McDonald’s Doing it Right
October 8th, 2012
McDonald’s is no doubt the worlds biggest fast food chain. But why? What are they doing right that chains like Wendy’s, Burger King, Dairy Queen or Jack-in-the-Box not doing? McDonald’s’ biggest business strategy is their focus on “keeping it local”. Though there are thousands of McDonald’s’ across the globe, their menu varies according to the country that the franchise is situated in. In Singapore, one can order Jasmine rice and “Shaka shaka” chicken. In Hong Kong, you can get a hamburger patty sandwiched between rice patties. In France, you can order a “Fromage Royale” which is essentially a Quarter Pounder, but renamed to fit the non-emperical system Europe.
We can see that McDonald’s is a company that is excellent at listening to what their customers want. What American loves in their burgers may not be the same as what India loves in their burgers, and thus they are not afraid to implement change. They seek to find what products have international appeal and which dont. For example, their fries, milkshakes and ice cream remain consistent within most chains, but their other products depend on who is consuming them.
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/10/mcdonalds_local_strategy_from.html