Kfc_Restaurants

Ya Dig Kentucky Fried Chicken is a global chain of chicken restaurants. Over a billion of Colonel’s “finger lickin’ good” chicken dinners are served annually and not just in the US, but in more than 80 countries and territories around the world (2008)! Now over 50 years old, this chain of fast food restaurants has had a lot of success. No doubt that marketing has been a big part of its success. KFC has used its marketing mix concept differently in order to satisfy its diverse customer market, therefore how KFC manages the implementation of the four p’s of their marketing mix differ among the US, Australia, Japan and Mexico, just to name a few. *countries with KFC restaurants: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/KFC_world_map1.png/400px- Going back in time, KFC’s history is inspiring. It was in 1930 when Harland Sanders opened his small restaurant, “Sanders Court & Café”, in Corbin, Kentucky (2011). In the nine years that followed, his restaurant expanded to 142 seats, Harland became Colonel Sanders for his contribution to the state’s cuisine, his restaurant was listed in “Adventures in Good Eating”, and then destroyed by a fire and was rebuilt (2011). It was in 1940 when he came up with the famous original recipe and in 1952 he began traveling and cooking for restaurant owners and employees and succeeds in awarding Pete Harman of Salt Lake City with the first KFC franchise later that same year (2011). Five years later, Kentucky Fried Chicken begins to sell in buckets and by 1960, 400 franchise units exist throughout the US and Canada (2011). By 1979, 2.7 billion piece of chicken is being cooked by approximately 6,000 KFC restaurants worldwide (2011)! Colonel Sanders, KFC founder and the second most recognizable celebrity of ’76 dies in December 1980 from leukemia (2011). KFC has been determined to provide quality and value to their customers. It has worked hard from the beginning to satisfy its customers and to make a branding logo so that it is recognizable to its customers. The most famous product produced by KFC is its Original Recipe fired chicken. Loved around the globe, the secret recipe consists of 11 herb and spices. Handwritten in pencil and on notebook paper with Sanders signature, the recipe continues to be a top secret and under tight security (n.d.). This trade secret is what makes the classic original chicken so “finger lickin’ good”. Other products include the Original Crispy, Kentucky grilled chicken, wings, strips, sandwiches and home-style sides (2011). KFC’s branding logo is a cartoon look alike of Colonel Sanders himself. Recognized for his white hair, white suite and black tie, the logo was first introduced in the late 1990’s and changed in 2009 (n.d.). The apron on Colonel Sanders in the new logo represents the old age history of the original recipe that Sanders would mix himself in his kitchen (n.d.). http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/bf/KFC_logo.svg/160px-KFC_logo.svg.png First on its marketing mix are its products. KFC products vary among the US, Japan, Mexico and Australia. This is because the tastes of the different people are different due to their culture. KFC strives to customize their menus for each of their locations so that they provide their customers of a particular country or territory with what their taste buds are pleased with. For example, you will find flavored floats in Japan, but not in the US. Krushers, similar to a shake, can found in Australia and Japan, but not in Mexico or the US. Another example is the type of sides offered (2011). In the US we have seven choices of sides which include biscuits, mashed potatoes; mac n cheese, cole slaw, corn on the cob, bbq beans, green beans, potato wedges and seasoned rice. In Mexico, their four choices include mashed potatoes, cole slaw, biscuits and fries. Next marketing mix concept is the price. The amount for which its customers pay for KFC products is consistent among its various locations, but may look different due to the language differences in the different countries. For example, in Mexico, the terminology for dollar is “piezas”. In order to attain the profit goal and to achieve a customer satisfaction, KFC has two pricing objective which are profit-oriented and sales-oriented (Shafique, 2011). In profit-oriented pricing, KFC is trying to achieve a target return. In sales-oriented pricing, KFC strives to retain its market share. Of course there are factors that affect its pricing, market demand and global economic conditions (Shafique, 2011). It is important to KFC that it balances its costs with its customer’s costs. Promotion is another part of KFC’s marketing mix that involves advertising and communication with its customers. The advertising advancements for KFC have continually changed with societies fast pace. In the 1960’s Sanders was on TV liking his fingers and taunting his audience. Then he appeared in movies, followed by humors commercial ads and later becoming a cartoon character. With today’s technology, the internet has become a global yellow page for all! KFC has its own web page that its customers can look at all it has to offer and even submit an order for delivery in some locations. Its webpage will change language once the proper country or territory is selected. From sponsorship to television and coupons, KFC has increased its sales and has gained more customers through promotion. The last piece to the marketing mix is place. Place or the placement of its products is based on what the best way would be for KFC to get its products to its consumer. KFC operates through a franchise restaurants. It is owned by Yum!Brands, Inc., a very large system of restaurants (2008). This partnership allows KFC to spread into other areas with the help and guidance of its parent companionship. In conclusion, this has been a very busy and successful business. The different strategies that it uses to cater to its diverse market are one of the many reasons for its global success. Although it continues to face challenges and accomplishments, the implementation of its marketing mix has been an important part of its organization. References Kentucky Fried Chicken. (2011). Home page. Retrieved May 26, 2011, from KFC Web site: http://www.kfc.com/about/history.asp Franchise Introduction. (2008). Home page. Retrieved May 26, 2001 from Franchise Introduction Web page: http://www.franchiseintroduction.com/company.php'clientid=273 Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved May 26, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KFC#The_secret_recipe Shafique, U. (2011). Internal factors effexting princing at kfc. Retreived May 26, 2011, from http://www.scribd.com/doc/52353635/15/INTERNAL-FACTORS-EFFECTING-PRICING-AT-KFC