Demand for big Macs CASE STUDY

Introduction
McDonald's is one of the best-known brands worldwide. The McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamb rger and fast food resta rant!s ser"ing aro nd #$ million c stomers dail% in &&' co ntries. (ead) artered in the United States* the com+an% began in &',- as a barbec e resta rant o+erated b% .ichard and Ma rice Donald. McDonald's Cor+oration had ann al re"en es of /01.2 billion* and +rofits of /2.2 billion

The marketing mix and market research

(a"ing identified its ke% a diences a com+an% has to ens re a marketing mi3. 4rod ct 4rice 4romotion +lace

Market research
Acc rate research is essential in creating the right mi3 to win c stomer lo%alt%. 5n all its markets McDonald's faces com+etition from other b sinesses. Additionall%* economic* legal and technological changes* social factors* the retail en"ironment and man% other elements affect McDonald's s ccess in the market. McDonald's needs to identif% whether the n mber of target c stomers is growing or shrinking and whether their b %ing habits will change in the f t re

Impact of market research.

McDonald's +redominantl% sells hamb rger * 6rench fries "ario s t%+es of chicken sandwiches and +rod cts* soft drinks * breakfast items* and desserts 5n most markets* McDonald's offers salads and "egetarian items* wra+s and other locali7ed fare. 8n a seasonal basis* McDonald's offers the Mc .ib sandwich. 9ario s co ntries* es+eciall% in Asia* are c rrentl% ser"ing so +. s ch as the religio s +rohibition of beef cons m+tion in 5ndia make a"ailable foods with which the regional market is more familiar s ch as the sale of Mc.ice in 5ndonesia . T%+es of resta rants are their like co nter ser"ice *dri"e tro gh ser"ice. known in man% co ntries* often has se+arate stations for +lacing* +a%ing for* and +icking + orders.

Meeting the needs of key audiences

There are a limited n mber of c stomers in the market. To b ild long-term b siness it is essential to retain +eo+le once the% ha"e become c stomers. Strengths and weaknesses m st be identified* so that a marketing strateg% which is right for the b siness can be decided +on. financial reso rces a"ailable for marketing.

McDonald's possible customer profiles

Each has different reasons for coming to McDonald's.

swot
8nce the strengths and weaknesses are determined* the% are combined with the o++ort nities and threats in the market +lace The b siness can then determine what it needs to do in order to increase its chances of marketing s ccessf ll%.

Marketing objectives
A marketing +lan m st be created to meet clear ob:ecti"es. These can be related to market share* sales* goals* reaching the target a dience and creating awareness in the market+lace. .es lts can be anal%sed reg larl% to see whether ob:ecti"es are being met. 5t e3+lains what marketing actions and reso rces will be sed and how the% will work together.

The !s "product#
Marketing contin o sl% monitors c stomers' +references. ;hat is fashionable and attracti"e toda% ma% be discarded tomorrow. McDonald's has introd ced new +rod cts and +hased o t old ones* and will contin e to do so. McDonald's knows that items on its men will "ar% in +o+ larit%. Their abilit% to generate +rofits will "ar% at different +oints in their life c%cle. At an% time a com+an% will ha"e a +ortfolio of +rod cts each in a different stage of its lifec%cle. Some of McDonald's o+tions are growing in +o+ larit% while arg abl% the <ig Mac is at the 'mat rit%' stage.

!roducts go through a life cycle$ which is illustrated below%

Price
The c stomer's +erce+tion of "al e is an im+ortant determinant of the +rice charged. A +rod ct is more than a +h%sical item* it also has +s%chological connotations for the c stomer. The danger of sing low +rice as a marketing tool is that the c stomer ma% feel that ) alit% is being com+romised. A f rther conse) ence of +rice red ction is that com+etitors match +rices res lting in no e3tra demand

Promotions
The +romotions as+ect of the marketing mi3 co"ers all t%+es of marketing comm nications. The methods incl de ad"ertising* sometimes known as 'abo"e the line' acti"it%. Ad"ertising is cond cted on T9* radio* cinema* online* +oster sites and in the +ress. The skill in marketing comm nications is to de"elo+ a cam+aign which ses se"eral of these methods in a wa% that +ro"ides the most effecti"e res lts. 6or e3am+le* T9 ad"ertising makes +eo+le aware of a food item and +ress ad"ertising +ro"ides more detail. =e% ob:ecti"es of ad"ertising are to make +eo+le aware of an item* feel +ositi"e abo t it and remember it. Messages sho ld gain c stomers' attention and kee+ their interest. The ne3t stage is to get them to want what is offered. Showing the benefits which the% will obtain b% taking action* is s all% s fficient.

Place
4lace in the marketing mi3* is not : st abo t the +h%sical location or distrib tion +oints for +rod cts. 5t encom+asses the management of a range of +rocesses in"ol"ed in bringing +rod cts to the end cons mer. Most standalone McDonald's resta rants offer both co nter ser"ice and dri"e thro gh ser"ice* with indoor and sometimes o tdoor seating. Dri"e-Thr * A to-Mac* 4a% and Dri"e* or >McDri"e> as it is known in man% co ntries. 5n some co ntries* >McDri"e> locations near highwa%s offer no co nter ser"ice or seating. McStop is a location targeted at tr ckers and tra"ellers which ma% ha"e ser"ices fo nd at tr ck sto+s. 5n ?erman% and other ;estern E ro+ean co ntries* McDonald's sells beer. 5n @ew Aealand* McDonald's sells meat +ies*

&onclusion
8nce the marketing strateg% is in +lace "ario s res+onsibilities are gi"en to different indi"id als so that the +lan can be im+lemented. S%stems are + t in +lace to obtain market feedback which meas re s ccess against short-term targets. McDonald's has to ens re that this is done within the confines of a tightl% controlled* finite marketing b dget.

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