SWOT Analysis and Strategies for KFC

¶ … Organisational Marketing Objectives

DEVELOPING ORGANISATIONAL MARKETING OBJECTIVES

Developing Organizational Marketing Objectives

Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)

Executive / Management Summary

Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is a fast food venture specializing in serving its customers with the best products and services at all times. It is the aim of the venture to offer such products and services as part of the plan to have and dominate its market share. Through its mission and vision, the venture has managed to be one of the leading fast food ventures in the market. Coupled with a practical set of marketing strategies and a focused marketing direction, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has managed to take the market by force, and dominate with increasing growth. Currently, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is stable in the market with a solid foundation to progress to a more stable production process. Its objectives drive the marketing and production strategies. The marketing brand is situated within a formidable avenue coupled with its performance in the market. Through a thorough study of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and its operations in the market, the study endeavors to explore the existence, history, structures of performance, and eventual situation of the venture now and into the future.

Strategic Direction

Mission and Vision

Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is concerned with the production of fast foods, specializing in fried chicken. It is a worldwide restaurant with its headquarters in the United States of America. Current CEO is Roger Eaton. The revenue for the company is $9.5 billion as at 2012. The parent to this organization is Yum Brands. The mission of KFC as at 2013 is to "sell food in a fast, friendly environment that appeal to pride conscious, health-minded consumers" (Ozersky, 2012). Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has strengths in that it has established strong trademark recipes. Through its marketing strategies, it has formulated a practical advertising and marketing platform in the market. This marketing and advertising base, which makes use of the social media and other technological forms, is bound to exist for long in service to the company. The company has high brand loyalty coupled with a huge awareness of the brand. Moreover, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has a hygienic, quick service and food Bay for its customers. Some of the threats of the company include high calorie and good fat food, which is against those who are more conscious of the health status. Moreover, its franchise management is a challenge globally.

Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has opportunities in that it has been and is to introduce better products that are vegetarian in nature. It is venturing into newer markets that attract more growth of the revenue. Recently, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) introduced a home delivery service, something that is a step ahead of its competitors in the market. Moreover, there are new items and products being introduced coupled with more spending on resources. All these opportunities are deemed at promoting growth within Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) faces some threats too. There are many other eating joints and restaurants offering the same product as the company. Moreover, the people are frequently changing their lifestyle, including diet issues. This is proving to be a threat to the stability of KFC if it does not strive to meet the even changing preference base. The vision of KFC is to be a global brand that specializes in selling food in a fast, friendly environment that appeals to all people who are conscious of their health.

Marketing Strategies and Strategic Direction

KFC targets city people who have more concern about quality food. The cities are good avenues with high populations that serve as the best market for its products. City people are considered to have the best ground for consuming the product, have easier financial strength, and with the ease of reach. KFC targets young people who are willing to enjoy food unlike the old generation, which is the reason there are many KFC locations near schools, colleges, and workplaces. Part of its other considerations is the geographic variables and demographic segmentation that are critical towards the product of the corporation.

KFC is promoting itself through advertising, creation of public relations, the creation of events and experiences, the creation of packages and sponsors, and sales to increase their production and awareness in the market. KFC has incorporated price skimming to maximize profit. They are using the strategy called pricing above with a belief that their products have a high quality unlike that of competitors. With economic factors, KFC targets upper classes of the economy as they turn into the middle class (Darden, 2002). With psychographic variables, KFC is dividing the market into different groups considering their personality characteristics and lifestyle, like those of middle, upper, and lower classes. With demographic strategies, KFC used statistical analysis to partition the population based on their characteristics like gender, race, occupation, and religion.

Situational analysis

Currently, KFC is doing well in the market. It has managed to withstand its major competitors like McDonald Corporation, Wendy's Company, among others. Most of the competitors are scaling strategies that serve them to beat KFC in the market. Nonetheless, KFC has managed to stage structures that have made it remain dominant within its areas of operation in the global market. Ethically, KFC considers animal welfare through its programs. It respects its suppliers and has credible audits and inspections that ensure it complies with the code of conduct and operation. It complies with the laws and regulations as the federal laws about wages and benefits. It practices non-discrimination of the employees. It appreciates social diversity.

Marketing Performance

The previous marketing and positioning strategies have served the corporation effectively in the market. The marketing strategies like demographic segmentation, psychographic segmentation, among others, have improved the performance of KFC. Its positioning has lifted the corporation to greater heights of performance in the global market. Through its strategies and positioning, KFC has become the second best global brand. It has acquired 11 herbs and spice recipes making it a national and global especially in positioning itself in China. However, it has suffered from its weaknesses like high employee turnover, unhealthy food menu, and negative publicity.

The SWOT analysis of KFC has proved to be a strength that has boosted the growth of KFC in the market. KFC has strengths in its diversity of the meals and fast foods. It is the biggest in the world in offering chicken products, and the third in offering fast-food chain. It has been in existence for its products for the last fifty years, making its products and services to take a whopping 50% of the market share. In addition to this, it has secret 11 herbs recipes. Its products are the most noticeable in the market. KFC has a strong location, a motivated workforce and franchise, and store management. Moreover, the other strength of the company is that it has a strong distribution network like outlets in many shopping malls and airports.

KFC faces a myriad of weaknesses regarding its products and the market. In 2009, the company was charged with 13 sanitation harms within its production. This was followed by the court exploring and displaying the poor hygiene of the company in Sydney Australia. In 2007, a Taco Bell outlet in New York was initiated to be infected with rats. All these hampered and still affect the capability to KFC to retain and acquire a wide market base. KFC tried to merge with different corporations like PepsiCo, only to enter into a huge cultural problem to its employees. Moreover, KFC has not diversified beyond the production of chicken products. It has no new differentiated products. Opportunities are rampant with KFC. It has a chance to diversify into fast-food products and meals. If it preserves the environment, it will boost its public image. It has a chance to expand into the Latin American marker and the Mexican market of which it has not had a huge impact. Moreover, it still has untapped markets globally. Nonetheless, KFC faces threats of its products and the market in that it has strong competition from McDonalds and Yum.

Previously, KFC sought to introduce buffet to the restaurant. As a way of increasing revenue growth, this buffet to the restaurants was served to diversify services and hence access more customers in the market. Secondly, KFC introduced desert menu as a way of diversifying its products and services within the chicken products. These two ventures finally had a financial implication in the KFC. It increased the revenue by a measurable margin. They proved to be valid and viable approaches of increasing revenue for the organization.

Scope Marketing Opportunities

KFC has accessed opportunities like home meal delivery, the introduction of new products to its chicken range, and increase in demand for even healthier food. Accessing opportunities through home delivery of its products increased the costs of product and marketing since the organization had to chip in and finance the deliveries. It has its benefits of increasing the revenue, maximizing on customer satisfaction and accessing increased customer base. One risk it faced with this opportunity was the risk of increased expenditure because of paying for deliveries. This venture created opportunities to make more market base. The introduction of new chicken products increased the costs of production but created more benefits from the diversification of the brand. Facing the risk of overdependence on chicken products alone proved to be a challenge in this venture. The venture increased a chance to expand the market base with an increase the scale of customer satisfaction. On the other hand, KFC has had threats like lawsuits, fluctuation of currency, and saturation of fast food markets in the developed worlds. There is a growing market with increased demands. As a global hit, KFC relishes its strong revenue base and hence aims to impact positively on the market. Increasing the demand for healthier food proves costly to the organization. Nonetheless, this promotes customer confidence and hence increases outputs, increasing revenue growth. Risks of customer transfer from the previous recipes or into one recipe are likely, which is a risk. This venture increases the chance for the venture to have a more advanced customer base.

The three ventures above are likely to fit into the goals of KFC. Venturing into new fields is a making of the goals of the KFC, which has been confirmed by these individual activities. KFC has all the capabilities to increase more of such opportunities bearing in mind the history of the KFC on the market. This venture will have an impact on the customers and the business. First, it will increase the customer expectancy, which is again for the business. Moreover, the new opportunities will open up diversification and broadness of the business, leading to increased revenue.

Marketing Objectives

Short-term objectives

Increase customer satisfaction by 5%

To reduce the number of dissatisfied customers by 25%

Long-term objectives

To be known for superior customer service and satisfaction by 25%

Increase revenue by 30%

Risk management strategy

Using the PTI strategy, the risk management strategy that is to be implemented by the organization is that of risk control. With this strategy, risks will be identified with proactive actions being taken to control them. A study will be done on the business ventures and all strategies to bring out the immediate risks present. From here, necessary actions are going to be taken. Rules will be set with protective gear being used to identify and offer control measures for the risks. Safety precautions will be taken. To ensure that the objectives are consistent with the organization's forecast needs of the business; the objectives will be settled against a standard measure that proves its measurement. To ensure they are consistent with the capabilities, they will be subjected to proper measures of control that helps to determine the resources and financial position. To ensure the legislative and ethical requirements are met, proper measures are set based on the set objectives for productivity.

Conclusion and recommendation

KFC is a global brand that has established equitable management strategies and positioning in the market. KFC has had high returns regarding its revenues and hence has penetrated into varied markets globally. With its marketing strategies, high market performances, and strategic plans, it looks to better its performance (Darden, 2002).

Assessment 2

1. Strategic organization documents that could be used to identify organization's strategic directions and targets

Organizational business plan

Organizational marketing plan

Organizational performance report

2. The person to be consulted to confirm the strategic direction and its impact on marketing activities is the operations, manager. The operations manager is a concern with oversight of every strategic plan that has been instituted to ensure the growth of an organization. He is the one in charge of oversight of the strategic directions and their impact on marketing activities.