Analysis of McDonald and KFC - Research Paper Example

Research Proposal University’s Name: Submitted by Names Tutor: Date: Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Introduction and Research Topic 4 Research Question 5 Research Methodology 5 Research design 5 Research Instruments 6 Sample 6 Sampling Approach 6 Research Location 7 Limitations 7 Data Analysis 7 Literature Review 7 Expected Results 11 Conclusion 11 Reference List 12 Asamoah, E. S., & Chovancová, M. (2012). The theory of consumer behaviour in fast food marketing: strategies for competitive advantage. 12 Executive Summary The research focuses on the difference marketing strategies between McDonald and KFC, the leading fast food companies in the world. The marketing strategies have been evolving, especially as a result of the introduction of computer and internet. Consequently, there have been many marketing strategies. The main question in the study is to determine the difference in marketing strategies used by McDonald and KFC. The question is answered by carrying out a quality research through the use of primary and secondary source of data. The literature review shows that marketing strategies are geared towards increased sales and is full of deception. The data will that will be collected from the management of the two companies will be analyzed through SPSS. Difference in Marketing Strategy between McDonald and KFC Introduction and Research Topic The old marketing strategies like advertising were aimed at luring customers by relying only on auditory and visual communication. However, with the coming of the new technologies, especially the internet, there has been a change in marketing communication and strategies that allows personal conversation with existing and potential customers (Christian & Gereffi, 2010). Marketers are now striving to engage the five senses of customers, which is more effective in influencing them to buy the products on promotion. The new trend is sensorial marketing, which lays more emphasis on the brand and not the products and consumers attributes benefits to the brand and not the product. The trend is more common in service sector, especially in the fast food industry. There are common questions that are associated with marketing in fast food industry and they majorly relate to health matters, consumer trends, and what attracts the modern fast food consumers. The major concerned the society has on fast food industry is obesity and other health issues like diabetes in children (Prabhavathi et al. 2014). Unhealthy diet is one of the leading causes of death, especially in developed countries and there has been increased call for healthy fast food. Therefore, major players in fast food industry like McDonald and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) emphasize healthy issues when carrying out their marketing campaigns to remove the fear of obesity epidemic. The paper focuses on the difference in marketing strategy between McDonald and KFC use to attract their customers in different demographics. McDonald and KFC are one of the largest fast companies in the world and they are all based in USA. The two companies have different ways of development and management strategies, which makes their marketing strategies different. Research Question The main question in this research is about the difference in marketing strategy between McDonald and KFC. However, to fully understand the difference, the research will answer the following specific questions. i. What is the marketing strategy used by McDonald? ii. What is the marketing strategy used by KFC? iii. What is the difference in marketing strategy used by McDonald and KFC? iv. Is there any similarity in marketing strategies used by McDonald and KFC? Research Methodology Research design The research will employ qualitative research method to collect the data that will help in answering the questions raised in the study. Qualitative research refers to the process of inquiry in order to understand a certain phenomenon by exploring social or human problem. Qualitative method is the most appropriate in this research because it will help the researcher build a holistic picture of the situation, analyze the words of the respondents, and obtain in depth information from the participants. Research Instruments In order to obtain information and data, the researcher will use both primary and secondary data. The secondary data will come from the review of existing literatures on the topic. The researcher will rely on the work of scholars who have done research or studied the topic. To get primary data, the research will interview and questionnaires to obtain reliable and in depth data from the participants, who will be those in the managerial position who are more knowledgeable and are informed about the marketing strategies the two companies are using. The structured interview will play a major role in determining the difference in marketing strategies between McDonald and KFC because the researcher will be in a better position to have face-to-face interaction with the managers of the two companies. Sample The research will have a sample of four participants, two from each company. The participants will be two General Managers and two sales and marketing managers, each from the two companies. Sampling Approach The sampling approach that will be used in this research is convenience sampling. It is the simplest sampling technique where the researcher has the liberty to use any participant who is readily available to give information regarding the subject of the study. It is the most convenient sampling approach in this research because of the nature of the research where company officials are needed to give information on the sampling techniques that they use to reach the target market. Research Location The research will take place in Sydney, Australia because both McDonald and KFC have their main outlets in Sydney. The place is more convenient because participants are in central place and the research will not spend a lot of time moving from one place to another to collect data. Sydney is also more convenient because of the ease of accessing the management of the two companies. The participants will be interviewed and fill the questionnaires in their respective offices. Limitations The limitation of the research include time constraints because managers always have busy schedule and finding them for interview and filling of questionnaires may not be easy. They are also likely to allocate limited time, which may not enable the researcher to exhaust all questions that can lead to in depth information regarding the subject of the research. Dishonesty is another limitation in this research because the management because the participants can give inaccurate information regarding marketing strategy as they may fear disclosing their marketing strategy to the public for the fear of competitors. Therefore, time and dishonesty are the major limitations because they can interfere with the accuracy of the result. Data Analysis The data will be analyzed using SPSS as a statistic all analysis method. Literature Review According to Keller (2012), it is important for marketers to know the impact that their marketing activities have on the emotions of consumers for their marketing strategies to be successful. Emotional marketing is very important in creating a lasting experience on consumer that can make them have lasting memory on the product on offer (Hinestroza & James, 2014). The literature review, therefore, focuses on how marketers use various marketing strategies to attract potential customers in the fast food industry. There are also some negative effects that marketing in fast food industry can have on the consumers, which will be reviewed in this section. There are a number of things that influence food choices by consumers. According to Professor Rozin of Pennsylvania University, the factors that influence food choice are biological, social, cultural and psychological (Keller, 2012). He further stated that food is the most crucial thing to all humanity that and it is associated with all their activities like recreation, art and sex. In addition, he stated that marketers use human elements like leisure, sex and art to draw the attention of potential consumers (Keller, 2012). Food marketers use biological, social, cultural, and social factors to influence consumers in making food choices and to arouse customers’ interest towards different types of food that they offer. According to Moskowitz of Moskowitz Jacob Inc., product optimization is the best marketing strategy that a marker should employ in order to attract more customers (Keller, 2012). Product optimization help helps in the development and production of a product that meet specific consumer needs. However, Moskowitz added many companies do not use product optimization in producing their products and brands, but instead they rely on trial and error methods to brand their products. According to Moskowitz, trial and error strategy has led to failure of brands because they do not meet the specific needs of consumers (Keller, 2012). The use of computers has helped companies to come up with various ways of achieving product optimization, which has helped companies to come up with marketing strategies that are appealing many segments of consumers. Grunert stated that there are a number of tactics that marketers use to lure their potential customers after carrying out marketing research (Keller, 2012). He argued that many a number of marketers rely on information from marketing studies to develop deceitful marketing tricks to convince customers to buy products that they not need. Grunert further said that marketing process occurs in the seller side, but it focuses on the desires, needs, and expectations of consumers. In order to have a successful marketing process, it is important to know what motivates a potential customer to buy a product or service (Keller, 2012). The companies have been using this strategy use unethical means and tricks in order to enhance the sales of the goods and services that they offer. Products are produced based on consumer behavior and the customers’ perception about a product is what lures them to buy such product. Keller (2012) stated that marketers must ensure that they put a lot of efforts to draw attention to the product and create a lot of awareness in the market in order to have a successful marketing. Zhang & Zhou (2012) argued that packaging is very important in developing marketing strategies and the products should be strategically shelved in the stores. Influencing the food choice through strategic arrangement is as important as advertising in the media. They further stated that store image is important in creating consumer perception about the product and can lead to impulse buying, which h increases sales. Environmental aspect of the store also enhances product sales, especially when it comes to shelf space, background music, and scent (Zhang & Zhou, 2012). According to Keller (2012), convenience is one of the crucial factors of marketing in consumers’ perspective. There should be convenience in preparation, purchasing, storing, consumption, and disposal of a product. The modern consumers need “on-the-go” products due to the limited time to prepare food or the changing social and cultural factors (Asamoah & Chovancová, 2012). However, convenience food is associated with consumption of unhealthy food (Keller 2012). Marketers are aware of the increasing demand of convenience food and they are using hidden tricks to lure consumer to consume more of unhealthy food despite the health concerns about their consumption. Carahen and Lamdon of Centre of Food Policy carried out a study on strategies used by marketers and there research concluded that the society is full of unfettered advertisements that promote the consumption of junk food (Keller, 2012). According to literature review carried out by Keller, a report by WHO and FAO show that children are increasingly becoming the target of fast food marketers because of their significant influence in the family’s purchasing decisions. Children also pack family shelves and their purchasing powers are increasing because they have increasingly been able to access money (Keller, 2012). Liu (2010) stated that marketers are aware of increased concern about obesity epidemic and they are coming up with marketing strategies to change the perception of consumers about the relationship between fast food and obesity. Companies have changed their marketing strategies and they are now focusing on thinness and healthy food to lure more customers. They are using thin and attractive celebrities to deceive potential consumers that they will also be thin when they consume their products (Mongay, 2006) The literature review shows that many marketing strategies are geared towards attracting consumers and the effect of marketing on consumer purchasing power. Companies are aware of their target market and their desires, needs, and expectations and they use marketing research information to come up with marketing strategies. Even though the consumption of fast food is associated with obesity, marketers still have strategies to attract more customers. The literature review also reveals that children play important role in deciding family purchasing power. Expected Results Both McDonald and KFC are expected to have different marketing strategies to lure customers. However, there are some similarities that are expected because they operate in the same industry and they target the same customers with the same psychological and demographic characteristics. They both may use the same strategy in changing the perception of consumers in relation to fast food and obesity. Conclusion A company is only able to improve the sales of its products by employing effective marketing strategies that can lure more customers. The best way to develop marketing strategy is by understanding the desires, expectation, and needs of target customers. Health concerns have made many companies in fast food industry to change their marketing strategies as they seek to retain customers despite increased obesity concerns. Reference List Asamoah, E. S., & Chovancová, M. (2012). The theory of consumer behaviour in fast food marketing: strategies for competitive advantage. Christian, M., & Gereffi, G. (2010). The marketing and distribution of fast food. In Pediatric Obesity (pp. 439-450). Springer New York. Hinestroza, N. B., & James, P. T. 2014. The effects of sensory marketing on the implementation of fast-food marketing campaigns. Journal of Management & Marketing Research, 14(1). Keller, M. 2012. Advertising and Consumerism in the Food Industry. Liu, C. M. (2010). Expansion Trend of Fast Food Franchises in Metro Manila. Mongay, J. 2006. Strategic Marketing. A literature review on definitions, concepts and boundaries. Prabhavathi, Y., Kishore, N. K., & Kumar, M. R. (2014). Consumer Preference and Spending Pattern in Indian Fast Food industry. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 4(2). Zhang, Q., & Zhou, L. (2012). Cultural adaptation pattern analysis of McDonald's and KFC in the Chinese market. Read More