Stiff competition in domestic markets compels most corporations to diversify to unsaturated markets. Although such measures broaden the company’s consumer base and spread markets risks, the endeavor requires extreme diversity managements and personalization of offerings to suit individual markets. McDonald’s, which is an American corporation operating in the fast food niche uses feasible and effective marketing strategies tailored to a particular market. In this regard, this critical analysis papers seeks to explore the similarities and differences in marketing strategies adopted and implemented by the company in different markets.
In global marketing, the first aspect of consideration is language. There is no one-fit-all language for the entire market, owing to the fact that the entity operates across national borders and serves people from different ethnicities and linguistic groups. McDonald’s understand the importance of tailoring their e-commerce websites to the individual language spoken in the target market. For instance, the websites for Cost Arica and Spain is written in Spanish, while that for the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom are written in English. The adoption a different language approach allows the business not only to identify with the region it operates in but also allows customers to order with ease.
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The other aspect of global marketing is advertising. The pop-up ads on the sites are particular to the consumer population that the entity strives to serve. Although it is difficult to identify and categorized people on the basis of their nationalities by just looking at them, it can be stated with an appreciable degree of confidence that the images of people displayed on the websites portray people that are native or associated with the specific market. Also, it is essential to note that there is a thin line between portraying people that are indigenous to a particular country and perpetuating stereotypes. Therefore, the obscurity of the ethnicities and sexualities of most of models portrayed on the website reinforces the notion that the business does not discriminate. By presenting itself as an establishment that does not discriminate, the establishment can appeal to a vast consumer population and prevent the emergence of legal wrangles that would not only imprint a negative public image on the entity but also result in financial penalties.
Although the websites are for different countries, the layout of the websites, food offerings, and McDonald’s logo remains consistent across the board. McDonald’s marketing team has done an impeccable job in fostering brand recognition. The retention of the layout and the McDonald’s logo makes the brands easily cognizable and maintains consistence across the global market. Moreover, since McDonald’s is a franchise, consistency is paramount. Customers need to feel that they are receiving McDonald quality food regardless of their country of residence or the McDonald’s outlet that they choose to visit. Therefore, retaining the logo and layout allows the company to attain the consistency objective and foster consumer loyalty.
Marketers can learn from McDonald’s market strategy the importance of differentiation, tailoring a brand to suit the target population, market segmentation, and ensuring brand consistency. Marketers can learn the importance of not adopting a one-fit-all approach to global marketing.
In conclusion, diversification and globalization of business activities have become an inevitable endeavor as markets become saturated. The upsurge in the competition compels entities to formulate and implement new strategies that would grant the establishment a competitive advantage. Therefore, McDonald’s approach; using different language and different models in the images displayed on its e-commerce outlets allow the target consumer population to identify with the brand and shop with ease. Furthermore, by retaining the logo and the outline of the websites, the company is able to maintain consistency and foster brand recognition. It can be inferred that the company’s marketing strategy is effective and admirable.
References
(2019). Retrieved 20 October 2019, from https://www.mcdonalds.es/ .
McDonald’s UK: Burgers, Fries, Salads & More. Quality Ingredients. (2019). Retrieved 20 October 2019, from https://www.mcdonalds.com/gb/en-gb.html .
McDonald's - Costa Rica. (2019). Retrieved 20 October 2019, from https://www.mcdonalds.co.cr/ .
McDonald's - Official Global Corporate Website. (2019). Retrieved 20 October 2019, from https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd.html .
Your Favourite Burgers, Fries & More | McDonald’s Canada. (2019). Retrieved 20 October 2019, from https://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html .
