Market Opportunities for McDonald's to Attract and Retain More Customers - Case Study Example

Marketing Objectives: Customer’s Name: Customer’s Course: Tutor’s Name: 31st August, 2011. Introduction McDonald is rated among the globe chief chain of Hamburger fast food restaurants and has an enormous customer base (Derdak & Pederson, 2004). The main branch is in USA. It was established by Ray Kroc in the year 1955. McDonald eateries are run by an associate company or the conglomerate itself. The income of the corporation comes from rental fee, royalties and fees paid by the contract companies and sales in business run restaurants. The company’s revenue has tremendously increased with time. The companies main dishes are breakfast items, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken and French fries. The restaurants owned by the company are found in about 119 countries. McDonald operates thousands of restaurants world wide and has employed about 1.5 million people. Strategic analysis aims at looking at what is happening outside an organization now and in the future for instance, how what is happening might change the organization and its retort to the likely changes (Menon, 1999). Summary In today’s competitive business world, customer satisfaction is very vital for one to excel in the market. In order to survive today’s complex markets; companies should maximize profit and at the same time satisfy their customer needs. This paper clearly states the mission and vision of the organization; the company’s current positioning strategy, a SWOT analysis which enables the companies to know of the existing threats, opportunities, weaknesses and strengths in the market and help them to put the proper marketing objectives in place for them to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors. Mission and vision of McDonald McDonald's vision is to be the world's best quick service restaurant experience. Being the best means providing outstanding quality, service, cleanliness, and value, so that we make every customer in every restaurant smile (McDonald's Corporation, 2010). McDonald’s mission is to be the customer’s favorite place and way to eat for instance, with inspired people who delight each customer with unmatched quality, service, cleanliness and value every time (Derdak & Pederson, 2004). McDonald current positioning strategy The current positioning strategy that is in use by McDonalds is the brand positioning strategy. McDonald provides an everyday customized message aimed at drawing more customers to their premises which is also combined with incorporated promotions and thus keeps it in the lead as compared to the nearest competitor burger king (Ries & Trout, 1981). SWOT Analysis of McDonald SWOT analysis is a tactical development method used to assess the characteristics which place an organization in a better position than its competitors, and those characteristics that are of disadvantage to the organization. The SWOT analysis also sets out to look at the external chances that are available for the business to make greater profits and lastly, it also seeks to look at the factors that could cause trouble to the business. It involves identifying the goals of the business and recognizing the interior and exterior factors that are complimentary and hostile to the achievement of that goal. Strengths Strengths are defined as the resources and competences that can be applied by an organization as a basis for mounting a competitive advantage over its competitors. McDonald exhibits various strengths. The first and the most evident strength of McDonald is its global presence and most customers perceive it as a market leader not only in the local markets but also globally. The second strength of the company is that it has a well-organized food preparation approach that trails the process in an organized way. The third strength of the company is the existence of branded menus such as Big Mac, Chicken McNuggets, which are further used to advance McDonalds (Lusch & Lusch, 1987). The fourth strength of the company is that it takes strict measures in regulating the elements and product offerings in order to conform to the improved health principles considered essential by the USDA. Last but nonetheless important, MacDonald’s have playgrounds that are meant to attract parents and children to the joints which serves as a strength in the fast food industry. Weaknesses This can be termed as the characteristics that place an organization at a disadvantage as compared to other organizations. McDonald has various weaknesses which include: most of their advertisements targets children mostly whereas the food provided is suitable for all age groups. Another weakness of the company is that there is a lot of competition from its competitors giving rise to low generation of income. Another evident weakness of the firm is that it still has not really achieved much based on the ongoing trend of organic foods; another weak point of the company is that it lacks innovative products and lastly it has a high employee turn over which is a big blow to the company (Banting & Randolph, 2009). Opportunities This can be defined as the peripheral likelihood to make greater deals and earnings in the business setting. Each business has certain opportunities that lie unexploited and McDonald is not left behind since it has certain opportunities. There are four major opportunities that McDonalds has to its utilization with the prevalent ones being the firm trying to lessen the intensity of growth in order to amplify the productivity of the organization. The first opportunity of McDonald company is the companies ability to align itself with the ever changing needs of the consumer for the consumer needs are never static which allows the organization to undertake inventive product line to capture the consumer needs before the loyal consumers of the organization’s products turns to the competitors products. The second opportunity that exists for the company is the opportunity of up scaling some of its premises at lavish locations so as to attract more clientele. The third opportunity that exists is for the organization to take providence in providing optional items which may have effect on others thus in one way increasing the sales. The fourth opportunity is the company’s idea of embracing the concept of eco - friendliness is an opportunity worth mentioning. The five opportunities is that the organization has embarked on involving its employees in activities that involves the community cleanliness and also in avoiding littering the environment through the waste that is produced in the production process. Threats These may be defined as changes in the external environment which may have an impact on the firm. McDonalds have various threats which affect it. One of the threats is the emergence of competitors providing the same products. This threat is the most prevalent one with the two top competitors that is burger king with 14% and Wendy’s 13 % competition. Among the major threats are the health issues related to the fast food chain and the threat of increase in restaurants that are increasing their food offering at a lower cost as compared to McDonalds. Other common threats include: recession which have a negative impact on the firm and foreign exchange fluctuations which are a major problem since they have average prices for their items (Banting & Randolph, 2009). How McDonalds spends time and money McDonalds spend their money on advertising on the TV, radio and newspapers and also spend most of their time and money in expanding their premises to other regions. A lot of time is also spent on cooking, cleaning, and serving customers so as to ensure that the customer is satisfied with the services offered. Short term objectives of McDonalds in reference to changing fast food environment Short term objectives are objectives which are primarily designed to break an annual goal into smaller manageable parts. The short term objectives are to serve good food with no side effects to their customers and also be a socially responsible company (Burkhart & Reuss, 1993). Long term objectives of McDonalds in reference to changing fast food environment Long term objectives can be termed as the results that a company expects over a multiyear period. The company should aim at developing new products through research which will lead to high profits and should try to main a competitive position. Another long term objective will be to be eco friendly and serve healthier food to their customers. The new objectives are consistent with the forecasted needs of the business in that they are trying to be more environmental friendly which is the new trend in the world of business. The research statistics suggest that for company so succeeded in business it must keep on reviewing its short term and long term objectives. Key performance indicators are used to provide measures by which executives can measure the business and how it is performing against the stated short term and long term objectives. A short term indicator to the business that it is achieving the short term objective is more customers visiting the premises for this assures the managers that quality is been observed. A long term indicator to the business is a consistent development of new and improved products that ensures that a business survives in the face of upcoming competitors who might introduce improved products. The long term and short term objectives are legal and ethical. Thus since they comply with the people’s ethics they are aimed at attracting a large customer’s base as compared to objectives that are not ethical and legal. How the company has aligned its activities with the company’s mission and vision The activities of the last year have been aligned with the company’s mission and vision. This is evident in that the company has been providing the best service to its customers and providing quality services and value to their esteemed customers. They have also aligned their activities with their mission in that most customers perceive it as the place to be due to the quality, cleanliness and value of their products. McDonalds have the resources and financial capability to deliver the above stated objectives. This is because they generate a lot of income form their business and thus they are financial capable of fulfilling the stated objectives. Risk management strategy Risk management strategy is used to define how risks will be managed (Crockford, 1986). McDonalds provide healthy options since the society is in need of better options. The selection is greatly extended with a range of healthier options which are included in their menus for example salads plus. Majority of items on the original menu are high in fat. They have also introduced a new kind of oil which is free of Tran’s fatty fats. The product is aimed at responding to the health conscious challenge. This kind of fats is health conscious and will reduce the health hazards associated with food cooked with fats which have cholesterol. One should capitalize on using Trans fatty fats and motivate the customers in consuming products produced using Trans fatty fats. The products should be advertised so as for one to make sure that the product is purchased by most customers. The company can also hold events so as to familiarize the customers with the new products introduced in the market. The company should also hold promotions so as to familiarize the customers of the new product in the market. The promotions are not legally and ethically right since they mainly focus on young children. The foreseen weakness of the fats is that they are believed to clog a person’s arteries, which may with time cause coronary heart disease. The contingency that should be put in place to safeguard the product is that it should be used in moderated quantities. The threats that one might encounter in the market place is competition from ones competitors who are producing similar products and at a lower cost. Thus the customer may be persuaded by the competitor who is selling at a lower cost. The contingency to be put in place so as to safeguard against the threat is to ensure that greater quality products are produced (Banting & Randolph, 2009). Conclusion Based on the opportunities that exist in the market McDonald should take advantage of that so as to attract and retain more customers. One of such opportunities is that the company is highly praised because of its ambiance, cleanliness and price which are of most concern to the customer. This gives a competitive edge for McDonald over other restaurants offering the same services. To McDonalds, the organization is on the right track in the footsteps of being a great successful organization. References Banting, P., & Randolph E. (2009). Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 1(1), 234-250. Burkhart, L., & Reuss, S. (1993). Successful Strategic Planning: A Guide for Nonprofit Agencies and Organizations. Newbury Park: Sage Publications. Crockford, N. (1986). An Introduction to Risk Management (2 ed.). Cambridge, UK: Woodhead-Faulkner. Derdak, T. & Pederson, P. (2004). "McDonald's". International directory of company histories. Farmington Hills, Michigan, United States: St. James Press. Lusch, F., & Lusch, V. (1987). Principles of Marketing. Boston: Kent Publishing. McDonald's Corporation. (2010). McDonald's Corporation 2010 Annual Report . Retrieved on august 31, 2011 from http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/etc/medialib/aboutMcDonalds/investor_relations3.Par.56096.File.dat/2010%20Annual%20Report%20(print).pdf. Menon, A. (1999). Antecedents and Consequences of Marketing Strategy Making". Journal of Marketing (American Marketing Association), 63 (2): 18–40. Ries, A., & Trout, J. (1981). Positioning, The battle for your mind, Warner Books. New York: McGraw-Hill Inc.,. Read More