Product Evaluation of McDonald's Restaurant - Case Study Example

Product evaluation, McDonald restaurant In the recent past, the Global Fast Food Restaurants industry has rapidly grown regardless of the negative performance of the world economy and the changing consumer taste. The global economic recession left people with less disposable income to spend on luxuries such as eating out. As a result, fast food operators outperformed the full- service restaurants during recession since the consumers adjusted their budget to spend at the lowest level possible. According to Krause and Kreis 97, McDonald Company has constantly added value to its burger food product. McDonald restaurant has expanded menu selection to accommodate the emerging types of burger demanded by customers. The expansion of the menu selection has be made possible by the successful application of keymarketing strategies which include;product,placement, promotion and pricing (Hoffmann 2). The company applied the marketing strategies in a consumer oriented manner to secure a place in the competitive fast food business. The McDonald fast food restaurant has introduced unique burger types such as McLean Chicken, McNuggets Deluxe and others, for its customers and has grown to be one of the world’s largest fast food restaurant companies. According to Molch (6), the hygienic packaging and designing of hamburgers, chicken, dessertsand French fries is quite attractive to the customers. The burgers are professionally cooked by the extensively trained catering team. In fact, the company keeps on introducing new types ofburgers and improving the existing ones in favor of the consumer taste(Martin 85). The company concentrates on producing quality fast food for all ages. Additionally, the company providesan ample entertainment environment for children. The apparent secret of McDonald’s success is the innovation spirit, for instance, the company has stretched its menu to include such items as; McLean Chicken McNuggets Deluxe Sandwich, salads and wraps to attract more customers. The use of franchisees operating their restaurants in a similar manner, gives room for innovation and introduction of new unique product (Bini 35). In fact, many ideas for new menu items emanate from franchises in response to consumer demand. Before launching a new product, the company conducts extensive market research and work closely with the target group to establish the most favored product by the customers. For instance, the launching of maharaja McBurger marketed in India, was due to the consumer demand and preference in India The company has strategically positioned its restaurants in convenient and accessible areas (Molch 5). The company has initiated several fast food restaurants in different countries to reach more people. Placement of restaurants in other countries raised the need to include new items in the restaurants’ menu to accommodate the new demand and preference. The company focuses on mass advertisement to win new customers and retain the existing ones. The company is working on localizing marketing communication after the realization that it does not appeal to every country. For instance, the company has realized that advertising on television in china has a negligible positive impact because commercial between programs are usually ignored. Instead the company has opted for newspaper and magazine advertisement. The customer’s discernment of value is a vital determinant of the price charged (Bini 24). For instance, a consumer might take low price of a commodity to mean low quality. McDonald’s aim is to offer quality food to customers at a good value.The company endeavors to differentiate itself from other fast food restaurants in the world by using a dollar menu and free toy with Happy Meals for children. In fact, price is a crucial consideration in the marketing of a product. Before pricing a product it is necessary to research on the consumers’ ability and willingness to buy the product. The McDonald Company begins by creating an expression of bargaining pricing to attract customers. The marketing and finance departments assess the market and determine the profit margin to work with. Promotion is yet another marketing strategy that has facilitated expansion of the menu selection for McDonald Restaurant (McDonald 97). McDonald Company uses many kinds of promotionto keep the restaurants unique in the fast food industry. For instance,use of catch phrases such as ‘you deserve a break today’ is a unique promotion of the restaurants. Additionally, the company has modernized its commercials and website to contain nutrition related lessons. Consequently, McDonald Company has heavily invested on sponsorship as a promotion strategy to build the company’s image. For example, sponsorship of the 1998 world cup, European championships and the premier league increase awareness of McDonald’s brand. In addition, the McDonald’s pay hospital bills for children from unstable backgrounds and fund treatment of such outside America. In fact, the company aims at strengthening the relations with customers and the entire members of the public for a wider market (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel 9) Aspect with Positive influence The customer friendly environment at McDonald restaurant is quite attractive. The general appearance of the restaurant is outstanding. The restaurant is fitted with air freshening apparatus and beautiful flowers which attract people at far distance. The availability of entertainment facilities such as smart interactive computer screens which allow customers to watch movies and play video games alsoattract many customers. Additionally, the McDonald’s offer free Wi-Fi to customers and this maintains loyalty of existing customers and attraction of new customers (McDonald 199). Consequently, multi-course meal deals offered at the restaurant ensures no shortages and the consumers feel satisfied to take their meals from the restaurant. Offering a variety of food stuff gives the customers a wide range of choice and this becomes a source of motivation to consume more.In addition, McDonalds provide ample parking ground for customers. Security is enhanced to ensure safety of the customers and their properties. Aspect with negative influence McDonald’s products contain a lot of fats and calories. This exposes customers to health risks such as obesity, heart disease, asthma and others. Dishes served at McDonald restaurant provide large amount of calories and not too much nutrition. According to Smith and Taylor 91, some customers who are health cautious stopped eating at McDonald restaurants. Additionally, the meals offered are not in balance, for instance, there are many meals with chicken, beef and egg. The amount of vegetables and fruits is limited.Additionally,the restaurant uses its own genetically modified potatoes instead of naturally grown potatoes. Genetically modified food is usually associated with various health complications such as cancer. In addition, the beef served by McDonalds is a mix from various countries and regions. This might result in diseases of unknown origin. Physical evidence present The burgers of different types are hygienically packed. They are deliciously cooked and the aroma attracts a customer at far distance. The restaurant is usually fully packed with customers of all ages and gender. Strengths and weakness of McDonald Company Strengths The company has the largest market share for fast food in the world. In fact, the company has over thirty thousand restaurants located in more than 100 countries. The company makes billions of dollars every year.The management of the company has established efficient profit determination mechanisms in all the restaurants (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel 583). Additionally the company has adjusted its restaurants menu to include local diets in the various countries. Weaknesses Some franchises feel frustrated with the fees charged by the company end up selling their businesses. In addition the food offered is unhealthy as it contains numerous calories and fats. The company has a negative publicity for stimulating obesity and focusing too much on young children. Recommendations The company should expand its services to major cities and the densely populated regions such as Asia. The company should exploit the large population in the Asian nations like Japan and china. In essence, the company’s name has grown very popular. Millions of people are recognize the Golden Arches that are on top of every McDonald restaurant. The company should exploit this advantage to add more attraction from customers. Apart from just offering fast food the company should emphasis of sale of other products such as soft drinks since the brand name is already popular. The company should fully exploit the modern technology in conducting business. The management of the company should use the internet to collect customers view about the products and services offered. The company should also improve online booking of products to reach bigger market.As a result; the company should heavily invest on research and technological development to increase the efficiency of operation and to develop the existing and new product. In addition, the company should introduce more nutritious diets and increase vegetable and fruit on meals to avoid losing customer to the rival firms in the industry. The advancement in technology has resulted in new ways of life. In essence, people’s eating habits is also changing. Consumer preference and taste is also changing. Therefore, the company should encourage extensive training of its workers on the changing consumer behavior. Additionally, the workers should also be trained on how to use the new technology in performing their task. The company should increase the number of employees to cope with the expanding market. Basically, the company should increase the employees’ salaries so as to motivate them. In fact, sufficientnumber of employee would reduce work pressure and therefore each employee will able to deliver effectively. As a result, more customers will be attended to. In addition, thecompany management should implement effective means of solving conflicts that arise among the workers. The company should maintain a low cost menu. A large number of consumers prefer low cost menu. The current economic strife has made many peopleopt for cheap lifestyles. With low cost menu, the company can attract customerswho earn low incomes. In fact, the company should consider giving discounts to gain more customers and avoid losing the existing ones to the competitors. Works cited: Bini, Matilde. Statistical methods for the evaluation of educational services and quality of product. Heidelberg; New York: Physica-Verlag. 2009. Print. Hoffmann, Stefanie. Are the 4 Ps of international marketing of equal importance to all firms? What factors might cause some to more or less important than others? Ashort article. München GRIN Verlag GmbH .2008. Print. Krause, Frank and Kreis, Berliner. The future of product development: proceedings of the 17th CIRP Design Conference. Berlin; New York: Springer.2007. Print. Lamb, Charles; Hair, Joseph and McDaniel, Carl. Essentials of marketing. Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning, .2012. Print. Lamb, Charles; Hair, Joseph and McDaniel, Carl. Marketing. Mason, Ohio: South- Western Cengage Learning .2009. Print. Martin,Neale.Habit: the 95% of behavior marketers ignore. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: F Press.2008. Print. McDonald, James. Managing the development of software-intensive systems. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons .2010.Print. McDonald, Malcolm. Malcolm McDonald on marketing planning: understanding marketing plans and strategy. London; Philadelphia: Kogan Page. 2008. Print. Molch, David. McDonalds Russia: managing a crisis: case study. [Munich]: GRIN Verlag .2009. Print. Smith, Paul and Taylor, Jonathan. Marketing communications: an integrated approach. London; Sterling (VA): K. Page, 2004. Print. Read More