Analysis Of Customer Satisfaction At Mcdonalds Kfc Marketing Essay
For assignment help please contact at [email protected] and
Executive summary of the project
With the increase in spending capacity of Indian middle class society, the
mind set of consumers have changed in relation to recreational activities.
More frequently people have started to move out to eat, this has created
scope for many fast food chains. But along with that it has also created
competition among different food chains.
Hence each and everyone plays a major role in attracting customers. The
trend can be seen by the increasing number of food chains.
That is why this topic was chosen for further study as this particular
industry is fast becoming very competitive.
This project comprises a brief analysis of the Indian fast food industry and
the competition that marks the trend, different companies and various
players are analyzed from their competing strategies. Some of these fast
food chains are Nirula's, Pizza Hut, McDonald's, Haldiram's.
Further the main scope of the study is to conduct a comparative analysis on
two of the major players in the food services industry, which is McDonalds
and KFC. The research tries to develop a case study which analyzes
McDonalds and KFC's strengths and their business process very closely
with a greater emphasis on how they do a better job than most competitors
at serving their customers. In addition to this a consumer research was
undertaken with the objective of assessing the service quality of McDonalds
v/s KFC on the basis of:
Tangibles
Reliability
Empathy
Responsiveness
Price Sensitivity
Literature Review
A synoptic review of the literature brings to the fore insights into any past comparison made between McDonald's & KFC.
A related article published by Vishal Krishna, BusinessWorld, 10 October
2009 on the Third Eyesight website which is a consulting firm states:
Indian shopping hotspots are sporting more and more golden arches these
days. If McDonald's is expanding like never before, not far away is KFC
(Kentucky Fried Chicken), though on a lesser scale. Their guests are young,
their menus glocalized, their branding established, and their menus are no
longer over-priced. After more than a decade in the highly fragmented quick
service restaurant (QSR) segment - only 20 per cent of the Rs 10,000-crore
segment is organized - McDonald's and KFC are growing at a nippy 20-25
per cent, despite the slowdown.
"In a recession, we see ourselves as a good substitute for premium dining,"
says Amit Jatia, managing director of Hardcastle Restaurants, a joint
venture partner of McDonald's. "We are rapidly expanding because we have
tested the supply chain for over 15 years and it has given us the opportunity
to scale up." McDonald's, which had 20 stores in India till 2002, today has
160. It plans to open 200 more over five years, with an investment of Rs 500
crore. KFC, the smaller player with 52 restaurants, plans to open over 100
more outlets in the next two years.
Though McDonald's foray into chicken nuggets this year has taken it into
KFC territory, the companies give the impression of ignoring each other.
"The Indian market is very large for QSRs and our focus is on large portions
of white meat, while the competition focuses on different products," says
Unnat Varma, marketing director of Yum Restaurants, which has been
developing KFC and Pizza Hut in India. The pricing of its menus makes
McDonald's a quick eatery with the average per person spend at Rs 100.
KFC's spend is higher, at Rs 125-150.
In 2009, McDonald's guest count has crossed 30 million; in 1996, when it
started, the count was a little more than 200,000. KFC's annual guest count
is expected to rise from 3 million today to 5 million by the end of 2010.
Many Indian retailers have not turned cash positive because they burnt
most of their money on building the front-end. But, "McDonald's and KFC
have got an amalgam of things right," says Harish Bijoor, a Bangalore-based
brand and marketing consultant. "While McDonald's has converted millions
of people with its Rs 20 happy price menu, KFC has done it with its large
portions as a QSR-plus restaurant."
Staying Ahead In The Numbers Game
It has taken McDonald's, which has a global turnover of $22 billion (Rs 1.1
lakh crore), almost 12 years to operationally break even in India (KFC is yet
to break even). That in itself is not unusual; Bijoor says cereal maker
Kellogg's took 23 years to break even in Mexico. "The costs incurred on
store design and supply chains are huge," says Jatia. "Now, I am expanding
in Chennai and I have to prepare the back-end to service that region, which
requires large investments." Of McDonald's' Rs 1,200 crore investments in
India so far, Rs 250 crore was for the supply chain alone.
McDonald's supply chain in is decentralised - a store manager sends a
requisition to its logistics partner Radhakrishna Foodland (RKF) though a
data management system, who in turn informs Vista Foods, which
McDonald's' global supplier, OSI Global, bought in partnership with
Hardcastle Restaurants. "We source everything for McDonald's locally and
process."
Other than a tie-up with Venky's for chicken, KFC outsources buns,
vegetables and transportation from different vendors. While this explains its
slow expansion and gives McDonald's a clear advantage, KFC's limited,
chicken-based menu does not need the kind of supply chain McDonald's has
struggled to establish. It is also the reason why McDonald's can envisage
expanding faster into the metros as well as the tier-I and tier-II cities, but
KFC cannot for now.
Introduction to Project
Industry
Overview
(Fast Food Industries)
Introduction
The food industry is on a high as Indians continue to have a feast. Fuelled
by what can be termed as a perfect ingredient for any industry - large
disposable incomes - the food sector has been witnessing a marked change
in consumption patterns, especially in terms of food. An increasing number
of international fast food chains rushing to India is because all of them see
tremendous potential in for this type of business. The large upwardly mobile
population in the urban areas tend to eat out more often or business or for
leisure.
The various players operating in India are the well established Indian chains
like Nirula's, Haldiram's and multinational companies like McDonalds, KFC,
Pizza hut, Domino's pizza, etc.
In addition to these, apparently some of the best known international food
chains are looking at India. Among them are Great American Disaster, The
Burger King, Mexican food chain Tacogrill, Move-n-pick, etc. are some of
them to name.
At present all these players are fighting for a small pie, as fast food is really
not a big habit with Indians, but they see a big potential.
The players are fighting on products, pricing and positioning and trying to
convert the first trials into regular purchase by providing delightful service
quality. The focus is on product quality and standardization of taste.
Consistency is the key, as its standardization in fast food as the consumer is
short on time and wants to satisfy his taste buds with a consistent taste
experience.
Beyond this each player has its own strategy to expand consumer base.
- Some feel that pricing is not the deciding factor since fast food industry is
not price sensitive market because it is not a regular diet of Indians.
- Some others are competing on positioning which is surprisingly varied,
giving the small size of the market.
- For most, targeting children seems the right strategy.
- Advertising is popular.
However, with competition rising most chains are increasing reach as well
as working on establishing a national or local presence.
As the fast food companies have expanded around the world, they have had
to adapt to local sensitivities. For instance, there were disturbances in India
when it was learned that McDonalds's food items were pre-cooked in beef
fat in the USA, because Hindus revere cows and cannot eat beef.
Trends in the fast food industry
The fast food industry is estimated to grow at 9-12 per cent, on the basis of
an estimated GDP growth rate of 6-8 per cent, during the Eleventh Five
year plan period. Value addition of food is expected to increase from the
current 8 per cent to 35 per cent by the end of 2025.
The popularity of food and agro products is not surprising when the sector
is now offering a growth of more than 100 percent in sales. With such
promise in the sector, a number of foreign companies have joined the fray.
While US brands such as McDonald's, Pizza hut and Kentucky Fried
Chicken have become household names, more are on their way.
The market scenario
India is among top 10 market for weekly fast food consumption, an online
survey has found. Most of the countries are from the Asia-pacific region,
with the US being the exception.
According to an A C Neilson study of 28 markets across the US, Europe and
the Asia-Pacific, carried out through the internet in interviews with more
than 14000 consumers, Asians are the world's greatest fast food fans.
Percentage of adult population eating at takeaway restaurants at least once
every week:
Hong Kong 61 %
Malaysia 59 %
Philippines 54 %
Singapore 50 %
Thailand 44 %
China 41 %
India 37 %
Europe 11 %
Type of cuisine, price and convenient location were found to be the most
important criteria across all three regions
The competitive factors to be considered to succeed in the fast food
industry: -
• To succeed a fast food chain should always be working in improving
their quality of food they offer to their consumers.
• The development of new product from time to time is critical to stay on
top of the market; consumers always look forward to new products that
businesses have to offer.
• The frequent analysis of demographics helps the business to keep
active awareness of a risk in the change of their target market in a
particular area. The analysis helps businesses keep track of any change
needed to cater to changing demographics.
Fast food industry in India on the riseÂ
EATING AT home remains very much inbuilt in Indian culture and changes
in eating habits are very slow moving with barriers to eating out entrenched
in certain sectors of Indian society. The growth in nuclear families,
particularly in urban India, exposure to global media and Western cuisine
and an increasing number of women joining the workforce have had an
impact on eating out trends. Which has lead us to a new era of eating- 'fast
food'. The name it self says the meaning of the food that can be prepared
and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be
considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a
restaurant or store with low quality preparation and served to the customer
in a packaged form for take-out/take-away.
Market size and major players
Dominated by McDonalds having as many as 123 outlets.
Domino's pizza is present in around 274 locations.
Pizza hut is also catching up and it has planned to establish 147 outlets at
the end of 2009.
Subways have established around 145Â outlets.
Nirula's is established in Delhi and Northern India. However, it claims to
cater 50,000 guests every day. It has future expansion plans for more than
50 outlets every year, for next three years.
The main reason behind the success of the multinational chains is their
expertise in product development, sourcing practices, quality standards,
service levels and standardised operating procedures in their restaurants, a
strength that they have developed over years of experience around the
world. The homegrown chains have in the past few years of competition
with the MNCs, learnt a few things and has made us proud, for example,
today, you might not find McDonald's burger every where but one can have
a sip of Café Coffee Day coffee.
Reason for emergence
Gender roles:Â Gender roles are now changing. Females have started
working outside. So, they have no time for their home and cooking
food. Fast food is an easy way out because these can be prepared easily.
Workingwomen have no time for cooking.
Customer sophistication and confidence:Â Consumers are becoming more
sophisticated now. They don't want to prepare food and spend their time
and energy in household works. They are building their confidence more on
'ready to eat and easy to serve' kind of foods.
Paucity of time:Â People have no time for cooking. Because of emergence of
working women and also number of other entertainment items. Most of the
time either people work or want to enjoy with their family.
Large population:Â India being a second largest country in terms of
population possesses large potential market for all the products/services.
This results into entry of large number of fast food players in the country.
Relaxation in rules and regulations: with the economic liberalization of
1991, most of the tariff and non-tariff barriers from the Indian boundaries
are either removed or minimized. This helped significantly the MNCs to
enter in the country.
Menu diversification: Increase in consumption of pizzas, burgers and other
type offast foods.Â
Challenges for the industry
Social and cultural implications of Indians switching to western breakfast
food:
Eating meat is not explicitly prohibited, but many Hindus are vegetarian
because they adhere to the concept of ahimsa. Those seeking spiritual unity
may avoid garlic and onions. The concept of purity influences Hindu food
practices. Products from cows (eg, milk, yogurt, ghee-clarified butter) are
considered pure. Pure foods can improve the purity of impure foods when
they are prepared together. But now, Indians are switching to fast
food that contain all those things that are considered impure or against
their beliefs. Some traditional and fundamentalist are against this
transformation of food habit and number of times they provoke their
counterparts to revolt against such foods. And that is what happened when
McDonald's decided to enter the complexity of Indian business landscape,
counting only on its 'fast food global formula', without any apparent
previous cultural training.
Emphasis on the usage of bio-degradable products:Â Glasses, silverware,
plates and cloth napkins are never provided with fast food. Instead, paper
plates and napkins, polyurethane containers, plastic cups and tableware,
drinking cartons or PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles are used and
these are all disposable. Many of these items are tossed in the garbage
instead of being recycled, or even worse, merely thrown on the ground. This
burdens nature unnecessarily and squanders raw materials. In order to
reduce soil and water pollution, government now emphasises more on the
usage of bio-degradable products.
Retrenchment of employees:Â Most of new industries will be capital
intensive and may drive local competitors, which have more workers, out of
business.Â
Profit repatriation:Â Repatriation of profits is another area of concern for
Indian economy. As when multinational enters the any countries, people and
government hope that it will increase the employment rate and result in
economic growth. However, with the multinational operation, host country
experiences these benefits for a short time period. In long run neither
employment increases (because of capital intensive nature of MNC's) nor it
increases the gross domestic product or gross national product because
whatever MNC's earn they repatriate that profit back to their home country.
Problems of industry
Environmental friendly products cost high:Â Government is legislating laws
in order to keep check on the fast food industry and it is emphasizing
more on the usage of bio-degradable and environment friendly products.
But associated with this issue is the problem that fast food player faces -
the cost associated with the environment friendly products. They cost much
higher than the normal products that companies use for packaging or
wrapping their products.
Balance between societal expectation and companies economic objectives:
To balance a society's expectation regarding environment with the
economic burden of protecting the environment. Thus, one can see that one
side pushes for higher standards and other side tries to beat the standard
back, thereby making it an arm wrestling and mind boggling exercise.
Trends in Indian market
Marketing to children: Fast food outlets in India target children as their
major customers. They introduce varieties of things that will attract the
children's attention and by targeting children they automatically target
their parents.Â
Low level customer commitment:Â Because of the large number of food
retail outlets and also because of the tendency of customer to switch from
one product to other, this industry faces low level customer commitment.
Value added technology services:Â There is continuous improvement in the
technology as far as fast food market in India is considered. The reason
behind that is food is a perishable item and in order to ensure that it
remains fresh for a longer period of time. Earlier, Indian people prefer
eating at home but now with the change in trend there is also need for
improvement and up gradation of technology in food sector.
Attracting different segments of the market: Fast food outlets are
introducing varieties of products in order to cater the demands of each and
every segment of market. They are introducing all categories of product so
that people of all age, sex, class, income group etc can come and become a
customer of their food line.
Major players
In India the major players which constitute the Indian fast food industry
includes Indian as well as Multinational companies.
These are:
1. Nirula's
Established in 1934, Nirula's today is a diversified group having a chain
Waiter service restaurants, Family style restaurants, Ice Cream parlors,
pastry shops and food processing plants in India.
The chain with over 60 outlets operating in 5 states successfully caters to
the Indian palate of over 50000 guests every day for over 70 years.
The restaurants serve a wide variety of multi-cuisine foods, both western
and Indian including pizzas, burgers, chana kulcha, saag-roti and much
more!
Ice cream parlors offers an extensive range of exciting and innovative ice
cream flavors with one new flavor added every month
Nirula's pastry shops are a one-stop shop for bakery and confectionary
items.
2. Pizza hut
In 1996 Pizza hut came to India with a dine in restaurant in Bangalore that
has special vegetarian pizzas. In addition to traditional Italian topping, it
incorporates Indian favorites such as chicken tikkas, lamb korma, etc. In its
list of innovative toppings, along with pizzas the menu features appetizers
like garlic bread and soups, fresh salads, oven baked pastas and choice f\of
ice-cream sundaes.
In 1997 pizza hut opened a restaurant in the capital's bustling M-Block
market in Greater Kailash-I, unlike the existing pizza hut at shanti niketan
which is delivery counter for just pizzas, this is dine-in where the entire
menu is available.
3. Domino's pizza
It was incorporated in 1995 as the master franchise o Domino's pizza
international inc., of USA.. the first Domino's pizza store in India opened in
January 1996 at new Delhi. Today it has grown into a countrywide network
of over 104 outlets in 30 cities.
Ever since it was established, Domino's Pizza India has maintained its
position of market leadership with its constant product innovation and
maintenance of stringent service standards. It has established a reputation
for being a home delivery specialist capable of delivering pizzas within 30
minutes. It was the first one to start this facility to customers..
Domino's constantly strives to develop products that suits the tastes of its
customers. Thus time and again Domino's has been innovating toppings
suitable to taste buds of the local populace and these have been very well
accepted by the Indian market.
4. Haldiram's
Haldiram began in 1937as a small sweet shop in Bikaner, in Rajasthan state
of India.
In 2001 the turnover of haldiram's was Rs. 4 billion. The group has
presence not only in India but in several countries all over world.
Till early 1990s, Haldiram comprised of three units- Kolkata, Nagpur and
New Delhi.
Haldiram has many 'firsts' to its credit- It was first company to brand
namkeens. And first company to offer traditional Indian items like 'panipuri',
'chatpapri' and so on.
The company faced tough competition not only from sweets and snack food
vendors in unorganized, domestic and international competitors but also
from its own units because of conflict between them.
At Haldiram's quality is the obsession and this spirit has given its
competitors a cutting edge. Haldiram offers a very wide range of delicacies
like- Namkeens, Sweets, Syrups, Papads, North Indian dishes, South Indian
dishes, Pastries.
Sweets itself has a very wide variety Bengali sweets include Sandesh and
Rasgullas.
Other popular Indian sweets are:- Kheer, Halwa, Gulabjamun, Rasmalai and
Kulfi.
Variety of refreshments include- Chat- a spicy mix of different ingredients,
topped with tangy chutneys 'sauce' example, Bhelpuri.
Snacks include- Samosas, Pakoras, Aloo tikki, Kachori, Pao bhaji, Golgappa,
Dhokla and many more….
Company profile
McDonalds India
Introduction
McDonald's in India is a 50-50 joint venture partnership between
McDonald's Corporation [USA] and two Indian businessmen. Amit Jatia's
company Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt. Ltd. owns and operates McDonald's
restaurants in Western India. While Connaught Plaza Restaurants Pvt. Ltd
headed by Vikram Bakshi owns and operates the Northern operations.
Amit Jatia and Vikram Bakshi are like-minded visionaries who share
McDonald's complete commitment to Quality, Service, Cleanliness and
Value (QSC&V). Having signed their joint-venture agreements with
McDonald's in April 1995, they trained extensively, along with their Indian
management team, in McDonald's restaurants in Indonesia and the U.S.A.
before opening the first McDonald's restaurant in India.
As a leader in QSR (Quick Service Restaurant) segment McDonalds has
pioneered various industry benchmark practices over the past decade of
serving Indian customers, including new concepts such as
# Oil alliances in India by linking with petroleum giants BPCL and HPCL.
Three such alliances with BPCL outlets are in mathura (2000) (up), doraha
(2002) (Punjab) and chanakyapuri (new delhi-2005)
# Novel menu formats such as an Express model with a limited menu and
kiosks with a variety of dessert offerings
# Home delivery (mcdeliveryâ„¢ -2004); providing even more convenience
to our customers. In 2006, mcdelivery on bicycle at chandni chowk and
2007 all India single delivery number were introduced.
# First drive thru restaurant in India at noida (up) in1997.
Restaurant count
McDonald's has 155 restaurants in India of which 95 are in north & east
India and 60 in west & south India .
Our Philosophy
"We take the burger business more seriously than anyone else." When
McDonald's founder, Ray Kroc made that memorable statement, he was
letting the world in on the philosophy and secret behind McDonald's
phenomenal success.
Our vision to be India's "best" quick service restaurant experience is
supported by a set of principles and core values [McDonald's Way]
The principles that guide us …
Quality, Service, Cleanliness & Value - It is an unflinching McDonald's
ideology that our customers must always get quality products, served
quickly and with a smile, in a clean and pleasant environment; and all at a
fair price
We are committed to exceeding our customers' expectations in every
restaurant every time.
We have a passion and a responsibility for enhancing and protecting the
McDonald's brand.
We believe in a collaborative management approach, employing a mutually
respectful business philosophy,
We will seize every opportunity to innovate and lead the industry on behalf
of our customers.
The McDonald's Promise
QSC&V......The Foundation that built McDonald's success
When asked to explain McDonald's success, founder Ray Kroc used to say,
"We take the hamburger business more seriously than anyone else."
Kroc was a perfectionist. From the day he opened his first restaurant, he
vowed to give his customers high quality products, served quickly --and with
a smile, in a clean and pleasant environment, and all at a fair price. Quality,
Service, Cleanliness and Value (QSC&V) became the philosophy that drove
McDonald's business.
McDonald's Quality Management instills the culture of quality through such
principles as being customer driven, managing with facts, valuing people,
and continually improving every aspect of our business
Service that is fast and friendly and has always been a foundation for
success at
                                    Â
        McDonald's
Cleanliness for us means having the cleanest and freshest facilities from the
kitchen to the rest rooms and parking lots
Value at McDonald's means the total experience...... great food, friendly
folks, a clean environment, quick and accurate service and fun!
Company profile
KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN
Introduction
KFC Corporation, or KFC, founded and also known as Kentucky Fried
Chicken, is
a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky. KFC has
been a brand
and operating segment, called a "concept", of Yum! Brands since 1997
when that
company was spun off from PepsiCo as Tricon Global Restaurants Inc.
There are more than 14,000 KFC outlets in more than 80 countries and
territories around the world, serving some 12 million customers each day.
The company was founded as Kentucky Fried Chicken
by Colonel Harland Sanders in 1952, though the idea of KFC's fried
chicken actually goes back to 1930. The company adopted the abbreviated
form of its name in 1991. Starting in April 2007, the company began using
its original name, Kentucky Fried Chicken, for its signage, packaging and
advertisements in the United States as part of a new corporate re-
branding program;Â newer and remodeled restaurants will have the new
logo and name while older stores will continue to use the 1980s signage.
Additionally, Yum! continues to use the abbreviated name freely in its
advertising.
KFC HISTORY-AT-A-GLANCE
9/9/1890
Harland Sanders is born just outside Henryville, Indiana.
1900-1924
Harland Sanders holds a variety of jobs including: farm hand, streetcar
conductor, army private in Cuba, blacksmith's helper, railyard fireman,
insurance salesman, tire salesman and service station operator for Standard
Oil.
1930
In the midst of the depression, Harland Sanders opens his first restaurant in
the small front room of a gas station in Corbin, Kentucky.
Sanders serves as station operator, chief cook and cashier and names the
dining area "Sanders Court & Café."
1937
The Sanders Court & Café adds a motel and expands the restaurant to 142
seats.
1939
The Sanders Court & Café is first listed in Duncan Hines' "Adventures in
Good Eating."
Fire destroys The Sanders Court & Café, but it is rebuilt and reopened.
1940
Birthdate of the Original Recipe
1952
The Colonel begins actively franchising his chicken business by traveling
from town to town and cooking batches of chicken for restaurant owners
and employees.
The Colonel awards Pete Harman of Salt Lake City with the first KFC
franchise. A handshake agreement stipulates a payment of a nickel to
Sanders for each chicken sold.
1955
An interstate highway is built to bypass Corbin, Kentucky. Sanders sells the
service station on the same day that he receives his first social security
check for $105. After paying debts owed, he is virtually broke. He decides
to go on the road to sell his Secret Recipe to restaurants.
1957
Kentucky Fried Chicken first sold in buckets
1960
The Colonel's hard work on the road begins to pay off and there are 190
KFC franchisees and 400 franchise units in the U.S. and Canada.
1964
Kentucky Fried Chicken has more than 600 franchised outlets in the United
States, Canada and the first overseas outlet, in England. Sanders sells his
interest in the U.S. company for $2 million to a group of investors headed
by John Y. Brown Jr., future governor of Kentucky. The Colonel remains a
public spokesman for the company.
1965
Colonel Sanders receives the Horatio Alger Award from the American
Schools and Colleges Association.
1966
The Kentucky Fried Chicken Corporation goes public.
1969
The Kentucky Fried Chicken Corporation is listed on the New York Stock
Exchange.
1971
More than 3,500 franchised and company-owned restaurants are in
worldwide operation when Heublein Inc. acquires KFC Corporation.
1976
An independent survey ranks the Colonel as the world's second most
recognizable celebrity.
1979
KFC cooks up 2.7 billion pieces of chicken. There are approximately 6,000
KFC restaurants worldwide with sales of more than $2 billion.
12/16/1980
Colonel Harland Sanders, who came to symbolize quality in the food
industry, dies.
1982
Kentucky Fried Chicken becomes a subsidiary of R.J. Reynolds Industries,
Inc. (now RJR Nabisco, Inc.) when Heublein, Inc. is acquired by Reynolds.
1986
PepsiCo, Inc. acquires KFC from RJR Nabisco, Inc.
1997
PepsiCo, Inc. announces the spin-off of its quick service restaurants - KFC,
Taco Bell and Pizza Hut - into Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc.
2002
Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc., the world's largest restaurant company,
changes its corporate name to YUM! Brands, Inc. In addition to KFC, the
company owns A&W® All-American Food® Restaurants, Long John
Silvers®, Pizza Hut® and Taco Bell® restaurants.
2006
More than a billion of the Colonel's "finger lickin' good" chicken dinners are
served annually in more than 80 countries and territories around the world.
KFC India
KFC is the world's No.1 Chicken QSR and has industry leading stature
across many countries like UK, Australia, South Africa, China, USA,
Malaysia and many more. KFC is the largest brand of Yum Restaurants, a
company that owns other leading brands like Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, A&W and
Long John Silver. Renowned worldwide for it's finger licking good food, KFC
offers its signature products in India too! KFC has introduced many
offerings for its growing customer base in India while staying rooted in the
taste legacy of Colonel Harland Sander's secret recipe. Its signature dishes
include the "crispy outside, juicy inside" Hot and Crispy Chicken, flavorful
and juicy Original Recipe chicken, the spicy, juicy & crunchy Zinger Burger,
Toasted Twister, Chicken Bucket and a host of beverages and desserts. For
the vegetarians in India, KFC also has great tasting vegetarian offerings
that include the Veggie Burger, Veggie Snacker and Veg Rice meals. In
India, KFC is growing rapidly and today has presence in 13 cities with close
to 72 restaurants.
US-based Yum! Restaurants is planning to invest up to Rs 150 crore to more
than double the number of outlets of its quick service restaurant brand
'KFC' in the country by 2010. The fast food brands operator is also aiming
to tap the 'chilled beverages' market with its newly launched store-in-store
concept of 'Krushers' in the KFC restaurants. KFC is planning to invest up
to Rs 150 crore in the Indian market by 2010 and will expand the KFC chain
in the country to 110 restaurants by end of the period, from 50 now.
Research Methodology
Objectives of research study
The primary objective of the research was to survey the consumers and try
to identify whether the customers are satisfied with the services provided
by McDonalds and KFC. Whether the services provided by them are as
desired by the customers or not.
The research also tries to analyze and compare the two fast food chains on
different customer value attributes and try to find their performance.
The services provided by McDonalds and KFC have been compared on the
basis on following dimensions of service quality :
Tangibles: appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and
communication material
Reliability: ability to perform dependable services accurately
Empathy: Provision of caring, individualized attention to customers
Responsiveness: the willingness to help customers and to provide prompt
service
Affordability: prices offered by both chains
Customer Value Analysis
Identify the major attributes that customers value in fast food restaurants
Assess the quantitative importance of different attributes
Compare McDonald's and KFC's performance on different customer values.
Assess the brand recall and brand preference for the two chains.
Assess the economic viability and compare prices of both brands.
Data collection
In this project both primary data as well as secondary data are used.
Primary data
Primary Data are those, which are collected afresh and for the first time,
and thus happens to be original in character. Primary data used in this
project is collected through two methods, namely, Questionnaire method
and Direct personal Interview method. Both these methods proved to be
great help in getting the required information.
Secondary data
Secondary Data are those, which have already been collected by someone
else and which have already been passed through the statistical process.
Some related information on the two companies and any past comparison of
the two chains was collected through secondary data from various sources
like Internet, Print Media.
Statistical & Presentation tools used
PRIMARY DATA is:
First classified i.e. grouped qualitatively and quantitatively according to the
situation or the type of the data which was collected.
After classifying is represented in the form of tables i.e. systematically
arranged in columns and rows.
Some of the data is also graphically represented in the form of BAR
CHARTS.
Secondary data is represented:
In the form of tables.
By the way of bar graphs and Pie CHARTS
Sample size and Areas covered
A customer-based survey was conducted in which 100 people were asked to
fill the questionnaire covering the cities of Delhi and Faridabad .
Non Probability sampling was used within which convenience sampling
technique has been used. The responses have been collected from the
customers depending on their availability and their willingness to respond.
Findings
and
Analysis
Findings based on Questionnaire
Q2. Name the first fast food chain that comes to your mind?
Out of the sample of 100, following results were obtained:
McDonald's came out as a clear winner in this aspect, with more than half
the respondents surveyed coming up with McDonald's as their first recall
for a fast food chain.
KFC came in two steps behind McDonald's in the brand recall with only
20% respondents accepting KFC as their top of the mind brand.
Q3. How often do you visit McDonald's?
A reasonable percentage of almost 20% responded to be frequenting
McDonald's at least once a week.
A majority still rated their frequency of visit as once in 15 days or once in a
month.
Q4. How often do you visit KFC?
Over 40% of the people surveyed visited KFC at least once a fortnight.
Not many respondents believed in visiting KFC too frequently with the
percentage of those visiting at least once a week being less than 15%.
Q5. Which fast food chain provides a cleaner and more comfortable ambience?
Customers generally give a high priority to the physical ambience of a
restaurant.
McDonald's was rated as a more comfortable place to eat in by close to 50%
of the respondents.
KFC was not too far behind by 30% rating it still better than McDonald's.
Q6. Which one out of the two maintains consistency in food taste and quality?
A majority of people came across without any bias on this aspect, with
almost 70% rating both McDonald's and KFC equally at maintaining
consistent quality.
Q7. Which fast food chain offers better prices?
McDonald's lived up to its perception of being an economical family eating
joint, with close to 60% respondents being happy with the prices offered,
over KFC.
A reasonable percentage of a little over 20% still believed that even KFC
was an economical brand, over McDonald's.
Q8. Whose advertising do you find more effective?
Advertising is a very important part of any brands marketing mix.
McDonald's again arose as the winner with over half the respondents
finding McDonald's advertising and promotional campaigns more effective
than KFC.
KFC also found some takers for its advertising campaigns with almost 30%
respondents rating KFC's ads over McDonald's.
Q9. Which out of the two provides quicker service?
Prompt service is exactly what makes a fast food chain fast. McDonald's was
a clear favorite here with a little over 50% respondents finding McDonald's
service faster than KFC's.
KFC was close behind with 30% respondents saying that it provides quicker
service over McDonald's.
Q10. Which fast food chain's staff is more helpful and efficient?
Not too much difference was perceived by respondents in the
responsiveness of the staff of both fast food joints, with McDonald's being
rated over KFC by only 15% more respondents.
A reasonable percentage of 20% was observed to rate both chains equally in
the quality and efficiency of their staff.
Q11. What recommendations do you wish to suggest to McDonalds
When asked about any recommendations that respondents might have for
McDonald's, the two most voiced suggestions were too- further improve
overall quality(34%) and providing a better and cleaner eating area(28%).
Close to 20% people still believed that McDonald's should engage in more
Advertising.
Q12. What recommendations do you wish to suggest to KFC.
In contrast to McDonald's, a majority of respondents (45%) recommended
for KFC to have a cleaner and more comfortable physical location.
Also, almost an equal percentage of 20% respondents believed that KFC
should improve its quality and indulge in more advertising and promotions.
Q13. How would you describe your overall eating experience at McDonalds?
A majority of respondents, over 50% rated their overall eating experience at
McDonald's as very good or good (taken together).
Q14. How would you describe your overall eating experience at KFC?
In contrast the percentage of respondents rating their experience as either
very good or good for KFC, was lower than that for McDonald's at around
45%.
Conclusions
and
Recommendations
Conclusions
Going through the analysis of response from the survey conducted, it is
concluded that McDonalds scores a certain edge over KFC in being able to
retain at top. McDonalds is also preferred and the first brand to be recalled
when it comes to the fast food category over Pizza hut, Domino's and KFC.
McDonalds's is perceived as providing a cleaner and more comfortable
physical eating location, over KFC. Also, we can conclude from the survey
that both fast food chains are seen as standardized and offering a consistent
quality at equal levels.
Though not wide but its product line is quite impressive. It includes meals
for both Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian and satisfies both section of
customers, which KFC can not compete with currently.
McDonald's is observed as a more pocket friendly eating experience with
satisfactory prices being offered by the fast food giant. Also McDonald's
staff is rated above KFC in terms of responsiveness and prompt service.
McDonald's advertising has more impact on the people than KFC's. Also,
people believe that McDonald's does a better job of being in the limelight
and maintaining a better top of mind recall than most other fast food chains.
Summarizing all points we conclude that McDonalds is growing faster and
better than KFC by satisfying its customers, by providing quality and
maintaining consistency. KFC needs to look at few crucial aspects to catch
up with McDonald's and increase its market share.
Recommendations
The recommendations for McDonalds is to:
Maintain consistency in the taste and quality of products.
Include more promotional and advertising measures to maintain its brand
recall and increase its market share.
Improve the physical facility at its locations, in terms of a better ambience
and more clean facility.
McDonald's should continue with positioning itself as an economical family
restaurant and constantly look to include more economical offers like the
happy meal it offers.
The recommendations for KFC is to:
Maintain consistency in the taste and quality of products.
Include more promotional and advertising measures to improve its brand
recall and increase its market share.
Focus more on providing a more clean and comfortable physical location
and try and help customers have a better eating experience.
Also, KFC should try to include more health friendly food items in their
menu and try to include a few products for the vegetarian section as well.
KFC needs to better train its staff and reduce the turnaround time, to
improve the promptness of service.
Limitations of the study
Since the road to improvement is never ending, so this study also suffers
from certain limitations. Some of them are as follows:
Scope of project is limited in the sense that only McDonalds and KFC have
been taken for consumer research.
The extent of the survey was Faridabad and New Delhi only. So the
suggestions or arguments given in the report may not hold true for other
locations in India.
It was a time consuming method in which continuous guidance was
required.
Questionnaire method involves some uncertainty of response. Co-operation
on the part of informants, in some cases, was difficult to presume.
Because of time constraints and reserve constraints, a mix of convenient
sampling and judgement sampling was used.
Also because of above mentioned constraints, the sample size chosen for the
survey was 100 people.
It is possible that the information supplied by the informants may be
incorrect. So, the study may lack accuracy.
For presenting about McDonalds and KFC, only secondary source of data
was referred. No interviews with the company personnel, whether the
operational or managerial levels were conducted.