Case Study 2

Marketing In Fast Food Restaurants
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Background
MacDonald’s is a fast food company founded in Bernardino, California in the United States in 1940, by Maurice and Richard MacDonald. The founders started the company as a hamburger brand. Its headquarters are located in Oak Brook, Illinois, but it is planning to move to Chicago by 2018. On the Market share, MacDonald’s is the global restaurant chain leader, and it serves about 70 million clients daily in more than 100 countries. As of 2016, the company had 36900 outlets, and the high customer levels have been experienced in many years of operation(Thornton et al., 2016).
On brands, MacDonald’s sell cheeseburgers, French fries, hamburgers, chicken products, breakfast foods, desserts, milkshakes, wraps and soft drinks. However, there have been negative sanctions about the unhealthy state of its foods, and this led to the introduction of fruits, salads, smoothies, and fish to the Menu. On the part of their revenues, MacDonald’s earn from rent, franchisees fees, royalties as well as the restaurant sales across the world. The company has played a key role in the provision of employment. According to the 2012 BBC reports, MacDonald’s was ranked second in the world’s largest private employers list. The company has 1.5 million workers who operate both the main outlets and the franchises.
Comparison Table
Comparison Criteria Brand of Choice
(MacDonald’s) Competitor One
(Taco Bell) Competitor Two
(Wendy’s)
Product Offerings Hamburgers, Chicken, French fries, Soft Drinks Burritos, Nachos, quesadillas Chicken, Hamburger, Bacon, Soft drinks
Prices $1-$7 for the snacks $1-8$ $1-$6
Distribution of stores in the United States 14,146 restaurants in 2016 6,121 restaurants in 2016 5,739 restaurants in 2016
Promotions Beef Quarter Pounder Burgers, Discounts on Coffee Classic Tacos, Doritos Locos Taco Bacon Chicken, Deluxe Family dinner for bacon classic
Disruptive Ideas Launched Macca’s App, MacDonald YouTube campaign, Iced fruit smoothie app National Basketball Association, Authenticity – Live mas, Doritos Locos Tacos YouTube marketing, Wendy’s App
Fast Food Customer needs
In today’s world, people choose to eat in the restaurants because they want quicker services and prepared foods.

Many restaurants exist along the streets of small towns and big cities. Customers yearn for better services. In the United States alone, there are many restaurants across cities. They include cafes, deli counters, gas station delis and pizzerias. The statistics indicate that there is stiff competition and customer tastes and preferences vary on each day. Clients are always careful with the dishes, décor and much other stuff relating to the restaurant outlook.
Welcoming Services
Customers are sensitive to the reception they get once they enter a restaurant or any other fast food counter. They need to be acknowledged and appreciated, and this has a big impact on the level of satisfaction they receive. Customers want to be greeted and welcomed to the respective seats otherwise they can walk out and eat somewhere else(Thornton et al., 2016). In other restaurants, even the management can take the role of inviting the clients to their tables. Regardless of the food the customers can afford, they always need to be treated in the same way, and this improves the relationships between them and the staff.
Good wait staff
Customers always expect a desirable wait staff at the restaurants. At the fast food counters, they require that the workers receive their orders correctly, and serve courteously and solve any problem quickly. However, in other restaurants, clients expect the staff to be moderately attentive. Thus, the wait staff should not hover around the customers, interrupt or come back often to the serving tables. The attendants should bring the ordered foods promptly and serve pleasantly. In case of return of the dishes, the process should be professional to keep the customer appreciated. The customers also desire that the attendants are personable and friendly to the clients and this builds good relationships. Also, knowledgeable staff is essential to the customer experience. The attendants need to have health information about the foods and the details of seasonal items. The restaurant management needs to provide training for the customers and ensure the servers understand the special cooking methods. The staff needs to understand technological equipment such as the Point of Sales System to communicate and store information that is essential in the restaurant.
Environment
The surrounding of a fast food facility is essential to the customer satisfaction. Other people get into the premises to meet others, and the setting determines the interaction outcomes of their meetings. Even if the environment is not considered as a service at the fast food premises, it plays a key role in the level of customer attractiveness(Thornton et al., 2016). The area around the restaurant needs to be clean with an attractive and consistent décor. This environment protects the image of the premise and clients will yearn to be serviced there. The staff should not also wait for the customers to pay for the foods; they should do so at their own pace. The customers expect that wait staff to say ‘feel free’ or ‘let me know.’ This kind of statements gives the customers the responsibility to play their roles without the feeling of being forced to do.
Foods and Drinks
Customers expect that the meals are delicious and the drinks are well presented. Foods need to be simple and tasty, and they should be cooked with quality ingredients than to be just fancy. According to Jamie Goode, a London-based writer, the wine selection for customers need to be large enough and should not be overpriced. The foods and the drinks should be consistent with the image of the fast food premise. For instance, a family restaurant needs to include foods such as sandwiches and traditional dishes at moderated prices. In case the restaurant is more elegant, the rates can be higher, but the meals must be of more varieties.
Sincerity and communication
Guests at a restaurant want to feel the contact that the attendant gives them during the service. Making a sincere approach with them helps in building a better experience, and they will always prefer the specific restaurant on a positive note. During communication, the wait staff needs to keep the eye contact with the clients and thus a better human experience. Also, the attendants need to make a step and identify the names of regular visitors and acknowledge them. The staff also need to understand the drink preferences and ask for suggestions in case of individual orders. Some customers can also have the online touch to the restaurants, and thus their presence should be recognized. The staff should respond directly and honestly to any disputes.
Menu Flexibility
Customers have different food restrictions and dietary preferences. Restaurants should always allow for substitutions. Flexible menus will always make the customers happy and thus better relationships. The attendants need to be ready to attend the proposed choices and beware of the potential allergens for the customers. Fast food restaurants need to have planned substitutes for the foods that may have effects on the menu.
Dealing with Payment
Customers need to have the best experience during the time of paying for the services and the foods. Some customers want to pay and leave as soon as they finish taking their meals in the restaurant. The staff should not waste time while the clients wait to get their receipts. The software is vital in making the process faster. The workers should show the customers that their attention is necessary and they should respect the time and care for the clients.
Overall Experience
Most consumers prefer an excellent experience than the physical good itself. Customers always want authentic but simple services at the fast food restaurants(Thornton et al., 2016). The clients desire originality and simplicity, and thus the attendants need to sell what the restaurants can offer, without faking and create value and quality. The premises should stick to the individual and local goals and differentiate the business from other big chains or smaller restaurants. Before the customers leave the premises, they can be asked about their experience to ensure that they keep coming back for more.
MacDonald’s Biggest Concerns
Winning back the Loyal Customers
The new MacDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook’s great worries are to regain the loyal customers who turned their heads to companies such as Shake Shack and Chipotle. The company management will have to work out the task of reigniting the love lost by the Big Mac customers.
Unfavorable personal relations
MacDonald has a bad image and history of paying the workers poorly. The staffs have held numerous protests, and they have been receiving the minimum wage for many years despite the longtime service at the company(Shah and Mujtaba, 2016). In 2014, the shareholders protested for the pay cut of the outgoing CEO Don Thompson stating that the high salary led to the poor performance of the company. MacDonald could lose many customers at that time due to the deteriorating PR.
Gaining investors
Investors had been alarmed by the poor performance of the company in the market, and the management stated that this would lead to operational problems. In the event of Jana Partners taking a stake in November 2015, in MacDonald’s, speculation rose that Bill Ackman, one of the activists was planning to buy more stakes and this led to the shaking of the share prices at the company.
Slimming down the menu
Customers have raised concerns that the MacDonald menu has got complicated and ordering for burgers and fries was confusing. The kitchen operations have also been altered due to the complexity of the food lists and customers may wait for the orders for long.
Recommendations
International strategy for big cities
Most of the big cities in the United States are densely populated. In Asia, there are no many MacDonald’s outlets, and it is a potential Market. Japan has the most MacDonald’s restaurants(Thornton et al., 2016). China has to be explored because of the big country’s population. According to the recent figures, China has just 1000 MacDonald’s restaurants, and it stands at position nine. This number is far below the amount in the United States which holds at 14000 restaurants. Investing in places like China will increase the market share of the company which in turn will improve the company profitability. The company can also cater for the losses due to the competitor rivalry from the huge market gains.
Name recognition
MacDonald’s has a broad recognition base all over the world, and most people are conversant with the Golden Arches on top of every MacDonald restaurant. The symbols have helped the company to attract more customers and to build their confidence(Shah and Mujtaba, 2016). MacDonald’s need to take this advantage of being widely recognized to develop more restaurants and also sell more franchises to the willing investors. The company must not indulge extensively in foods, but it should ensure massive profits from the soft drinks and fast foods. The company will improve their earnings and cater for the losses.
Breaking down the Menu
Many food divisions and additives make the menu complex for the use of both the customers and the cooks(Shah and Mujtaba, 2016). For the company to avoid this challenge, MacDonald’s caterers and management need to ensure that similar foods are similarly located and avoid other foods that are not in high demand. Also, breaking down the list will enhance quality and reduce the time for serving.
Good payment plans
The management should foster better payment plans for the employees at MacDonald’s. Protests have affected the reputation of the company and thus providing excellent incentives will ensure good relationships for negotiation. Also, customers will maintain loyalty in a company with a better image.
Marketing Approach
Optimizing a Marketing Budget
The expenditure on marketing depends on the scope of the business and the level of established marketing strategies.
i. Branding
Branding of goods and services is essential for the marketing of a company. For MacDonald’s branding will cost $10 million across all regions in the world. Branding will involve installing new skills for the staff and improving the foodstuff designs and quality. Also, it will involve creating detailed brand books, collaterals, and stories that are important for the customer attraction. The food items and soft drinks can be advertised in new brands to avoid the monotony in customer’s eyes(Shah and Mujtaba, 2016).
ii. Website building
Designing a website for MacDonald’s will cost another $10 million. The website will link the customers and advertise the current and the new food items on drinks(Thornton et al., 2016). As well, some customers can order online and provide reviews for the improvement of the company. The budget will cater for the managers and installation of the most appropriate domains.
iii. Advertising
Advertising is the most crucial part of marketing. It will cost $70 million, and it will involve radio and television broadcasts, magazine and journal development as well as the installation of banners in the densely populated cities around the world (Shah and Mujtaba, 2016). Most people will know more about the products thus increased sales and customer confidence.
iv. Events
Shows are important in building the company reputation and awareness. The events will cost $10 million. The company will organize tours to the unexplored parts of the world to gain more customers and maintain the customer loyalty (Thornton et al., 2016).
Christian Integration
The Bible has a say on businesses that human beings engage in during the search for the livelihood. Proverbs 11:14 states that a nation without good leaders will fail, but the one with good advisers will always save it. Proper management of businesses will lead to success through profitability and a good reputation.
ConclusionMarketing plays a vital role in the development of businesses. Many investors have settled on fast food restaurants because of the ready market. The competition in the market has led to the improved services and the quality of the foods and drinks. For instance, MacDonald’s is faced with competition from companies such as Taco Bell and Burger King. Challenges always exist, and the proper strategies will enable the thriving of the company. Proper management, better payments, and maintaining of the customer loyalty will foster the improvement of MacDonald’s.
References
Thornton, L. E., Ball, K., Lamb, K. E., McCann, J., Parker, K., & Crawford, D. A. (2016). The impact of a new McDonald’s restaurant on eating behaviours and perceptions of local residents: A natural experiment using repeated cross-sectional data. Health & place, 39, 86-91.
Shah, S., & Mujtaba, B. G. (2016). Contemplations for Opening the First McDonald’s Restaurant Franchise in the IT Capital of India’s Bangalore. International Journal of Marketing Practices, 3(2), 33-46.
Peterson, H. (2014). Here’s What It Costs To Open A McDonald’s Restaurant. Business Insider.
Moran, A. J., Ramirez, M., & Block, J. P. (2017). Consumer underestimation of sodium in fast food restaurant meals: Results from a cross-sectional observational study. Appetite, 113, 155-161.
Rummo, P. E., Meyer, K. A., Howard, A. G., Shikany, J. M., Guilkey, D. K., & Gordon-Larsen, P. (2015). Fast food price, diet behavior, and cardiometabolic health: Differential associations by neighborhood SES and neighborhood fast food restaurant availability in the CARDIA study. Health & place, 35, 128-135.