McDonald’s Fast Food Chain Marketing Approach

McDonald’s Fast Food Chain Marketing Approach

Target Market

Being one of the largest fast food chains of restaurants in the current global hotel industry, McDonald’s has attracted a large number of clients across the globe. The company offers products targeting individuals that appreciate and value fast food products; majority of its target market fall between the age of 20 years and 50 years, mostly the working class and the employed individuals. Individuals who also value ready-prepared fast food products including the youthful generation also form a major target market for the company (McDonald’s Operational Strategies).

McDonald’s Marketing Mix (4P’s)

The company has applied various strategies to meet its business objectives; McDonald’s has formulated a corporate benchmark and standards that is currently applied on a global perspective. In terms of product, the company provides a broad-base of products that meet the myriad needs of its clients: For instance, beverages, McCafe, snacks, salads, chicken and fish products among others. McDonald’s has also applied an efficient distribution strategy characterized with the existence of various distribution channels at different places, for example, kiosks, restaurants, company’s website and postmates app et cetera (McDonald’s Operational Strategies). It is important to recognize that the company has enhanced its competitiveness by operating in different geographical locations across the globe.

The Company has also implemented different promotional and advertisement strategies; the company undertakes regular sales promotions through its company website, mainstream media and direct selling to ensure that it attracts a broad-base of clients. McDonald’s is considered one of the most successful fast companies in the current global hotel industry; the company has successfully attracted millions of clients across the globe through advertisement undertaken through social media platforms and other aspects of mainstream media. Psychological pricing is also a key success factor evident in the operational strategy of the company. McDonald’s applies price budding together with psychological pricing approaches where clients are provided with discounted products and services. For instance, the company offers some of its products at $1.99, to create an impression of affordability (McDonald’s Operational Strategies).

PESTLE Analysis

Political Factors

The Company has the opportunity to expand its services and products to different parts of the world mainly because of improved international trade policies. Improved international trade policies are critical for its efficient supply chain; certain researchers argue that McDonald’s can achieve higher levels of success through improved operational strategies characterized by a reduction of taxation of its products and services.

Economic Factors

Considering that McDonald’s operates on a global platform, it is important to take note that any economic change, affects its success and operational objectives. The slow, yet steady growth of the United States Economy is crucial for the success of McDonald’s; however, a slowdown of the European and the Chinese Economy is a major threat to the success of the company in such environments.

Social/Cultural Factors

The current society is characterized by evolving lifestyles and changing perceptions of consumers towards fast food products. There have been intense awareness campaigns by health organizations against the consumption of fast food products; most consumers associate consumption of fast food products with diseases such as obesity, cardiovascular challenges et cetera. These perceptions are not only a threat to the success of McDonald’s but also other fast food companies in the global hotel industry. Certain cultural preferences on food products have also affected the consumption of fast food products; for example, in the Asian market, many people prefer the consumption of rice products, rather than hamburgers, which is a key product offered by McDonald’s.

Technological Factors

            Technology plays a crucial role in the success of many companies in the fast food industry. Technological equipment assists stakeholders to organization and implements productive strategies and managerial duties. Besides, many stakeholders in the fast food industry have recorded massive successes by implementing their promotional strategies through the social media and other modern communication platforms.

Environmental Factors

            Environmental sensitivity has increased among individuals and communities in the current generation. Many communities and consumers care about the pollution, global warming and disposal of waste products; in fact, McDonald’s has been a victim of negative criticism from environmental stakeholders after having been accused of packaging its products by using polystyrene. Certain researchers have indicated that more than 60 million customers that consume fast food products across the globe, particularly from McDonald’s are offered sandwiches packaged in polystyrene materials, which are quite challenging to manage.

Legal Factors

Legal issues, particularly operational laws and regulations create a major concern for many businesses, both local and international organizations. Considering that McDonald’s operate on a global platform, it is usually compelled to adhere to various laws and regulations such as taxation laws, corporate laws et cetera.

Recommendations

One of the strategies that could be applied by McDonald’s to promote its success is market research. Many economic scholars believe that undertaking market research provides an opportunity for investors to access relevant data concerning their target markets, hence, leading to the formulation of appropriate operational plans. Besides, McDonald’s, can also engage in partnerships with its suppliers, and even though this has been one of its operational strategies, developing partnerships with suppliers provides it with an opportunity to develop a stable supply chain. Many researchers argue that a partnership between business organizations and their suppliers facilitates the development of a stable supply chain. Consequently, McDonald’s may explore modern communication technologies such as mobile applications, which can be used to enhance the communication between companies and their clients. Certain companies such as Uber have recorded tremendous successes my using their own applications to communicate with their clients (The Rise of Uber).