A Marketing Research Plan - Case Study Example

A Marketing Research Plan Background Burger King is a global retail chain of restaurants in the fast food category and is headquartered in Miami, Florida. The retail chain was established in the year 1953 as a restaurant chain named Insta-Burger King. The company was then taken over by James McLamore and David Edgerton. Burger King was made public in the year 2002 (Burger King, 2013a). At present, Burger king has more than 13000 outlets across 79 countries, along with 35,000 employees. More than 60 percent of its outlets are based in US and majority of them are privately owned. The retail chain is owned by a set of two firms, namely 3G Capital and Justin Founders, as well as other shareholders. The primary menu in Burger King includes hamburgers, milk shakes, french fries, sodas, whopper and much more. The retail chain has mainly been operating across the globe as franchisee businesses (Burger King, 2013b). The company has been suffering from various issues and shortcomings in its operations, marketing as well as advertising strategies. The retail chain’s franchisee business has not been very smooth. Even the advertising messages of Burger King have lost its sheen over the years. As a result, the company is going through a restructuring phase. The new owners have taken responsibilities, in terms of redesigning market strategies and operations, as well as increasing overall performance, in terms of profit, growth and revenues (Burger King, 2013c) USP of the company Burger King is one of the oldest chains of fast food organisations, which in turn is one of its greatest USP, giving the retail chain an edge, in terms of loyalty, brand trust, brand equity and overall brand performance. It also means that the organisation will not have major trouble in gaining confidence and loyalty from its current as well as potential customers, given that they already trust the brand (Baker, Jones and Nichols, 1994). Another USP of Burger King, which the company has been following for years, is in addition to new food items. The retail chain has been known for launching many new food items, which not only boosted its sales, but also created a niche brand value over the years. Another prominent USP of the retail chain is its ethical activities. The company is known for procuring raw materials from ethical and humane sources only. Current Marketing Strategy Since its inception, the company has been involved in aggressive marketing activities in order to attract and retain customers. After its golden era, which was till early 1980s, Burger King had started to lose its attractiveness, in terms of advertising as well as brand preference. As a result, the company opted for further aggressive marketing tactics like, targeting young male consumers of the age group 18-34 and also, chose to sell unhealthy and fatty food items. This ensued in negative publicity as well as significant loss of customer satisfaction and overall profits. At present, the company is undergoing a restructuring process, including redesigning of its operations and reassigning of marketing and advertising activities to proper agencies. Burger King’s current marketing activities can be described as follows; 1. Expanding for global development The company is planning for an extensive geographical expansion of its restaurant network. The objective will be to increase the number of restaurants for growth and penetration. The international expansion will be focussed on various emerging as well as developed, yet un-penetrated, market (Williams and Cutis, 2012). Since franchisee is the major method employed by Burger King for establishing new business, most of the new outlets will be launched in franchisee format. The selection for target locations is based on various critical factors. The retail chain is focussing on already established markets with significant growth potential. These include nations such as, Spain, Brazil, United Kingdom, Turkey and Germany. The second focus will be on those markets where the retail chain has little or no presence, but are expected to provide huge returns, if developed and harvested properly. These include regions such as, Russia, China, Japan, Columbia, Hong Kong, Italy and Japan. The last target regions are financially attractive markets in Eastern Europe, Middle-East as well as throughout Asia. The retail chain has also made recent investments in joint ventures with the franchisee business. This aimed to develop regions such as, Northern China and Taiwan (Burger King, 2013d). 2. Focussing on the brand equity and optimisation of services Recent market research and customer surveys have revealed a loss of overall customer satisfaction in Burger King’s food services. In order to improve its overall brand equity and optimise its services, the fast food giant has started preparing customised products, not only to suit customer needs and demands, but also according to the region and its geography (Collis, 1991). The organisation has made some strategic changes in its cooking methods and preparations with the objective of dishing out finer tasting hamburgers. The retail chain has also started to add new categories such as, dessert, breakfast, snack menus and beverage offerings, in order to complement its core products. Besides that, it has also started using social media campaigns so as to drive more traffic, enhance customer base as well as increase sales (Barreto, 2010; Ferguson, 2008). 3. Enhancing profitability and restaurant-level margin The company has planned to improve its margins through cost management and growth initiatives. In order to improve the average sales in this restaurant business, Burger King is focussing on various service activities such as, enhancing overall guest experiences, providing better and faster services, regular feedback system to enhance two-way communication and regular research on changing preferences of customers (Rafiq and Ahmed, 1995). Use of tools and equipments has been another strategy of Burger King to improve its overall restaurant profitability such as, enhancing the sale-cash register process, improving management of inventory and reducing waste and labour cost. The company has installed new POS system with facilities such as, reduced energy costs, broader selection of menus and improved cooking facilities (Drejer, 2002). 4. Effective advertising policies. Since 2002, there has been a slump in the influence of advertising strategies launched by Burger King. The retail chain has failed to engage its customers through communication mediums, which had ultimately resulted in loss of market share. With the objective of reviving its lost market share as well as brand trust, the retail giant has started restructuring its advertising and communication strategies. The company has broadened its target audience and shelved its previous media partners and agencies. The company has also appointed various local agencies, so that they can better understand and create appropriate advertising messages. With the expansion of menus, target segments and regions as well as customised offerings, the retail chain is expecting a boost in its revenues well as growth, in terms of customer satisfaction, brand equity and overall brand performance (C.A. Rao, P.B. Rao and Sivaramakrishna, 2009). Market research question When Burger King was first established, hamburgers and fast foods were a hit. However, with changes in eating trends and consumers becoming more health conscious, fast food category is facing a stiff decline. Taste has always been the first preference for customers and they are always looking for healthier food with better taste, which is a rare and tough combination (Marieke, 2004). Thus, the major research question which needs to be addressed by the marketing research team of Burger King is: Will the introduction of healthier menu items help Burger King to improve its financial performance and level of customer satisfaction? Few of the direct competitors such as, McDonald’s, have started offering healthy meals, which include salads, less fatty burgers and few health drinks. In order to attract value-driven potential population, providing a healthy and tasty combination will be a successful strategy. Also, in order to understand the market as well as develop effective marketing communication strategies, the company will have to conduct an extensive market research (Blaxter, Hughes and Tight, 2006). Few of the market research questions, which will help to analyse the underlining market research statement as well as assess the firm, are: What are the various changing trends in the current fast-food market and whether customers want healthier menu items or not? What are the various healthy menu items which have attracted and increased the overall sales of the immediate competitors of Burger King? What are the various factors that have resulted in declining customer satisfaction and restaurant traffic in Burger King? Market Research activities In order to understand the market and its customers, the company can employ both qualitative and quantitative market research. Preliminary reports from the company revealed a loss of customer satisfaction and overall sales. The research also revealed that the customer satisfaction index was lowest in Norfolk area. It is a city located in the state of Virginia and houses around 250,000 people. The racial makeup consists of African-American, White, Asian, Native American, Pacific Islanders as well as other niche races such as, Latinos and Hispanics. More than 60 percent of population is under 50. The city is also known for its military dominance. Major economic supports include military and cargo activities. A short description of target customers for Burger King is as follows; Target Age group- 18-45 Gender- Male, female, teenagers and middle-aged professionals. Other demographics include teenagers from colleges as well as housewives and working professionals. In order to further realize the reasons for market decline and better segmentation of target audience, the organisation can perform various market research activities. A preliminary pilot survey in Norfolk area had revealed many illuminating facts. It was found out that due to increasing recruitment of military people, the overall number of young male consumers has significantly declined in Norfolk. Also, consumers have become more conscious with respect to healthy food products and consider fast food as an unhealthy diet. Also, global economic conditions and recession have forced customers to cut down on fast food eating habits. The above survey can be conducted on a large scale basis with the objective to understand the level of satisfaction among consumers as well as their feedback on the current menus and offerings (Johnston and Bate, 2003). In order to understand the various unmet needs of consumers, the company can also organise focus group interviews. A recent survey among young consumers revealed an interesting fact. Nowadays, young consumers are extremely busy and as a result, they look for breakfast menus which can fill them up. The company can then form focus group discussions with the objective of further evaluating the opportunities as well as making appropriate strategies to fulfil the neglected needs (Bogner and Thomas, 1995; Parasuraman, Grewal and Krishnan, 2006). Future Assumptions Despite the increasing significance of major customer trends, such as, convenience and health, taste is still the leading influence on customer choice. This provides an opportunity for the retail chain to regain its lost customer satisfaction by introducing tastier and healthier food concepts. Innovation, in terms of flavour, should be an integral component in new product development as well as cross-cultural mitigation strategies (Ferrell and Hartline, 2010). The company has launched many winning products previously and is hopeful of again reaching the leading position in the fast food category in future. The future projection for the company’s marketing and communication tactics can be influenced by many factors, such as: Changing consumer trends- The fast food sector has seen a drastic change, in terms of sales of food items as well as services provided. Recent market surveys have depicted that, healthy and fast food, are two most popular terms, used in common fast food restaurants. People are choosing salads as their entry food and focusing more on calories and protein contents. With a rise in obesity and food-related health problems, more and more consumers are opting for healthier food items (Haberberg and Rieple, 2008). Nonetheless, with a complex lifestyle, customers do not have time for home-made food and seek quick delivery, thereby offering a vast opportunity for Burger King to include healthy foods in its menus. Economic Climate- Though the globe has been hit by recession and economic downturn, the effects are varying in different regions. For instance, developing and emerging nations are becoming favourite hot spots for international MNCs for penetration and growth strategies. People are also ready to spend on healthy and quick food solutions (Pettigrew, Whittington and Thomas, 2006). Competitive Activity- Burger King’s main competitors include McDonalds, Wendy’s and YUM brands. In terms of sales, it lags behind McDonalds and The Wendy’s Company (Hoovers, 2013). The competitive activities in this industry have intensified in the past few years, owing to declining sales and changing consumer preferences. Till now, inclusion of healthy food items in their outlets has paid off with good returns. Since, the target demographics of Burger King is almost similar to its competitors, it is a positive signal for the fast food company to include better quality and healthier products in its main menu. Available resource- Availability of resources such as, raw materials, equipments, technology and capital, for various restructuring process, will have critical influence on the overall performance of the company (Balmer and Gray, 2003). Presently, the company is known for sourcing its raw materials, especially meat products, from certified and open sources. However, pricing will be an issue for the company in future and in order to remain competitive, the management will have to further concentrate on repositioning of the brand as well as strategic marketing activities. Reference list Baker, H., Jones, W. and Nichols, M., 1994. Using core competences to develop new business. Long Range Planning, 27, pp. 13-27. Balmer, J.M.T. and Gray, E.R., 2003. Corporate brands: what are they? What of them? European Journal of Marketing, 37(8), pp. 972–97. Barreto, I., 2010. Dynamic capabilities: A review of past research and an agenda for the future. Journal of Management, 36, pp. 256-280. 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