McDonald's: The Global Fast-Food Phenomenon and Strategies for Continued Success - Essay Sample

Society today relies so much on fast food restaurants, mainly because we are always hurrying somewhere. Time has become scarce, and the luxury of sitting down to have lunch or brunch is a fallacy. Modernization and industrialization have reduced the time spent to ourselves to the minimum. One is either in school or work. Therefore, McDonald's recognized this gap and swooped in to save the day. Ultimately, McDonald's is a day to day companion, a companion that provides food for satisfaction.

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McDonald's is one of the world's most successful fast-food chains. It has over 30,000 restaurants in 121 countries (Vandenbosch, and Mark).The aforestated figures show it's very ubiquitous, considering we have 195 countries worldwide. Its name is valued as the ninth most valuable brand in the world at $25.3 billion (Vandenbosch, and Mark).Its headquarters are at Oakbrook, Illinois, and was started in 1955 by Ray Crook (Vandenbosch, and Mark).McDonald's vision is to become the world's best quick-service industry. According to McDonald's, being the best means proving the utmost customer service with satisfactory delivery. In the year 2001, McDonald's had $10.1billion in system-wide sales (Vandenbosch, and Mark).One of the strategies employed to achieve this was innovation and technology (Vandenbosch, and Mark).

McDonald's is the most reliable fast food I've ever encountered. It sells a high-quality product at affordable prices. Also, the staff is friendly, and their customer service is superb and commensurate with their motto. If one is in the city, Mcdonald's is the most suitable place to grab lunch and get back to work with a full stomach. Before the pandemic, whenever one was out in the late-night, McDonald's 24hour policy was a lifesaver. One could pop in and have a quick bite and push through the night. If I am out with friends on the weekend, it's quite convenient to grab Big Mac with fries and relax.

In the first segment, McDonald's, with dinner inside, does not fit with the brand's original intention of fast food retail (Vandenbosch, and Mark).However, it does not deviate majorly from its original brand as the varied menu is not so much as that of a hotel but just a small addition to the fast-food menu. That being the case, loyal customers might still relate with this addition, and it might even act as a spur to the customers to try something new.

The second segment McDonuts fits with the brand perfectly as it identifies with Mac's original intention of being a quick-service restaurant (Vandenbosch, and Mark).It seems it was the right move since the Big Mac is now one of the most popular items on the menu, with its iconic and robust formation of the three buns.

Computer installations to the two franchises were in tandem with the brand (Vandenbosch, and Mark).The reason being any business, let alone the fast-food industry, is dependent upon good communication. The internet services provided a streamlined communication channel between the franchises, leading to more efficiency in operations.

The spam breakfast in Hawaii was not in line with the McDonald's fast-food brand (Vandenbosch, and Mark).However, it's a gap that McDonald's recognized and took a chance. In the end, it paid off with Hawaiians ordering 3000 of them on the first day they launched.

The last concept in Columbus, Ohio was not part of the brand (Vandenbosch, and Mark).It seemed more of a diversification move to try and entice customers with new trends or novel ideas. The separation of areas for adults and kids and karaoke brings about some contradiction to the fast-food brand. In that, fast foods are supposed to host customers for short periods, not entice and entertain them for an extended time.

McDonald's should venture in the mid-market with food and beverage (Vandenbosch, and Mark).The rationalization for this is because the brand is associated with the middle class in the economy. Therefore, penetrating this market would be easier since they would have an advantage as their brand is recognizable by the same demographic interested in the mid-market with food and beverages.

In conclusion, McDonald's has grown exponentially over the years since its inception in 1955. Therefore, it is evident that the various strategies it has applied have been beneficial. The above points have revealed its constant need to grow and provide a more fulfilling customer experience. All in all, one can attribute its success and growth to such.

Works Cited

Vandenbosch, Mark B, and Ken Mark. "Ivey Publishing - Product View". Iveycases.Com, 2003, https://www.iveycases.com/ProductView.aspx?id=29603.