Customers McDonalds example essay topic

I. Introduction McDonalds has always been a leader in the fast food industry. Through its dynamic market expansion, new products and special promotional strategies, it has succeeded in making a name for itself in the minds of the target customers. However, McDonald's earnings has declined in the late 1990's and 2000's. This is mainly due to a fiercely competitive industry and variety in customer tastes and preferences. II. Statement of the Problem How can McDonalds increase its sales, market share and profits in a fiercely competitive industry?

Objectives McDonalds objectives are to reverse the decline of sales, to continue staying ahead of the competition in the fast food industry and to find new strategies that would help the restaurant successfully compete in the a fiercely competitive market. IV. Areas of Consideration Situation. Eating habits of Americans are changing. Younger consumers are getting tired of fast food and are becoming health conscious. Growing dissatisfaction with the quality aspect of fast food restaurants such as McDonalds.

Fast food is losing its sense of appeal to the large group of customers who frequently eat out Environment. another segment of the fast-food industry is comprised of a non-hamburger restaurants, growing trend is moving customers to non-burger sandwiches. increase in the fast-casual segment that includes restaurants that offer deli sandwiches and more upscale meals with more comfortable surroundings but faster Background. McDonalds has added new products on its menu. Advertising message focused on tasty and nutritious food, friendly folks and fun. Invested heavily in advertising and improving its public image. Opened first domestic McCafeCustomers. recognize the importance of drive-through customers (try to increase the speed of drive-through delivery). Importance of heavy users of fast-food restaurants Threats.

McDonalds cheap and greasy image Major Competitors in the Hamburger Segment. Burger King Corp. that offers an array of value-priced offerings and makes kitchen and drive through upgrades. Hardee's that continually introduce new items in the menu and join the price-promotion burger wars. Wendy's International who has the strongest same-store-sales gains in recent years Major Competitors in the Non-Hamburger Segment. Pizza Hut that dominates the Pizza Segment. KFC that uses programs to attract kids and families to its food offerings.

Taco Bell that practice successful high-priced offerings. Alternative Causes of Action & Analysis In today's market, McDonalds faces numerous challenges such as fierce competition, a more health conscious customer, and the continual need for improved customer satisfaction and menu. McDonalds needs to go through some changes in order to remain ahead in the fast-food industry. Alternative 1 McDonalds should focus greatly on building good customer relationship and uphold customer retention. This is done by allocating time and budget in improving their resources and making changes that actually cater to their customers' needs and comfort.

This includes having with multiple Drive-Throughs, (in accordance to giving importance to drive thru customers), having more cash registers to promote speed and efficiency in the ordering lines, and going for a more comfortable seating and dining environment, making dining-in more desirable to more customers. Having more Drive thus would help result to less waiting time for the customers however the downside to this would be the necessity for more employees to run and operate the larger kitchen and the second Drive-Thru window. As for having more registrars, McDonalds is a fast food restaurant that has a great number of customers who go to the restaurant everyday. Most customers find it a hassle to wait in long lines. McDonalds should make customers happy to keep them coming back by adding more registers and training a more efficient workforce. This would mean also more employees but the added registrars need not be open regularly but only during the peak hours.

Lastly, It has been recognized that McDonalds has a steady source of revenue from its overweight customers. McDonalds must retain these customers by making their dining experience as pleasurable as possible. They could do this by having a more comfortable seating and dining environment that would make dining-in more desirable to more customers McDonalds must adjust their restaurants to become more comfortable Alternative 2 In line with their competitors's strategies of continual product innovation, McDonalds should have to allocate more money and time to improving their food and give more importance to the promotion and advertising of its quality. In other words, they should try to raise the quality of the food and then advertise it. They should not try to be what they " re not and market themselves better. They should have a campaign that focus on having a higher-quality product and actually deliver one.

This could help with the growing dissatisfaction with regards to the quality aspect of fast food restaurants such as McDonalds. However, this would mean an added cost to the company but could greatly help improve the cheap and greasy image of the product. VI. Decision If there is enough money and budget, McDonalds should try to do both alternative's 1 and 2. Alternative 1 would help build customer satisfaction as it caters to customer comfort and satisfaction while alternative 2 would greatly help improve public perception of the restaurant and the product that it offers. VII.

Recommendation McDonalds should invest more time and money in planning out the details of Alternative 1, when it comes to how the restaurant should go about having a second-drive through window and having more cash registers. In order to be cost-effective when it comes to additional labor cost, both need not be opened regularly but only during peak hours to lessen customer-waiting time be it in the ordering line or in the drive-through. They should also plan out seating arrangements that would be friendly especially to their overweight customers who have been a constant source of revenue for the company. For alternative 2, they could hire qualified marketing personnel to help them enhance their restaurant and public image.