Mcdonalds Case Study

McDonalds has been a consistent leader in the fast food industry. Many changes and market strategies implemented by this company are echoed throughout the industry as other companies and corporations seek to profit by imitating strategies. To truly understand how marketing impacts McDonalds, one must also examine the industry as a whole. First customer tastes must be examined, along with the strategies addressing those tastes. Once the industry is understood, McDonalds can be analyzed as a company to find strengths and weaknesses. The results of the analysis can provide suggestions for marketing strategies, and future predictions and suggestions can be made.

Impacts of Changing Customer Tastes

Customer tastes are continually changing and evolving. Economics teaches that customer tastes and preferences drive industries. Thus changes in customer tastes should be reflected in the industry. For the fast-food industry, most changes can be divided into one of two categories: recession effects or health conscience effects..

Because our economy has been experiencing a severe recession for the past few years, the fast-food industry has had decreasing profit margins as more consumers choose to eat at home ("The changes facing," 2010). Usually the fast-food industry is considered “recession proof” but this latest recession is showing interesting affects ("The changes facing," 2010). Instead of choosing the least expensive option to eat out, customers are choosing to not eat out on most occasions. When customers decide to eat out, they are willing to pay extra for a nicer dining experience, with real plates and silverware. Thus the expanding market of the “fast-casual” restaurants is a serious concern (Peter & Gokhale, 2009). As more companies are entering the industry...