Submitted by: Submitted by AgaW
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Category: Business and Industry
Date Submitted: 09/23/2011 10:14 AM
Case Study # 1: McDonald’s Corporation
Customer tastes change because people change and because they acquire new information. From children, through teenagers and middle-aged to the elders, an approach to the matter of food and nutrition changes significantly. While growing older, people start taking better care of themselves and thinking about weight control and general health. That’s where the trend of “being organic” came from and that’s why children who don’t eat anything green most of their lives start eating vegetables regularly. These changes have a huge impact on McDonald’s who is a leading company in the fast-food market. People don’t want “cheap and greasy” anymore, they prefer to pay a few dollars more and eat something healthy. Many potentially revolutionary products have failed simply because of their inability to build a healthy perception about themselves in the customers’ minds (Ghosh, Balaji, Shah, Sherlekar, Sidana, 2010, p. 4).
According to an old saying The customer comes first or The customer is always right McDonald’s and its competition are doing their best to meet their customers’ needs. People need diversity so McDonald’s offers seasonal menu which contains fresh lettuce and tomato on summer and potatoes on winter; salads and desserts are also included in the offer. A way to learn what the customers need is to observe their response on competition’s products. When Burger King’s Chicken Whooper appeared on the market and became a huge success: “let to double-digit same-store-sales growth at restaurants” (Peter & Donnelly, 2011, p. 253), McDonald’s replied coming out with the whole “New Tastes Menu” which included new chicken sandwiches and put it at the forefront of its offerings (Peter & Donnelly, 2011, p. 252).
The big advantage McDonald’s has on its position is that it was a first-mover. When people think hamburger they automatically think McDonald’s. Another thing which keeps this chain of restaurants interesting is its menu...