Segmentation and Targeting Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Segmentation and Targeting - Research Paper ExampleAccording to the book entitled Principles of Marketing, the primary rule of evaluating a companys marketing strategies is by way of SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats (Kotler and Armstrong, 2010). According to the article entitled Marketing at McDonalds, the companys strengths lies in its brand and the extensive marketing research that the company performs (Marketing at McDonalds, 2011). Additionally, the companys main opportunity is the continued population appendage which provides more customers (Marketing at McDonalds,2011). The weakness of the company is the brand maturity which means that as the company ages, they still need to make important changes in order to keep up with the competition (Marketing at McDonalds, 2011). Finally, the threats to McDonalds include the growing health aw areness and the connection between fast food and fleshiness as well as competition from other fast food establishments (Marketing at McDonalds, 2011). Perhaps the genius behind McDonalds lies in the fact that there does not appear to be a specific target market when it comes to advertising and marketing. The book Principles of Marketing defines a target market as a set of buyers who share common needs or characteristics that the company decides to serve(Kotler and Armstrong, 2010). For some companies, there is a very specific target market that they are trying to reach. McDonalds, on the other hand, markets to all different types of races, languages, and lifestyles. The only common need that the consumers all appear to share is that of wanting affordable, tasty, and quick food. Therefore, these are the elements that McDonalds moldiness play up within their marketing mix. According to the article entitled Marketing at McDonalds, the company utilizes four main comp sensationnts for its marketing strategy product, price, promotion, and nates (Marketing at McDonalds, 2011). The com pany has an overall objective of setting itself apart from its competitors by effectively meeting the goals for the marketing mix. For product and price, the company must understand at what they are providing and determine what needs to be revamped and what is performing at expectations. Additionally, price must come into play as the company determines how much note value the customers place on the product that McDonalds sells as part of the restaurants popularity is associated with low prices. Determining the physical positioning of the McDonalds restaurant takes a lot of research as locations must be scouted in order to find the one with potential consumers and less competition. Finally, promotion involves the media advertisements that the company puts out in order to draw in consumers. The company must position itself in such a way as to make their ads stand out and apart from the multitude of other advertisements that deal are bombarded with on a daily basis. Currently, McDo nalds has been in the midst of changing their product line in order to secure their position as one of the top fast food restaurants in the world. According to the article entitled McDonalds adds oatmeal to the menu, in the beginning of 2011 McDonalds began adding healthier breakfast items to their menu such as oatmeal, yogurt parfaits, and fruit salads in order to help combat some