Product Evaluation - Fast Food Restaurant - Case Study Example

Product Evaluation: Fast Food Restaurant

Marketing Mix

Fast food restaurant are taking a toll on the American lifestyle with most people visiting the joints quite often. An estimated 50 million are served by these food joints daily. On that regard I will evaluate the marketing mix of fast food restaurants. One of the concepts of the 4Ps of marketing is the product. Products sold in these shops include burgers, pizza, sandwiches, buns, cheese among others. The demand of these types of foods is enhanced by the lifestyle of the Americans who are ever in a hurry. The marketing of these foods is dependent on among other factors the freshness and quality, the service speed, cleanliness and politeness of the restaurant’s workers. On that regard the products that attracted a large base of clientele include the In-N-Out Burger based in California but with outlets countrywide. The restaurant has been identified as offering the best products regarding the fast foods. Other joints offering good products included the Corner Bakery Café with outlets countrywide.

Additionally, on the product marketing mix, citizens concentrate on the health of the provided commodities. The Corner Bakery Café is quite popular due to its concentration on the health of its clients. Their breakfast is well balanced for the benefits of the clients. Ideally, the concentration on diet helps market the products developed by the Corner Bakery. The other concept of marketing mix is the price. On matters regarding fast foods, the Americans concentrate less on the price of the product. However, the Americans are quite careful on value for their money. The Consumer Report indicates that most natives are against cheap fast foods as they feel the quality is compromised. Most Americans prefer high-cost to low-cost fast foods as they check on the quality of the product. The Consumer Report is also keen on educating the natives on the benefits of purchasing expensive foodstuffs. Their concentration is pegged on fast foods, especially burgers, chicken and turkey meat (Consumer Reports, 1). Concisely, the pricing in the fast foods joints is significantly dependent on the safety of the provided products.

The other concept of marketing mix is the promotion. The promotion of fast promotion is pegged on the first two concepts. The promotion does not depend on much publicity as the visit to the joints is highly spontaneous. However, the promotion of the restaurants is dependent on the quality of services provided. It is crucial to understand that, the promotion of these joints is automatic and depends on the satisfaction of the customers. Unlike other businesses, publicity has limited effects on the promotion of the restaurant. Notwithstanding, this does not mean that publicity does not have a role to play in the promotion. The most promoted restaurants possess high quality of services and significantly efficient human resource. As the word of the business is coined, the speed of service also serves better in promoting the restaurant; this explains why most customers prefer visiting the In-N-Out Burgers. The final marketing mix concept is the place. The positioning of the joint is quite significant in the marketing of fast food restaurants. Most citizens prefer visiting joints that are nearby the road as they are quite accessible. The positioning of fast food joints near workplaces is also quite useful as people require visiting the joints regularly. Moreover, the distribution of specific joints across a particular town and city works well in the marketing of the restaurants. The distribution of the joints allows for attracting more customers. This distribution is quite important in the marketing of fast food restaurants.

Positive Aspects

There are certain positive aspects that influenced my perceptions about the overall experience in marketing of fast food restaurants. One of the positive aspects about the overall experience is the popularity of the joints in the American societies. The American populace is quite interested in dropping into the fast food joints once in a while. The consumer report indicates that in the American Societies the people prefer taking foods from the fast food joints instead of cooking it home. The buying behavior of the American people in the food industry influenced my experience in the marketing of fast food restaurants.

Another positive aspect that influenced my perceptions on the marketing experience is the ability to easily market the products and services of fast food joints. In the first place, the restaurants automatically market themselves due to the popularity. The publicizing of the restaurants requires minimal efforts to be successful. The joints can be easily marketed using brochures and other effortless methods. On that regard, the publicity of fast food restaurants is less involving. My perception on the marketing of the food joints was, therefore, influenced positively by this fact of the products and services.

The speed at which the products of fast food joints moved was also influential in my perception on the product. Ideally, fast foods move at a significantly high speed heightening their freshness. The speed of movement reduces the chance of food poisoning in these restaurants. Lack of food poisoning in the restaurants, actually, gave me positive perceptions about the products and services in these joints. It is quite common for everybody to be attached to products that do not harm their health, especially in the food sector. The level of hygiene maintained in the fast foods restaurants was quite critical in influencing my perceptions positively. The joints I sampled maintained high levels of hygiene. The Corner Bakery Cafes were quite exceptional on the hygiene issue. The cafes maintained that hygiene was the locus of their success.

Negative Aspects

Despite the positive influences, I found out some negative aspects that changed my perceptions about the products and services of fast foods restaurants. One of the negative aspects is the health concern raised about the junk food sold in some fast foods restaurants. For instance, some form of chicken grilled in such restaurants had significantly negative influences on the health of individuals. Cheap chicken has been associated with cardiovascular ailments. The influence of the fast foods on the health changed my perceptions about fast foods significantly. I felt that some products sold in some joints are not fit for human consumption. Practically, in such situations I would be against purchase of fast foods. The negative aspects of the foods on health changed my perception about particular products in the joints such as grilled chicken and turkey.

The lack of politeness among certain workers also influenced my perceptions negatively about the products and services. The lack of politeness affected the type of service in those particular joints. Some human resources in particular restaurants were biased against specific clientele. The biasness affected the buying behavior of some clients who felt prejudiced against. The discrimination and prejudice, generally, affects the marketing of the fast foods restaurants.

Other Aspects

There were other aspects that influenced my perceptions on the fast foods. Despite the Consumer Reports developing sustainability guides, there lacks proper legislations on the fast foods. The federal governments need to develop proper legislation on the production of fast foods. With their impact on the health, the government should be able to give an exclusive check on the sustainability of fast foods. Apparently, the cost of health has skyrocketed and the government should look into ways of reducing threats and risks and wellbeing of citizens. On that regard, the lack of fast food’s legislation changed my perception on the fast foods.

An alternative to legislation would be efforts by the government to create awareness on the effects of fast foods on the health of individuals. The government has been very keen on publicizing other health risks such as smoking and drug abuse. However, little attention has been directed towards the fast foods that are harmful to the health of individuals (Prentice and Jebb, 194). The sustainability guides have been effective in the publicizing of the negative effects. With less awareness on the negative effects, I developed some level of prejudice against some products. To enhance the marketing of fast foods, there was a need to empower the US Department of Health in the fight against bad fast foods.

Recommendations

There is a need to improve the marketing of fast foods through implementation of various recommendations. One recommendation is the legislation of safety guidelines that classify the fast foods. The classification of fast foods would help minimize the health risks associated with the fast foods. Ideally, risk minimization would help in marketing of the fast foods. In such a case, the restaurants would not have to put much effort on the promotion of the fast foods. Moreover, it would increase the consumption of the fast foods as individuals would not have not to worry about the health risks. Another recommendation would be to encourage hotel owners to deal with health foods only. The change in the production plans would eliminate rogue fast foods producers. Maintenance of ethical producers in the fast food front would, ideally, improve the buying behavior of fast food consumers. The consumers would positively embrace the fast foods. Concisely, the improvement of fast foods lies on the pillar of legislation.