McDonald’s Butchery Services Marketing Plan

Executive Summary

McDonald’s mainly deals with the sales of hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chickens, French fries, breakfast items, soft drinks, milkshakes and desserts (McDonald’s par. 2). The company also introduced salads, fish, wraps, smoothies and fruits to satisfy the increasing needs of the customers. The company will be introducing butchery services (selling of raw meat products) to its line of business. This service will be introduced with an aim of attracting new clients and to generate more revenue for the company.

This market plan will develop strategies based on the company’s mission, which is to be the customer’s favorite place. The plan will also be aligned to its global strategy “Plan to Win”, which puts emphasis on exceptional customer experience (McDonald’s par. 2). The main objective of this plan is therefore be to market the new service to create the required level of customer awareness in the market.

The company will require resources to invest in the new line of business especially in monetary terms. The money will cover construction of new stands, meeting statutory requirements such as the required licenses, recruitment of staff to run the stands, purchase of the inputs and advertising costs. The efforts of this marketing plan are expected to bring returns in the next two years since it is projected the company will have achieved the required capacity of customers to generate substantial profits.

Competitor Analysis

McDonald’s main competitors in the fast food chain industry are Burger King, Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Subway among others. Most of these fast food chains sale the same products as McDonald’s, although they are differentiated. Their main strategies include providing customized services, advertising and promoting marketing activities in the markets that they operate. Expected competitors in the butchery business are be Tyson, Cargill, JBS and the National Beef.

According to Eilene (par. 5), approximately 42 million cattle are slaughtered in the United States alone annually. This indicates that more people are consuming meat products per day. The companies are well established and therefore, McDonald’s is expecting challenges in winning some of their customers. However, the company will begin by competing for the 20 percent controlled by the other companies.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

The company will rely on its strong brand name, reputation and image to penetrate the market. The company is renowned for quality services in the fast food industry, a factor that has made it the number one choice for many consumers. The company will also rely on the large market share it commands to be their first customers. The point of sales will be placed near the restaurants so that they are introduced to the new service as they dine in the restaurants. The company’s strategy to win over customers will also be vital in this section since it has helped the company to dominate the fast food segment (Kotler and Gary 67).

Weaknesses

The company has been associated with an unhealthy food image. This has made a section of people to distance themselves from the company. Winning back such people so that they become buyers of the company’s meat products will therefore be a challenge. Furthermore, the company has been involved in various legal suits in the past. These cases were publicized and they make it difficult for the firm to win the trust of some consumers (McDonald’s par. 2).

Opportunities

More people in the world especially in America are consuming meat products. The company will exploit this opportunity to win some of them. Furthermore, the company sells cooked meat products in its restaurants. The butcheries will be convenient for consumers that prefer to carry some raw meat to their homes to cook them themselves and for those who may not have time to go to the other sellers. Furthermore, McDonald’s has presence in many countries some of which may not have reputable companies selling meat products. The company could use its reputation to take over such markets.

Threats

There are some well established companies in this industry especially in the American market. As indicated earlier, the four main players control 80 percent of the market, which is a significant consumer base. The other 20 percent also of the market has other strong players and ousting some of them will be challenging. Furthermore, there are increasing health concerns on the risks associated with consuming meat. Increasing awareness on the side effects of taking meat has adverse effects on the volume of sales generated by the players. This subsequently hurts the revenues. This will be challenging for the company as it enters a market that is gaining awareness on the side effects of meat products (Kotler and Gary 71).

Marketing Plan

Product

The company will develop captivating wrappers for the products. The recommended name on the wrappers will be Raw McDonald’s. The company will also ensure that it sells quality meat products whether it is the fresh or the processed type. The product package will bear a conspicuous company logo so that it is easily identifiable. The nutritional composition will also be made available on the package for the health conscious people in order to avoid inconveniences.

Price

Any product sold by McDonald’s is perceived to be of high quality. Generally, customers rate the quality of a product based on the price of the product. It will therefore be dangerous to use low price to penetrate the market since it will be perceived that the commodity is of low quality. The price will therefore be based on the quantity purchased but it will reflect the high quality of the product (McDonald’s par. 3).

Promotions

The company will create consumer awareness through advertising its products through various means. The first means will be through television, radio, online means and the newspapers. The other means will be to advertise the new service on the menus in the restaurants so that the customer becomes aware of the new development while reading the menus.

Place

The point of sale will be located strategically near the McDonald’s eating point or inside the restaurants if there is enough room. This will ensure that the customers access the point of sale easily. Others will also be distributed in other areas such as major shopping malls where there are plenty of people doing shopping.

Financial Plan

The company expects to earn $ 5,000,000 from the sale of beef in the next three years per annum. The projected costs of setting up the required infrastructure and meeting regulatory requirements are expected to be approximately $4,000,000. Advertising will require approximately $1,000,000. The company expects to begin realizing profits in the second year of operation, which is expected to be $800,000.

Conclusion

The company expects to make Raw McDonald’s to be among the company’s top revenue generators. This plan will increase customer awareness on this product and help in winning the market share. The company’s strategy is to win and all efforts in advertising will be directed at winning customers from the current players in the industry. Moreover, the result is expected to be a successful product and increased revenues for the company.

Works Cited

Eilene, Ostlind. “The Big Four Meatpackers.” High Country News Magazine. 2011. Web.

Kotler, Philip, and Gary, Armstrong. Principles of Marketing. 14 edn. New Jersey, NJ: Prentice Hall. 2012. Print.

McDonald’s. Good Ingredients, Good Food. 2013. Web.