Table of Contents
The level of competition in fast food restaurants has been rising rapidly due to the entry of more firms with highly competitive products into the industry. Consequently, the fast food industry has been experiencing rapid growth rates in the recent past. For instance, the fast food industry in the United States receives annual revenues of approximately $ 6 billion that accounts for 50% of the sales attained in the overall restaurants sector. Following the increased levels of competition in the industry, the participants need to review their value propositions and adjusts their modes of product differentiation to retain a competitive edge over the rivals in the market. Value propositions refer to marketing declarations employed by organizations to convince prospective customers that their products match their preferences (Armstrong et al., 2014). This study focusses on analyzing the value propositions for the McDonalds, KFC, and Starbucks fast food restaurants and their levels of product differentiations.
McDonalds Fast Food Restaurants
McDonald’s fast food was ranked the seventh highest earner in the industry with a global brand value of $ 40 billion in 2012. Moreover, it is the world’s largest fast food restaurants with chains across the world. The firm ensures the creation of customer value through production of cost-friendly and highly differentiated products. For instance, its logo, ‘Golden Arches,’ creates an implication of high-quality products to the customers who in turn maintain their loyalty to the fast foods offered by McDonalds (McDonalds & Wilson, 2011). The company focuses on ensuring customer satisfaction from high product value, clean environment, and customer friendly services.
KFC
KFC is a fast food restaurant that engages in the production and supply of fried chicken. The company is the second largest among the global fast food restaurants (Bolton et al., 2014). KFC fast food restaurants operate on three value propositions that include the provision of high-quality fast foods and homemade chicken using a secret recipe to enable it to offer differentiated products in the highly competitive fast food industry. The restaurants usually provide close contacts with their customers, effective response to customer concerns and customized personal assistance with the aim of building customer loyalty. For instance, the company spends 5% of their gross income on establishing effective brands and communication strategies. The use of slogans such as ‘finger licking good,’ ‘Nobody does it like KFC’, and ‘So Good’ in conjunction with the secret recipe has enabled the firm to maintain a competitive edge in the fast food industry (Bolton et al., 2014).
Starbucks
Starbucks comprises of a chain of coffee houses that offers coffee, specialized drinks and quick snacks in 50 countries across the world (Mukerjee, 2013. The firm focusses on providing high-quality coffee to its customers. The firm pricing strategies are often established with the competitors’ prices in mind to ensure competitiveness. Starbucks value proposition entails offering an excellent buying experience to the customers such that they will be convinced to incorporate their coffee in their daily lives. The company obtains green coffee beans, oversees its roasting process, and controls its distribution to retailers across the globe. Consequently, the company remains competitive in the global fast food industry (Osterwalder et al., 2014).
Conclusion
Based on the value propositions of the three leading global companies in the fast food industry, it is evident that effective value proposition and product differentiation are significant towards maintaining a competitive edge. Their outstanding methods of the customer value proposition have thus enabled them to attain top ranks in the global fast food industry.
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