McDonald Market Analysis

...

Using an undifferentiated marketing strategy, McDonald might decide to ignore market segment differences and target the whole market with one offer. This mass marketing strategy focuses on what is common in the needs of consumers rather than on what is different. McDonald designs a product and a marketing program that will appeal to the largest number of buyers. In others perspective modern marketers have strong doubts about this strategy. Difficulties arise in developing a product or brand that will satisfy all consumers. Moreover, mass marketers often have trouble competing with more focused firms that do a better job of satisfying the needs of specific segments and niches.

4.2.2 Differentiated Marketing

Using segmented marketing strategy, McDonald decides to target several market segments and design separate offers for each. McDonald markets a full range of fast food like hamburger, fries, drinks and others for different segments. By offering product and marketing variations to segments, McDonald hope for higher sales and stronger position within several segments creates more total sales than undifferentiated marketing across all segments. But differentiated marketing also increase the costs of doing business. Developing separate marketing plans for the separate segments require extra marketing research, forecasting, sales analysis, promotion planning, and channel management. Trying to reach different markets segments with different advertising increases promotion costs.

4.2.3 Concentrated Marketing

A third market coverage strategy, niche marketing is especially appealing when company resources are limited. Instead of going after a small share of a large market, the firm goes after a large share of one or a few smaller segments or niches. Through this concentrated market, McDonald will achieves a strong market position because of its greater knowledge of consumer needs in the niches it serves and the special reputation it acquires. It can make market more effectively by fine tuning its products, prices, and program to the needs of carefully defined segments. Many companies start to get a foothold against larger, more resourceful competitors, and then grow into broader competitors. In McDonald, they pays special attention to how their customers are alike and how they are different too. For that reason, markets and countries have latitude when it comes to menu, marketing, community involvement and local business management. See McDonald’s around the world.

4.3 Positioning

A product’s position is the way the product is defined by consumers on important attributes which means that the place the product occupies in consumers; minds relative to competing products. As we know that product are created in factory, but brand are create in the minds. For example, when we heard people say “Im Lovin It” usually it comes to mind McDonald. It It is one of the strategies of McDonald to make people remember their brands. Additionally, McDonald also offer the menus that have different tastes from others store. When comes to positioning the most important one is the ways to maintain the trust of people to that brand. Others than that, only hands off to the consumer itself to make a loyalty bonding.

The differentiation and positioning task consists of three steps which is, identifying a set of possible differentiations that create competitive advantage, choosing advantages on which to build a position, and selecting an overall positioning strategy. The brand’s full positioning is called its value proposition which mean the full mix of benefits on which the brand is positioned. In general, companies can choose from one of five winning value propositions on which to position their product, more for more, more for the same, the same for less, less for much less, or more for less. McDonald and brand positioning are summarized in positioning statements that state the target segment and need, the positioning concept, and specific points of difference. McDonald also are effectively communicate and deliver the chosen position to the market which lead to their success until now.