Marketing effectiveness and measurement strategies

Marketing Effectiveness Memo:

Marketing is an important aspect of every business, especially hospitality establishments because they operate in an increasingly competitive market. Every business should develop effective marketing strategies that are geared towards attracting customers. When developing marketing strategies, the focus of the initiatives should be ensuring that the product and/or service meets the demands of customers. These marketing initiatives should also act as the foundation for developing and sustaining long-term relationships with customers. One of the major establishments in the hospitality industry that has benefited from comprehensive marketing strategies and initiatives is McDonalds Corporation in fast food operation.

McDonalds Marketing Efforts and Target Audience:

As previously mentioned, McDonalds Corporation is one of the establishments in the hospitality industry that has profited significantly from comprehensive marketing strategies and initiatives. The essence of the firm's marketing efforts is emphasis on becoming the best fast-food restaurant rather than becoming the biggest fast-food chain through an initiative called a plan to win. As a result, the corporation has continually focused on building its brand through listening to its customers in its various stages in the marketing process. McDonalds develops its marketing strategy after analyzing detailed information regarding its customers in order to create the correct marketing mix.

Under its product and service strategy, McDonalds Corporation has deliberately maintained a limited depth and width of its products and services ("Marketing Strategy of McDonalds," 2007). Generally, McDonalds Corporation develops its products based on the ever changing customers' desires and tastes. In relation to place, the corporation offers its products and services in distribution outlets and channel to ensure that they are available and accessible to customers. Since pricing strategy is an important aspect of marketing efforts, the corporation provides its products and services at reasonable prices. The firm has specific value pricing and bundling strategy that is geared towards enhancing the total sales of products and services. Promotion strategies for McDonalds include endorsement activities and advertisement that help in effective communication with probable customers.

Through these efforts, McDonalds use demographic segmentation strategy with age as the main parameter for developing effective initiatives for its target audience. Generally, the company seeks to provide a friendly and happy environment for all its customers to enjoy its products and services. Notably, the corporation seeks to appeal to a broad range of people including families, workers, and children. Based on analysis of its products and service offering and marketing efforts, McDonalds' target audience includes children, youth, adults, and urban families.

Message Conveyed by McDonalds' Marketing Efforts:

Similar to other businesses, McDonalds communicates its message to customers through various marketing efforts. Given that customers decode the communicated message, it is increasingly important for marketing managers to ensure there is a match between the conveyed message and the ideas and attitudes of the target market (Lamb, Hair & McDaniel, 2007, p.447). Since McDonalds target audience is made of different target segments, the corporation communicates differently to the respective target segment based on the specific product and service offering. As a result of diversifying its communication, McDonalds's message properly targets its target audience. Moreover, the corporation's message properly targets customers because the company's use of mass communication initiatives is appropriate for the diverse target segments.

Generally, the message in McDonalds marketing efforts is the provision of healthy foods to different customer segments through excellent customer service. This message is properly aligned with the target audience since people have become increasingly conscious of healthy eating in the recent past. By conveying this message and upgrading its product offering, McDonalds reflects the concerns of the masses, especially by being transparent on nutritional value of its food items.

Marketing Strategy and Brand Image:

One of the major factors that have contributed to McDonalds increased profitability and success over the years is its well-recognized global brand image. The firm has constantly leveraged on its renowned brand image and value propositions for its expansion into new and emerging markets and increased productivity. The well-recognized global brand image has been achieved through product and service offering and effective marketing strategies. McDonalds maintains its status as a recognized brand across the globe through localizing its menu to compete head-to-head with local rivals.

The company's marketing strategies across various target segments have had significant effects on its brand image. While it has experienced numerous challenges from time to time, McDonalds has constantly regained its status as a symbol of globalization through extensive marketing initiatives and campaigns. The marketing strategies are effective because the enable the firm to develop an outstanding position in the minds of customers. Since its inception, the corporation has been used its familiar logo across all communication methods to establish a position in customers' minds. In addition to contributing to the firm's well-recognized brand image, McDonalds marketing initiatives convey the image the corporation is trying to create as a best rather than the largest fast food restaurant chain. These strategies contain designs, images, and colors that depict the organization as the best fast food restaurant across the globe.

Importance of Internal Marketing for McDonalds:

With emphasis on focusing on customers, marketing professionals have constantly directed marketing initiatives and efforts outside the company in attempts to attract customers. However, in the past few years, internal marketing has emerged as an important concept for many organizations, especially businesses in the service industry. Generally, this concept refers to the process with which every organizational member embraces the ideas and objectives of marketing and is involved in selecting, providing, and communication value to customers. This process involves treating workers as customers through establishing job products that meet their respective needs.