relations.
The organisation advertises their products on television, print media and along with this they
uses sales promotion in terms of coupons and other different offers through company website
and mobile application (Moll, 2016). Thus, with the help of effective techniques they make their
appropriate customer base in the market.
People-The stated business is having efficient workers in order to serve the customers. They are
highly trained and they also provided appropriate skills which helps them to perform in best

possible manner (Illing and Anders, 2016). Furthermore, all of the department have their own
standard uniforms that helps to segregate people on that basis. They also provided fast services to
their customers and take order on regular basis.
Process- Burger King mainly focuses on the segment of customer as they spend their money to
the restaurants. They provide high quality of products which are served in the organisation and
the management is not working on to give fast services. Further, they also prepares food
considering the hygiene factors along with the quality of raw materials for production of goods.
It can be stated that they have an efficient process for producing products for customers
(Hoeffler, Herzenstein and Ginzburg, 2016).
Physical evidence- There are some of the outlets of Burger King around the world. Further, the
organisation is planning for reinvention of brand image by making changes in their interior. They
are also creating their restaurant by adding modern features and other different that helps in order
to develop the interior which helps to attract customers (Wright, 2014).
P4 Evaluating a basic marketing plan for McDonald's
In the modern era, the competition among businesses has become so intense that it is no
longer easy for companies such as McDonald’s to gain competitive advantage over other market
players. Furthermore, the selected business enterprise needs to focus upon its marketing activities
in order to sustain in the highly competitive market (Lancaster and Massingham, 2010). It can be
stated that McDonald can bring new product such as healthier range of burger which consists of
low fat and cholesterol. The marketing plan for new product is mentioned below as: Marketing objective- It can be termed as the first and foremost step in the formulation of
marketing plan for a company. Objectives provide selected business enterprise with a
clear direction with regards to what the company wants to accomplish in future.
Nowadays McDonald's is facing in terms of decreasing sales as people in the market are
getting more conscious about their health (Joshi, 2012). Thus, the business aims at
increasing its volume of sales, profits and market share. The brand wants its market
share to be increased by 25% and its sales to get increased by 13% in UK market within
the coming next one year. Market segmentation – It can be defined as the process in which entire market is
divided into different sub set of potential customers (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, 2011).

In order to launch its new product in UK market, McDonald will be segmenting its
market on the basis of demographic variables. Here, the market will be divided on the
basis of age and income level of people. Targeting – It can be stated that the selected business enterprise has carried out in-depth
market research and it has been analyzed that the need of healthier food products is
increasing among people who belong to age 20-45. Therefore, McDonald will be
targeting people who are very conscious about their health and seeking to consume
healthy products. This will include, gym members, working professionals, college going
students etc. The rationale behind selecting the above mentioned target market is that the
new product launched by McDonald's will be able to meet the needs of people in this
market in more effective manner (Pike, 2015).
 Positioning – In context of positioning, it can be asserted that McDonald's will
positioned its new range of burgers on the basis of their characteristics. The marketing
messages and activities will directed towards one common gaol which will be to create
more and more awareness among people in the market. Furthermore, marketing
messages will inform people that the new burgers launched by McDonald's are full of
nutrients and are very healthy (Dessain and Zeuch, 2016).
The marketing mix which will be used by McDonald's is mentioned below as:
Product- A complete new range of burgers will be introduced by the selected business
enterprise. McDonald's has carried out in-depth market research and it has gained information
that the need among people in terms of consuming healthier products is increasing day by day.
Furthermore, there are only few companies in market which are offering such kind of products to
people in the market. It can be stated that the new range of burgers will be filled with adequate
nutrients and will also contain less oil and cholesterol which is bad for health (Clow and James,
2013).
Price – In order to make new range of product successful in market, McDonalds will be using
low price strategy in order to penetrate in the market. It can be also asserted that using low price
strategy will support in attracting more and more customers to purchase the complete new range
of burgers launched (Dibb and Simkin, 2013).

Place – The business will be selling its new products with the help of its own stores. This means
only offline mode and direct channels of distribution will be taken into consideration. The new
range of burger will be distributed by McDonald's through its own outlets in UK (Moll, 2016).
Promotion – McDonalds will be promoting its new burgers with the help of both online and
offline channels. Social media marketing and email marketing will be taken into consideration
with an objective to create more and more awareness among people in the market. Apart from
this, promotional events will be conducted near shopping malls and public places to make people
in the market aware about the new products launched by McDonalds (Lane, 2016).
People- It can be said that the workers who are working at McDonald are highly effective and
efficient in context of understanding the demand of customers and to deliver the services as per
their requirement (Dessain and Zeuch, 2016).
Physical evidence- The quality of product can be termed as the physical evidence which is
delivered by McDonald. Other than this, brand image of the stated business is also considered as
the physical evidence.
Process- McDonald has developed an flexible process along with effectiveness that helps to
make changes timely at workplace. It also assists in order to deliver fast and satisfactory services
(Hoeffler, Herzenstein and Ginzburg, 2016).
CONCLUSION
From the above carried out study it can be concluded that marketing department plays an
important role at McDonald's. It includes different strategies and plans of activities that are to be
performed in organisation for promoting products to wide range of customers. Further, functions
of marketing also plays significant role in some of the conditions for determining the policies of
companies. Moreover, it is essential to analyse the different roles and responsibilities of
marketing department for ensuring the goals and objectives of organisation. In addition to this,
there is proper comparison made between the McDonald's and its competitor Burger King.
Further, through the analysis of customers demand in market and after that the company
introduced new product that helps to attract large number of customers. In order to introduce new
product in market there is requirement to make an appropriate plan is established. In this, the
process includes the segmentation, targeting and positioning along with this 4Ps are develop for

determining the specification of the products. Thus, it can be stated that with the help of different
functions of marketing it helps in attracting large number of customers for the products.

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<http://www.marketing91.com/marketing-mix-mcdonalds/>. [Accessed on 30th January
2017].

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