Analysis of Fast Food Restaurant Case Solution And Analysis, HBR Case Study Solution & Analysis of Harvard Case Studies

Introduction

Fast food business is growing rapidly in all over the world and huge investments have been made in the industry.The industry has now many established brands that operate worldwide and have a decent amount of market share. Some of the well-known names like McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, Mr. Burger, and Starbucksetc. are now global leaders in the industry.

The kind of fast food business that has been taken under consideration for this document is “casual dining”. The concept is classicand has rapid growth especially in U.S where it is also termed as family style dining but the concept has been evolved with the fast food category which gives it an edge and has many advantages as it offers extended variety in their menu. The menuit offers is not limited unlike the other quick serving restaurants and go far from serving hand-held food. Such restaurants offer plate beef, fish, poultry, wide range of salads, appetizers, wine (exceptional), etc. besides the regular meals that are offered in another quick serving restaurant. The quality and décor of interior including walls, ceiling, floor, tables, seating and the ambience also give an edge and are often preferred as a family place.

Such restaurants usually provide moderate pricing and casual environment with an optional addition of a bar, are usually independently owned and has a wider segment of the target market as compared to other restaurants and QSR.

Segments in Fast Food Industry

1. GEOGRAPHIC

Geographic segmentation divides the audience on the bases of their geographic units such as nations, states, cities, regions, countries, or neighborhood. All fast food chains need to localize the products they are offering keeping in mind the geographical differences in needs and wants. Factors like density, population, climate, etc. should be catered before offering a product. Individual needs of different age groups should be catered according to the regions. The specific eating habits of the regions are also taken into account, i.e., people prefer hamburgers in America, but not in China. The main focus in this segmentation remains in serving the one area and exploiting the regional preferences to attract the target market as food preferences are not similar everywhere.

2. DEMOGRAPHICS

Demographics are key points that need to be taken into account before starting the operations as these factors in getting a clearer view of the target market. Factors like age, income, occupation, gender, etc. are also taken into account as every age group, people with different income brackets, having different occupations, and every gender has their own taste, needs and wants, which eventually leads towards difference in preferences.

For example, McDonald’sis targeting school and college going students who belong to upper middle class and above, irrespective of gender, they are also targeting young urban families who stay in search of spending quality time with their children by starting promotional offers like “happy meal” targeting the kids,they also provide special facilities to attract the kids like “play place”, “Sweet items” and “ice cream”.The demographic is simple to apply as data were already available and also easy to understand.

3. PSHYCHOGRAPHIC

It involvesconsideration of factors like consumer personality traits, attitudes, values, interests, and lifestyle, which help in developing a match between the product and the customers' needs and wants. It is very important to know the likes and dislikes of your customers, forexample, some people prefer an ambience while others don’t, some are health conscious while others are foodies, some prefer fun at weekends while some are usually work oriented. These factors help the company to understand each segment clearly and help design an appropriate product for each segment.

For example, McDonald’sspeaks ofneeds of fulfilling the customers’ self-worth, targeting people who are extroverts and prefer to go out to seek some excitement with their friends and families. It helps the customers to envision that McDonald's is the right place.

4. BEHAVIOURAL

Consumers show different behaviors when it comes to buying any product, i.e.their consumption rate, how they use the product and what is the usage rate, what are the desired benefits they seek from a particular product are key factors etc. that needs to be catered while offering a particular product to a market. Factors like occasions, usage rate, user status, loyalty status, etc. are the key in behavioral segmentation. This type of segmentation is for mature markets as it helps in understanding the individual customer and finding out the methods to convert their usage rate from medium to heavy or to persuading the customers to switch towards particular company. However the market understanding in this segmentation is not as high because the variables are not clearly defined.................

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