Analysis Of Customer Satisfaction At Mcdonalds Kfc Marketing Essay

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Executive summary of the project

With the increase in spending capacity of Indian middle class society, the

mind set of consumers have changed in relation to recreational activities.

More frequently people have started to move out to eat, this has created

scope for many fast food chains. But along with that it has also created

competition among different food chains.

Hence each and everyone plays a major role in attracting customers. The

trend can be seen by the increasing number of food chains.

That is why this topic was chosen for further study as this particular

industry is fast becoming very competitive.

This project comprises a brief analysis of the Indian fast food industry and

the competition that marks the trend, different companies and various

players are analyzed from their competing strategies. Some of these fast

food chains are Nirula's, Pizza Hut, McDonald's, Haldiram's.

Further the main scope of the study is to conduct a comparative analysis on

two of the major players in the food services industry, which is McDonalds

and KFC. The research tries to develop a case study which analyzes

McDonalds and KFC's strengths and their business process very closely

with a greater emphasis on how they do a better job than most competitors

at serving their customers. In addition to this a consumer research was

undertaken with the objective of assessing the service quality of McDonalds

v/s KFC on the basis of:

Tangibles

Reliability

Empathy

Responsiveness

Price Sensitivity

Literature Review

A synoptic review of the literature brings to the fore insights into any past comparison made between McDonald's & KFC.

A related article published by Vishal Krishna, BusinessWorld, 10 October

2009 on the Third Eyesight website which is a consulting firm states:

Indian shopping hotspots are sporting more and more golden arches these

days. If McDonald's is expanding like never before, not far away is KFC

(Kentucky Fried Chicken), though on a lesser scale. Their guests are young,

their menus glocalized, their branding established, and their menus are no

longer over-priced. After more than a decade in the highly fragmented quick

service restaurant (QSR) segment - only 20 per cent of the Rs 10,000-crore

segment is organized - McDonald's and KFC are growing at a nippy 20-25

per cent, despite the slowdown.

"In a recession, we see ourselves as a good substitute for premium dining,"

says Amit Jatia, managing director of Hardcastle Restaurants, a joint

venture partner of McDonald's. "We are rapidly expanding because we have

tested the supply chain for over 15 years and it has given us the opportunity

to scale up." McDonald's, which had 20 stores in India till 2002, today has

160. It plans to open 200 more over five years, with an investment of Rs 500

crore. KFC, the smaller player with 52 restaurants, plans to open over 100

more outlets in the next two years.

Though McDonald's foray into chicken nuggets this year has taken it into

KFC territory, the companies give the impression of ignoring each other.

"The Indian market is very large for QSRs and our focus is on large portions

of white meat, while the competition focuses on different products," says

Unnat Varma, marketing director of Yum Restaurants, which has been

developing KFC and Pizza Hut in India. The pricing of its menus makes

McDonald's a quick eatery with the average per person spend at Rs 100.

KFC's spend is higher, at Rs 125-150.

In 2009, McDonald's guest count has crossed 30 million; in 1996, when it

started, the count was a little more than 200,000. KFC's annual guest count

is expected to rise from 3 million today to 5 million by the end of 2010.

Many Indian retailers have not turned cash positive because they burnt

most of their money on building the front-end. But, "McDonald's and KFC

have got an amalgam of things right," says Harish Bijoor, a Bangalore-based

brand and marketing consultant. "While McDonald's has converted millions

of people with its Rs 20 happy price menu, KFC has done it with its large

portions as a QSR-plus restaurant."

Staying Ahead In The Numbers Game

It has taken McDonald's, which has a global turnover of $22 billion (Rs 1.1

lakh crore), almost 12 years to operationally break even in India (KFC is yet

to break even). That in itself is not unusual; Bijoor says cereal maker

Kellogg's took 23 years to break even in Mexico. "The costs incurred on

store design and supply chains are huge," says Jatia. "Now, I am expanding

in Chennai and I have to prepare the back-end to service that region, which

requires large investments." Of McDonald's' Rs 1,200 crore investments in

India so far, Rs 250 crore was for the supply chain alone.

McDonald's supply chain in is decentralised - a store manager sends a

requisition to its logistics partner Radhakrishna Foodland (RKF) though a

data management system, who in turn informs Vista Foods, which

McDonald's' global supplier, OSI Global, bought in partnership with

Hardcastle Restaurants. "We source everything for McDonald's locally and

process."

Other than a tie-up with Venky's for chicken, KFC outsources buns,

vegetables and transportation from different vendors. While this explains its

slow expansion and gives McDonald's a clear advantage, KFC's limited,

chicken-based menu does not need the kind of supply chain McDonald's has

struggled to establish. It is also the reason why McDonald's can envisage

expanding faster into the metros as well as the tier-I and tier-II cities, but

KFC cannot for now.

Introduction to Project

Industry

Overview

(Fast Food Industries)

Introduction

The food industry is on a high as Indians continue to have a feast. Fuelled

by what can be termed as a perfect ingredient for any industry - large

disposable incomes - the food sector has been witnessing a marked change

in consumption patterns, especially in terms of food. An increasing number

of international fast food chains rushing to India is because all of them see

tremendous potential in for this type of business. The large upwardly mobile

population in the urban areas tend to eat out more often or business or for

leisure.

The various players operating in India are the well established Indian chains

like Nirula's, Haldiram's and multinational companies like McDonalds, KFC,

Pizza hut, Domino's pizza, etc.

In addition to these, apparently some of the best known international food

chains are looking at India. Among them are Great American Disaster, The

Burger King, Mexican food chain Tacogrill, Move-n-pick, etc. are some of

them to name.

At present all these players are fighting for a small pie, as fast food is really

not a big habit with Indians, but they see a big potential.

The players are fighting on products, pricing and positioning and trying to

convert the first trials into regular purchase by providing delightful service

quality. The focus is on product quality and standardization of taste.

Consistency is the key, as its standardization in fast food as the consumer is

short on time and wants to satisfy his taste buds with a consistent taste

experience.

Beyond this each player has its own strategy to expand consumer base.

- Some feel that pricing is not the deciding factor since fast food industry is

not price sensitive market because it is not a regular diet of Indians.

- Some others are competing on positioning which is surprisingly varied,

giving the small size of the market.

- For most, targeting children seems the right strategy.

- Advertising is popular.

However, with competition rising most chains are increasing reach as well

as working on establishing a national or local presence.

As the fast food companies have expanded around the world, they have had

to adapt to local sensitivities. For instance, there were disturbances in India

when it was learned that McDonalds's food items were pre-cooked in beef

fat in the USA, because Hindus revere cows and cannot eat beef.

Trends in the fast food industry

The fast food industry is estimated to grow at 9-12 per cent, on the basis of

an estimated GDP growth rate of 6-8 per cent, during the Eleventh Five

year plan period. Value addition of food is expected to increase from the

current 8 per cent to 35 per cent by the end of 2025.

The popularity of food and agro products is not surprising when the sector

is now offering a growth of more than 100 percent in sales. With such

promise in the sector, a number of foreign companies have joined the fray.

While US brands such as McDonald's, Pizza hut and Kentucky Fried

Chicken have become household names, more are on their way.

The market scenario

India is among top 10 market for weekly fast food consumption, an online

survey has found. Most of the countries are from the Asia-pacific region,

with the US being the exception.

According to an A C Neilson study of 28 markets across the US, Europe and

the Asia-Pacific, carried out through the internet in interviews with more

than 14000 consumers, Asians are the world's greatest fast food fans.

Percentage of adult population eating at takeaway restaurants at least once

every week:

Hong Kong 61 %

Malaysia 59 %

Philippines 54 %

Singapore 50 %

Thailand 44 %

China 41 %

India 37 %

Europe 11 %

Type of cuisine, price and convenient location were found to be the most

important criteria across all three regions

The competitive factors to be considered to succeed in the fast food

industry: -

• To succeed a fast food chain should always be working in improving

their quality of food they offer to their consumers.

• The development of new product from time to time is critical to stay on

top of the market; consumers always look forward to new products that

businesses have to offer.

• The frequent analysis of demographics helps the business to keep

active awareness of a risk in the change of their target market in a

particular area. The analysis helps businesses keep track of any change

needed to cater to changing demographics.

Fast food industry in India on the rise 

EATING AT home remains very much inbuilt in Indian culture and changes

in eating habits are very slow moving with barriers to eating out entrenched

in certain sectors of Indian society. The growth in nuclear families,

particularly in urban India, exposure to global media and Western cuisine

and an increasing number of women joining the workforce have had an

impact on eating out trends. Which has lead us to a new era of eating- 'fast

food'. The name it self says the meaning of the food that can be prepared

and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be

considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a

restaurant or store with low quality preparation and served to the customer

in a packaged form for take-out/take-away.

Market size and major players

Dominated by McDonalds having as many as 123 outlets.

Domino's pizza is present in around 274 locations.

Pizza hut is also catching up and it has planned to establish 147 outlets at

the end of 2009.

Subways have established around 145  outlets.

Nirula's is established in Delhi and Northern India. However, it claims to

cater 50,000 guests every day. It has future expansion plans for more than

50 outlets every year, for next three years.

The main reason behind the success of the multinational chains is their

expertise in product development, sourcing practices, quality standards,

service levels and standardised operating procedures in their restaurants, a

strength that they have developed over years of experience around the

world. The homegrown chains have in the past few years of competition

with the MNCs, learnt a few things and has made us proud, for example,

today, you might not find McDonald's burger every where but one can have

a sip of Café Coffee Day coffee.

Reason for emergence

Gender roles: Gender roles are now changing. Females have started

working outside. So, they have no time for their home and cooking

food. Fast food is an easy way out because these can be prepared easily.

Workingwomen have no time for cooking.

Customer sophistication and confidence: Consumers are becoming more

sophisticated now. They don't want to prepare food and spend their time

and energy in household works. They are building their confidence more on

'ready to eat and easy to serve' kind of foods.

Paucity of time: People have no time for cooking. Because of emergence of

working women and also number of other entertainment items. Most of the

time either people work or want to enjoy with their family.

Large population: India being a second largest country in terms of

population possesses large potential market for all the products/services.

This results into entry of large number of fast food players in the country.

Relaxation in rules and regulations: with the economic liberalization of

1991, most of the tariff and non-tariff barriers from the Indian boundaries

are either removed or minimized. This helped significantly the MNCs to

enter in the country.

Menu diversification: Increase in consumption of pizzas, burgers and other

type offast foods. 

Challenges for the industry

Social and cultural implications of Indians switching to western breakfast

food:

Eating meat is not explicitly prohibited, but many Hindus are vegetarian

because they adhere to the concept of ahimsa. Those seeking spiritual unity

may avoid garlic and onions. The concept of purity influences Hindu food

practices. Products from cows (eg, milk, yogurt, ghee-clarified butter) are

considered pure. Pure foods can improve the purity of impure foods when

they are prepared together. But now, Indians are switching to fast

food that contain all those things that are considered impure or against

their beliefs. Some traditional and fundamentalist are against this

transformation of food habit and number of times they provoke their

counterparts to revolt against such foods. And that is what happened when

McDonald's decided to enter the complexity of Indian business landscape,

counting only on its 'fast food global formula', without any apparent

previous cultural training.

Emphasis on the usage of bio-degradable products: Glasses, silverware,

plates and cloth napkins are never provided with fast food. Instead, paper

plates and napkins, polyurethane containers, plastic cups and tableware,

drinking cartons or PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles are used and

these are all disposable. Many of these items are tossed in the garbage

instead of being recycled, or even worse, merely thrown on the ground. This

burdens nature unnecessarily and squanders raw materials. In order to

reduce soil and water pollution, government now emphasises more on the

usage of bio-degradable products.

Retrenchment of employees: Most of new industries will be capital

intensive and may drive local competitors, which have more workers, out of

business. 

Profit repatriation: Repatriation of profits is another area of concern for

Indian economy. As when multinational enters the any countries, people and

government hope that it will increase the employment rate and result in

economic growth. However, with the multinational operation, host country

experiences these benefits for a short time period. In long run neither

employment increases (because of capital intensive nature of MNC's) nor it

increases the gross domestic product or gross national product because

whatever MNC's earn they repatriate that profit back to their home country.

Problems of industry

Environmental friendly products cost high: Government is legislating laws

in order to keep check on the fast food industry and it is emphasizing

more on the usage of bio-degradable and environment friendly products.

But associated with this issue is the problem that fast food player faces -

the cost associated with the environment friendly products. They cost much

higher than the normal products that companies use for packaging or

wrapping their products.

Balance between societal expectation and companies economic objectives:

To balance a society's expectation regarding environment with the

economic burden of protecting the environment. Thus, one can see that one

side pushes for higher standards and other side tries to beat the standard

back, thereby making it an arm wrestling and mind boggling exercise.

Trends in Indian market

Marketing to children: Fast food outlets in India target children as their

major customers. They introduce varieties of things that will attract the

children's attention and by targeting children they automatically target

their parents. 

Low level customer commitment: Because of the large number of food

retail outlets and also because of the tendency of customer to switch from

one product to other, this industry faces low level customer commitment.

Value added technology services: There is continuous improvement in the

technology as far as fast food market in India is considered. The reason

behind that is food is a perishable item and in order to ensure that it

remains fresh for a longer period of time. Earlier, Indian people prefer

eating at home but now with the change in trend there is also need for

improvement and up gradation of technology in food sector.

Attracting different segments of the market: Fast food outlets are

introducing varieties of products in order to cater the demands of each and

every segment of market. They are introducing all categories of product so

that people of all age, sex, class, income group etc can come and become a

customer of their food line.

Major players

In India the major players which constitute the Indian fast food industry

includes Indian as well as Multinational companies.

These are:

1. Nirula's

Established in 1934, Nirula's today is a diversified group having a chain

Waiter service restaurants, Family style restaurants, Ice Cream parlors,

pastry shops and food processing plants in India.

The chain with over 60 outlets operating in 5 states successfully caters to

the Indian palate of over 50000 guests every day for over 70 years.

The restaurants serve a wide variety of multi-cuisine foods, both western

and Indian including pizzas, burgers, chana kulcha, saag-roti and much

more!

Ice cream parlors offers an extensive range of exciting and innovative ice

cream flavors with one new flavor added every month

Nirula's pastry shops are a one-stop shop for bakery and confectionary

items.

2. Pizza hut

In 1996 Pizza hut came to India with a dine in restaurant in Bangalore that

has special vegetarian pizzas. In addition to traditional Italian topping, it

incorporates Indian favorites such as chicken tikkas, lamb korma, etc. In its

list of innovative toppings, along with pizzas the menu features appetizers

like garlic bread and soups, fresh salads, oven baked pastas and choice f\of

ice-cream sundaes.

In 1997 pizza hut opened a restaurant in the capital's bustling M-Block

market in Greater Kailash-I, unlike the existing pizza hut at shanti niketan

which is delivery counter for just pizzas, this is dine-in where the entire

menu is available.

3. Domino's pizza

It was incorporated in 1995 as the master franchise o Domino's pizza

international inc., of USA.. the first Domino's pizza store in India opened in

January 1996 at new Delhi. Today it has grown into a countrywide network

of over 104 outlets in 30 cities.

Ever since it was established, Domino's Pizza India has maintained its

position of market leadership with its constant product innovation and

maintenance of stringent service standards. It has established a reputation

for being a home delivery specialist capable of delivering pizzas within 30

minutes. It was the first one to start this facility to customers..

Domino's constantly strives to develop products that suits the tastes of its

customers. Thus time and again Domino's has been innovating toppings

suitable to taste buds of the local populace and these have been very well

accepted by the Indian market.

4. Haldiram's

Haldiram began in 1937as a small sweet shop in Bikaner, in Rajasthan state

of India.

In 2001 the turnover of haldiram's was Rs. 4 billion. The group has

presence not only in India but in several countries all over world.

Till early 1990s, Haldiram comprised of three units- Kolkata, Nagpur and

New Delhi.

Haldiram has many 'firsts' to its credit- It was first company to brand

namkeens. And first company to offer traditional Indian items like 'panipuri',

'chatpapri' and so on.

The company faced tough competition not only from sweets and snack food

vendors in unorganized, domestic and international competitors but also

from its own units because of conflict between them.

At Haldiram's quality is the obsession and this spirit has given its

competitors a cutting edge. Haldiram offers a very wide range of delicacies

like- Namkeens, Sweets, Syrups, Papads, North Indian dishes, South Indian

dishes, Pastries.

Sweets itself has a very wide variety Bengali sweets include Sandesh and

Rasgullas.

Other popular Indian sweets are:- Kheer, Halwa, Gulabjamun, Rasmalai and

Kulfi.

Variety of refreshments include- Chat- a spicy mix of different ingredients,

topped with tangy chutneys 'sauce' example, Bhelpuri.

Snacks include- Samosas, Pakoras, Aloo tikki, Kachori, Pao bhaji, Golgappa,

Dhokla and many more….

Company profile

McDonalds India

Introduction

McDonald's in India is a 50-50 joint venture partnership between

McDonald's Corporation [USA] and two Indian businessmen. Amit Jatia's

company Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt. Ltd. owns and operates McDonald's

restaurants in Western India. While Connaught Plaza Restaurants Pvt. Ltd

headed by Vikram Bakshi owns and operates the Northern operations.

Amit Jatia and Vikram Bakshi are like-minded visionaries who share

McDonald's complete commitment to Quality, Service, Cleanliness and

Value (QSC&V). Having signed their joint-venture agreements with

McDonald's in April 1995, they trained extensively, along with their Indian

management team, in McDonald's restaurants in Indonesia and the U.S.A.

before opening the first McDonald's restaurant in India.

As a leader in QSR (Quick Service Restaurant) segment McDonalds has

pioneered various industry benchmark practices over the past decade of

serving Indian customers, including new concepts such as

# Oil alliances in India by linking with petroleum giants BPCL and HPCL.

Three such alliances with BPCL outlets are in mathura (2000) (up), doraha

(2002) (Punjab) and chanakyapuri (new delhi-2005)

# Novel menu formats such as an Express model with a limited menu and

kiosks with a variety of dessert offerings

# Home delivery (mcdeliveryâ„¢ -2004); providing even more convenience

to our customers. In 2006, mcdelivery on bicycle at chandni chowk and

2007 all India single delivery number were introduced.

# First drive thru restaurant in India at noida (up) in1997.

Restaurant count

McDonald's has 155 restaurants in India of which 95 are in north & east

India and 60 in west & south India .

Our Philosophy

"We take the burger business more seriously than anyone else." When

McDonald's founder, Ray Kroc made that memorable statement, he was

letting the world in on the philosophy and secret behind McDonald's

phenomenal success.

Our vision to be India's "best" quick service restaurant experience is

supported by a set of principles and core values [McDonald's Way]

The principles that guide us …

Quality, Service, Cleanliness & Value - It is an unflinching McDonald's

ideology that our customers must always get quality products, served

quickly and with a smile, in a clean and pleasant environment; and all at a

fair price

We are committed to exceeding our customers' expectations in every

restaurant every time.

We have a passion and a responsibility for enhancing and protecting the

McDonald's brand.

We believe in a collaborative management approach, employing a mutually

respectful business philosophy,

We will seize every opportunity to innovate and lead the industry on behalf

of our customers.

The McDonald's Promise

QSC&V......The Foundation that built McDonald's success

When asked to explain McDonald's success, founder Ray Kroc used to say,

"We take the hamburger business more seriously than anyone else."

Kroc was a perfectionist. From the day he opened his first restaurant, he

vowed to give his customers high quality products, served quickly --and with

a smile, in a clean and pleasant environment, and all at a fair price. Quality,

Service, Cleanliness and Value (QSC&V) became the philosophy that drove

McDonald's business.

McDonald's Quality Management instills the culture of quality through such

principles as being customer driven, managing with facts, valuing people,

and continually improving every aspect of our business

Service that is fast and friendly and has always been a foundation for

success at

                                     

        McDonald's

Cleanliness for us means having the cleanest and freshest facilities from the

kitchen to the rest rooms and parking lots

Value at McDonald's means the total experience...... great food, friendly

folks, a clean environment, quick and accurate service and fun!

Company profile

KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN

Introduction

KFC Corporation, or KFC, founded and also known as Kentucky Fried

Chicken, is

a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky. KFC has

been a brand

and operating segment, called a "concept", of Yum! Brands since 1997

when that

company was spun off from PepsiCo as Tricon Global Restaurants Inc.

There are more than 14,000 KFC outlets in more than 80 countries and

territories around the world, serving some 12 million customers each day.

The company was founded as Kentucky Fried Chicken

by Colonel Harland Sanders in 1952, though the idea of KFC's fried

chicken actually goes back to 1930. The company adopted the abbreviated

form of its name in 1991. Starting in April 2007, the company began using

its original name, Kentucky Fried Chicken, for its signage, packaging and

advertisements in the United States as part of a new corporate re-

branding program; newer and remodeled restaurants will have the new

logo and name while older stores will continue to use the 1980s signage.

Additionally, Yum! continues to use the abbreviated name freely in its

advertising.

KFC HISTORY-AT-A-GLANCE

9/9/1890

Harland Sanders is born just outside Henryville, Indiana.

1900-1924

Harland Sanders holds a variety of jobs including: farm hand, streetcar

conductor, army private in Cuba, blacksmith's helper, railyard fireman,

insurance salesman, tire salesman and service station operator for Standard

Oil.

1930

In the midst of the depression, Harland Sanders opens his first restaurant in

the small front room of a gas station in Corbin, Kentucky.

Sanders serves as station operator, chief cook and cashier and names the

dining area "Sanders Court & Café."

1937

The Sanders Court & Café adds a motel and expands the restaurant to 142

seats.

1939

The Sanders Court & Café is first listed in Duncan Hines' "Adventures in

Good Eating."

Fire destroys The Sanders Court & Café, but it is rebuilt and reopened.

1940

Birthdate of the Original Recipe

1952

The Colonel begins actively franchising his chicken business by traveling

from town to town and cooking batches of chicken for restaurant owners

and employees.

The Colonel awards Pete Harman of Salt Lake City with the first KFC

franchise. A handshake agreement stipulates a payment of a nickel to

Sanders for each chicken sold.

1955

An interstate highway is built to bypass Corbin, Kentucky. Sanders sells the

service station on the same day that he receives his first social security

check for $105. After paying debts owed, he is virtually broke. He decides

to go on the road to sell his Secret Recipe to restaurants.

1957

Kentucky Fried Chicken first sold in buckets

1960

The Colonel's hard work on the road begins to pay off and there are 190

KFC franchisees and 400 franchise units in the U.S. and Canada.

1964

Kentucky Fried Chicken has more than 600 franchised outlets in the United

States, Canada and the first overseas outlet, in England. Sanders sells his

interest in the U.S. company for $2 million to a group of investors headed

by John Y. Brown Jr., future governor of Kentucky. The Colonel remains a

public spokesman for the company.

1965

Colonel Sanders receives the Horatio Alger Award from the American

Schools and Colleges Association.

1966

The Kentucky Fried Chicken Corporation goes public.

1969

The Kentucky Fried Chicken Corporation is listed on the New York Stock

Exchange.

1971

More than 3,500 franchised and company-owned restaurants are in

worldwide operation when Heublein Inc. acquires KFC Corporation.

1976

An independent survey ranks the Colonel as the world's second most

recognizable celebrity.

1979

KFC cooks up 2.7 billion pieces of chicken. There are approximately 6,000

KFC restaurants worldwide with sales of more than $2 billion.

12/16/1980

Colonel Harland Sanders, who came to symbolize quality in the food

industry, dies.

1982

Kentucky Fried Chicken becomes a subsidiary of R.J. Reynolds Industries,

Inc. (now RJR Nabisco, Inc.) when Heublein, Inc. is acquired by Reynolds.

1986

PepsiCo, Inc. acquires KFC from RJR Nabisco, Inc.

1997

PepsiCo, Inc. announces the spin-off of its quick service restaurants - KFC,

Taco Bell and Pizza Hut - into Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc.

2002

Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc., the world's largest restaurant company,

changes its corporate name to YUM! Brands, Inc. In addition to KFC, the

company owns A&W® All-American Food® Restaurants, Long John

Silvers®, Pizza Hut® and Taco Bell® restaurants.

2006

More than a billion of the Colonel's "finger lickin' good" chicken dinners are

served annually in more than 80 countries and territories around the world.

KFC India

KFC is the world's No.1 Chicken QSR and has industry leading stature

across many countries like UK, Australia, South Africa, China, USA,

Malaysia and many more. KFC is the largest brand of Yum Restaurants, a

company that owns other leading brands like Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, A&W and

Long John Silver. Renowned worldwide for it's finger licking good food, KFC

offers its signature products in India too! KFC has introduced many

offerings for its growing customer base in India while staying rooted in the

taste legacy of Colonel Harland Sander's secret recipe. Its signature dishes

include the "crispy outside, juicy inside" Hot and Crispy Chicken, flavorful

and juicy Original Recipe chicken, the spicy, juicy & crunchy Zinger Burger,

Toasted Twister, Chicken Bucket and a host of beverages and desserts. For

the vegetarians in India, KFC also has great tasting vegetarian offerings

that include the Veggie Burger, Veggie Snacker and Veg Rice meals. In

India, KFC is growing rapidly and today has presence in 13 cities with close

to 72 restaurants.

US-based Yum! Restaurants is planning to invest up to Rs 150 crore to more

than double the number of outlets of its quick service restaurant brand

'KFC' in the country by 2010. The fast food brands operator is also aiming

to tap the 'chilled beverages' market with its newly launched store-in-store

concept of 'Krushers' in the KFC restaurants. KFC is planning to invest up

to Rs 150 crore in the Indian market by 2010 and will expand the KFC chain

in the country to 110 restaurants by end of the period, from 50 now.

Research Methodology

Objectives of research study

The primary objective of the research was to survey the consumers and try

to identify whether the customers are satisfied with the services provided

by McDonalds and KFC. Whether the services provided by them are as

desired by the customers or not.

The research also tries to analyze and compare the two fast food chains on

different customer value attributes and try to find their performance.

The services provided by McDonalds and KFC have been compared on the

basis on following dimensions of service quality :

Tangibles: appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and

communication material

Reliability: ability to perform dependable services accurately

Empathy: Provision of caring, individualized attention to customers

Responsiveness: the willingness to help customers and to provide prompt

service

Affordability: prices offered by both chains

Customer Value Analysis

Identify the major attributes that customers value in fast food restaurants

Assess the quantitative importance of different attributes

Compare McDonald's and KFC's performance on different customer values.

Assess the brand recall and brand preference for the two chains.

Assess the economic viability and compare prices of both brands.

Data collection

In this project both primary data as well as secondary data are used.

Primary data

Primary Data are those, which are collected afresh and for the first time,

and thus happens to be original in character. Primary data used in this

project is collected through two methods, namely, Questionnaire method

and Direct personal Interview method. Both these methods proved to be

great help in getting the required information.

Secondary data

Secondary Data are those, which have already been collected by someone

else and which have already been passed through the statistical process.

Some related information on the two companies and any past comparison of

the two chains was collected through secondary data from various sources

like Internet, Print Media.

Statistical & Presentation tools used

PRIMARY DATA is:

First classified i.e. grouped qualitatively and quantitatively according to the

situation or the type of the data which was collected.

After classifying is represented in the form of tables i.e. systematically

arranged in columns and rows.

Some of the data is also graphically represented in the form of BAR

CHARTS.

Secondary data is represented:

In the form of tables.

By the way of bar graphs and Pie CHARTS

Sample size and Areas covered

A customer-based survey was conducted in which 100 people were asked to

fill the questionnaire covering the cities of Delhi and Faridabad .

Non Probability sampling was used within which convenience sampling

technique has been used. The responses have been collected from the

customers depending on their availability and their willingness to respond.

Findings

and

Analysis

Findings based on Questionnaire

Q2. Name the first fast food chain that comes to your mind?

Out of the sample of 100, following results were obtained:

McDonald's came out as a clear winner in this aspect, with more than half

the respondents surveyed coming up with McDonald's as their first recall

for a fast food chain.

KFC came in two steps behind McDonald's in the brand recall with only

20% respondents accepting KFC as their top of the mind brand.

Q3. How often do you visit McDonald's?

A reasonable percentage of almost 20% responded to be frequenting

McDonald's at least once a week.

A majority still rated their frequency of visit as once in 15 days or once in a

month.

Q4. How often do you visit KFC?

Over 40% of the people surveyed visited KFC at least once a fortnight.

Not many respondents believed in visiting KFC too frequently with the

percentage of those visiting at least once a week being less than 15%.

Q5. Which fast food chain provides a cleaner and more comfortable ambience?

Customers generally give a high priority to the physical ambience of a

restaurant.

McDonald's was rated as a more comfortable place to eat in by close to 50%

of the respondents.

KFC was not too far behind by 30% rating it still better than McDonald's.

Q6. Which one out of the two maintains consistency in food taste and quality?

A majority of people came across without any bias on this aspect, with

almost 70% rating both McDonald's and KFC equally at maintaining

consistent quality.

Q7. Which fast food chain offers better prices?

McDonald's lived up to its perception of being an economical family eating

joint, with close to 60% respondents being happy with the prices offered,

over KFC.

A reasonable percentage of a little over 20% still believed that even KFC

was an economical brand, over McDonald's.

Q8. Whose advertising do you find more effective?

Advertising is a very important part of any brands marketing mix.

McDonald's again arose as the winner with over half the respondents

finding McDonald's advertising and promotional campaigns more effective

than KFC.

KFC also found some takers for its advertising campaigns with almost 30%

respondents rating KFC's ads over McDonald's.

Q9. Which out of the two provides quicker service?

Prompt service is exactly what makes a fast food chain fast. McDonald's was

a clear favorite here with a little over 50% respondents finding McDonald's

service faster than KFC's.

KFC was close behind with 30% respondents saying that it provides quicker

service over McDonald's.

Q10. Which fast food chain's staff is more helpful and efficient?

Not too much difference was perceived by respondents in the

responsiveness of the staff of both fast food joints, with McDonald's being

rated over KFC by only 15% more respondents.

A reasonable percentage of 20% was observed to rate both chains equally in

the quality and efficiency of their staff.

Q11. What recommendations do you wish to suggest to McDonalds

When asked about any recommendations that respondents might have for

McDonald's, the two most voiced suggestions were too- further improve

overall quality(34%) and providing a better and cleaner eating area(28%).

Close to 20% people still believed that McDonald's should engage in more

Advertising.

Q12. What recommendations do you wish to suggest to KFC.

In contrast to McDonald's, a majority of respondents (45%) recommended

for KFC to have a cleaner and more comfortable physical location.

Also, almost an equal percentage of 20% respondents believed that KFC

should improve its quality and indulge in more advertising and promotions.

Q13. How would you describe your overall eating experience at McDonalds?

A majority of respondents, over 50% rated their overall eating experience at

McDonald's as very good or good (taken together).

Q14. How would you describe your overall eating experience at KFC?

In contrast the percentage of respondents rating their experience as either

very good or good for KFC, was lower than that for McDonald's at around

45%.

Conclusions

and

Recommendations

Conclusions

Going through the analysis of response from the survey conducted, it is

concluded that McDonalds scores a certain edge over KFC in being able to

retain at top. McDonalds is also preferred and the first brand to be recalled

when it comes to the fast food category over Pizza hut, Domino's and KFC.

McDonalds's is perceived as providing a cleaner and more comfortable

physical eating location, over KFC. Also, we can conclude from the survey

that both fast food chains are seen as standardized and offering a consistent

quality at equal levels.

Though not wide but its product line is quite impressive. It includes meals

for both Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian and satisfies both section of

customers, which KFC can not compete with currently.

McDonald's is observed as a more pocket friendly eating experience with

satisfactory prices being offered by the fast food giant. Also McDonald's

staff is rated above KFC in terms of responsiveness and prompt service.

McDonald's advertising has more impact on the people than KFC's. Also,

people believe that McDonald's does a better job of being in the limelight

and maintaining a better top of mind recall than most other fast food chains.

Summarizing all points we conclude that McDonalds is growing faster and

better than KFC by satisfying its customers, by providing quality and

maintaining consistency. KFC needs to look at few crucial aspects to catch

up with McDonald's and increase its market share.

Recommendations

The recommendations for McDonalds is to:

Maintain consistency in the taste and quality of products.

Include more promotional and advertising measures to maintain its brand

recall and increase its market share.

Improve the physical facility at its locations, in terms of a better ambience

and more clean facility.

McDonald's should continue with positioning itself as an economical family

restaurant and constantly look to include more economical offers like the

happy meal it offers.

The recommendations for KFC is to:

Maintain consistency in the taste and quality of products.

Include more promotional and advertising measures to improve its brand

recall and increase its market share.

Focus more on providing a more clean and comfortable physical location

and try and help customers have a better eating experience.

Also, KFC should try to include more health friendly food items in their

menu and try to include a few products for the vegetarian section as well.

KFC needs to better train its staff and reduce the turnaround time, to

improve the promptness of service.

Limitations of the study

Since the road to improvement is never ending, so this study also suffers

from certain limitations. Some of them are as follows:

Scope of project is limited in the sense that only McDonalds and KFC have

been taken for consumer research.

The extent of the survey was Faridabad and New Delhi only. So the

suggestions or arguments given in the report may not hold true for other

locations in India.

It was a time consuming method in which continuous guidance was

required.

Questionnaire method involves some uncertainty of response. Co-operation

on the part of informants, in some cases, was difficult to presume.

Because of time constraints and reserve constraints, a mix of convenient

sampling and judgement sampling was used.

Also because of above mentioned constraints, the sample size chosen for the

survey was 100 people.

It is possible that the information supplied by the informants may be

incorrect. So, the study may lack accuracy.

For presenting about McDonalds and KFC, only secondary source of data

was referred. No interviews with the company personnel, whether the

operational or managerial levels were conducted.