McDonalds marketing strategy: Inspiring Findings from a Case Study

Introduction to McDonald’s

The History of McDonald’s growth was something more than what had been expected. From being just a drive-through restaurant to earning college credits from Hamburger University, they’ve had a great journey, not just as a food service but as a great competing business in the market as well. And the market competition that its competitors face is no exception.

Right after World War II, there were a lot of businesses introduced to keep up with the economy for survival. This is where most of the food-serving business came into the picture. With the increase in services, there was also an increase in market competition.

Case studies were conducted to thoroughly examine the causes of such difficulties in order to adequately explore how to solve them for businesses. They strive to identify a solution to the issue after conducting a thorough examination.

Here is another Sprintzeal article that will introduce you to some of McDonald’s successes from their business case studies. This is a compilation of the top five inspiring McDonald's solutions gleaned from the case study on McDonald's marketing and service.

 

About McDonald’s

The McDonald brothers, Maurice ("Mac") and Richard, established the first McDonald's restaurant in San Bernardino, California, in 1940. At first, it operated as a drive-in with a limited food menu. This made it easier to provide a high-quality service while also being quick and efficient.

This limited menu included a 15-cent hamburger, a few varieties of shakes, and fries. This helped the McDonald brothers operate their speed service system effectively and introduce it to other places by franchising it. To adapt to mass expansion and engage more customers, they continued to add new varieties of shakes and burgers.

In 1955, Ray Kroc opens the first franchised McDonald's in Des Plaines, Illinois as its franchising. The first advertisement for MacDonald’s was done in the 1960s as a first mode of promotion for the business.

20 years into the business, McDonald’s brothers began to face heavy competition within the same business and service. Yet again, for being a quick-service restaurant, they had to face a lot of direct competition. Most of its competition came from Taco Bell, Subway, Burger King, and KFC. Here is how McDonald's tackled its competitors to become a worldwide success.

 

McDonald’s marketing strategy – The 5Ps

Since the competition in the field was heavy, every business began to come up with their own unique strategy to compete with one another. Direct competition's harsh reality is that it must be met with new, similar, and relevant products. Another unavoidable fact is that you must attract customers away from your competitors while also providing satisfactory service.

"To grow under such competition is to make a way out, to reach out to the world..." And so they did. Here are some of the findings that contributed to McDonald’s worldwide success. The 5Ps marketing strategy allowed them to reach a wide audience. The 5Ps are five important factors to consider: place, product, price, people, and promotion.

One of McDonald’s primary objectives is to ensure that the product fulfills every customer’s demand and also to maintain the same bond over the long term. McDonald's cherishes its customers, which is why they adapt their services to suit customer preferences and lifestyles. They value building long-term relationships with their clients and customers.

The following are some inspiring findings for McDonald’s worldwide succession:

 

McDonald’s marketing strategy – Place

McDonald's franchised locations are one of the best strategies they have implemented for the best results. They majorly target people of young ages, like college students and family, since almost every McDonald's outlet is a fun place to visit and to play at. With this, McDonald’s customer count grew due to its loyalty to its customers.

After a small survey, it was noticed that, on average, an adult is spending about 7+ USD for a single meal. This was because the outlets are easily accessible, but more than just being accessible, it was because the pricing was very reasonable and affordable.

 

McDonald’s marketing strategy – Pricing

The strategic planning done with pricing based on the customer’s profile can be called a masterplan. Another masterpiece was making it as affordable as possible while also not making it super cheap, which would cause them to run loose.

As the customer’s profile said, it was seen that the majority of people using the service were college adults and family members. This forced them to rethink their franchise placement. It was also discovered that the buyers for the chain were both men and women who frequently worked for low to average pay. This data allowed McDonald’s to precisely strategize their pricing for their service in the most appropriate way.

McDonald’s marketing strategy – Product

As previously stated, McDonald's was founded in 1940 in San Bernardino, California, with a very limited menu in order to provide quality service while also being quick. They had to make some changes to their products as franchising grew in order to maintain that loyal bond with their customers.

Initially, McDonald’s was known for their burgers, which were made of pork and beef. Due to religious reasons, customers felt uncomfortable with all other products. With this, there was a gradual decrease in the number of customers. Hence, to bring the customer count up and satisfy customers' demands, McDonald’s then began to work on burgers with chicken and fish as an alternative.

Customers stayed loyal to the brand, and McDonald’s paid them in exchange by giving first priority to customer satisfaction.

 

McDonald’s marketing strategy – Promotion

The companies’ promotion strategies are yet another well-designed master strategy. Utilizing multiple forms of promotion, they had the chance to reach more new customers and stay engaged with their existing loyal customers.

Promotional communication methods such as billboard advertising, contests, broadcasts, coupons, and other emotionally connecting marketing contents make a good impression on customers and also aid as a step towards brand awareness. When the topic is about advertising and promotion, being presentable plays a key role.

 

McDonald’s marketing strategy – People

Due to the mass marketing done by McDonald's, they generate a large number of customers. McDonald's always conducts primary research on its customers, utilizing the massive customer profiles now available to clearly understand the demands and satisfy them in the required manner.

As it all boils down to one sole reason, the main objective of McDonald's marketing and advertising is to make people aware of its brand, its products, and its services. To get more details and questions from the customers, they perform surveys and questionnaires at stores. They use this data to help them build a better brand by meeting the needs of their customers. 

Referred article: A CASE STUDY ON MCDONALD’S MARKETING STRATEGIES

 

McDonald’s Challenges

One of the most challenging things faced by McDonald's was bringing their menu to India while franchising. Because the majority of the Indian population is lacto-vegetarian and eats meat, they needed to find alternatives for beef and pork, as well as for religious reasons.

McDonald's prioritized their customers' demands and accepted the challenge. With this, the burger filling was replaced with a potato base, naming it the McAloo Tikki for the Indian vegetarian customers. And, as read from one of the blogs read on the internet, written by the McDonalds Company, they say “McAloo Tikki burger is a balanced meal, with recommended amount of protein, fat, and carbohydrates.”

In addition to the Indian menu with alternatives like chicken and fish was made for the Indian non-vegetarian customers.

McDonald's even decided to separate vegetarian and non-vegetarian cooking methods in order to provide a completely vegetarian experience. 

 

Conclusion

McDonald's always prioritizes its customers' comfort and demands. This allows them to stay loyal to their customers, allowing a huge number of families to feel comfortable with the brand at the restaurants.

By opting to make use of multiple marketing communication methods, McDonald's makes its way to the top over all other fast food businesses. Marketing strategies not only help businesses grow with respect to revenue but also help spread awareness to wide audiences.

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