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Assignment The marketing mix is usually referred to Neil H. Borden, and implies the set of marketing components that the company is able to use in order to achieve its desired goals and objectives. Basically, the marketing mix is a means of achieving marketing objectives. The major marketing elements are known as the "four Ps" - Product, Price, Promotion, and Place. However, when it comes to the marketing of a service, these four Ps are usually extended to the seven Ps, namely, Product, Price, Promotion, Place, People, Physical Evidence and Process. The present paper undertakes an effort to complete an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of how the company manages the seven Ps, namely, Product, Price, Promotion, Place, People, Physical Evidence and Process, by the example of McDonalds and McDonalds Restaurants, being based on McDonalds Restaurants case We do it all for you, and answers the question whether McDonalds is still effectively utilizing the marketing mix to sustain market leadership.
Basically, McDonalds is a classic example of what we can call a global brand. The company managed to survive and to become very successful being based on trained workforce, well-defined business processes, and minimum possible use of advertising. In order to provide the most thorough examination of the issue, lets complete step-by-step analysis of the seven P's. So, the first P is Product (either or service or a good that is sold to a customer). As we can see from the case study, McDonalds product (fast-food products) addresses the needs of its customers as it was identified through the market research. The second P is Price.
Indeed, in case the price is wrong, the company will hardly succeed in its operations and sales (Barnhart, 1988). As we can see from the case study, McDonalds pricing strategy is based on a value-based approach, as the company has specials like low-cost (two-dollar) burgers that their competitors hardly can offer to the customers. McDonalds strength here is that, being the leader in the fast-food industry and in the market, the company is able to offer low-cost products, at the same time giving its consumers the best possible value for money. The third P is Promotion the business of communication with the companys customers, aimed to provide them with the required information that will help the customers in their decision making related to the purchase of the companys product or service (Adam et al. , 1998). To put it differently, it implies informing the company's potential customers about the availability of the companys product, price, and place. McDonalds is quite strong in its promotion techniques, as it has, probably, the best promotion methods.
The company uses a wide range of methods in order to maintain high awareness of their products and to promote McDonalds image. This involves sponsorships (Ronald House, AFL, etc), advertising using TV, billboards, and radio, sales promotion (for example, their low-cost special - the two-dollar burger, publicity (McDonalds famous Mc Happy Day), and direct marketing via various birthday clubs, to mention a few. The fourth P Place implies looking at the specific location where the companys product is sold, or where a companys service is delivered (Fifield, 1998). The right companys product at the right price being available in the right place to be bought by the customers this is a brief formula for the companys success. By the example of McDonalds we can see that as far as the company is more targeted on children, it positions itself as a fun place for children and perfect place where the children can spend their special days, celebrations, etc (McDonalds Ronald McDonald serves as one of the effective tools that helps the company to achieve this objective). The fifth P is People (staff).
As it can be seen from the case study, the company is fully aware that people are one of the most important elements in the fast-food industry. McDonalds undertakes all efforts to place an emphasis on friendly environment and to promote its service element of the product. As we can see, the companys employees adhere to the idea that the customer is always right, and carry McDonalds marketing appeal - We do it all for you. In such a way, the company understands the importance of this marketing element and encourages its employees to exceed the customer expectations. The sixth P is Physical Evidence that implies making service more tangible to the potential customers and implies looking at every aspect the customer uses in order to assess the companys product to evaluate its position. As we can see from the case study, McDonalds promotes its product via people, price, service, and process.
Finally, the seventh P is Process (the process of providing a service). The process in McDonalds comprises of two major aspects, which are the quality control standards and the degree of customer contact. This is, evidently, one of the McDonalds strengths, as the company is very innovative within the frameworks of production processes. As we can see from the case study, the company consistently upgrades and installs new machines in order to enhance its operations and gain a competitive advantage.
For example, McDonalds Drive-through is one of the McDonalds innovations that make the process even more convenient, thus making McDonalds product even easier to consume. In such a way, taking into consideration all components of marketing used by McDonalds in its daily operations, it is possible to make a conclusion that McDonalds utilizes the marketing mix successfully enough to sustain market leadership and to remain the leader in fast food industry. References Adam, S. , Armstrong, G. , Brown, L. , Kotler, P. , (1998), Marketing, (4 th edn. ), Prentice Hall, Australia. Barnhart, C.
L. , Barnhart, R. K. , The World Book Dictionary: A-K, (1988), World Book Inc. , Sydney Fifield, P. , (1998), Marketing Strategy, (2 nd edn. ), Butterworth-Heinemann, Melbourne.
Free research essays on topics related to: mcdonalds restaurants, physical evidence, fast food industry, four ps, marketing mix
Research essay sample on Fast Food Industry Mcdonalds Restaurants
