The Mystery of McDonald’s Target Market
The restaurant market is one of the largest and most competitive industries in the world. For decades, the dominant player in this market has been McDonald’s; it has steadily expanded to become an international phenomenon that spans hundreds of countries and serves tens of millions of customers each day. But if you look closely at McDonald’s marketing strategy, you’ll see that it doesn’t focus on serving everyone in the market who might be interested in its products. Instead, it focuses on attracting specific types of customers who are easier to satisfy and will likely spend more money over time than other customers would. Here, let us know about McDonald’s target market
Have you ever wondered why McDonald’s advertises so often and in so many different places?
You might think it has something to do with the fact that it serves over 70 million customers every day, or that it’s the largest restaurant chain in the world, but if you really take some time to consider what makes McDonald’s an effective advertising target market, you will find that there are still many unanswered questions. If you are looking to conduct research on the McDonald’s target market, you will first need to understand some important facts about the company and its advertising practices.
Introduction
This article will discuss which factors influence McDonald’s to decide its market segment. In doing so, we hope to gain a better understanding of what consumers are looking for and where they choose to go shopping.
- Additionally, by having a deeper insight into what affects their choice-making processes, it is hoped that marketers might be able to make more informed decisions about their marketing strategies.
Deep analysis should provide answers to questions such as: –
- What makes consumers want certain products?
- -Why do consumers buy certain brands? -What drives consumer behavior?
- Research Questions: Why does McDonald’s target audience matter?
- What drives consumer demand for goods/services produced by organizations like McDonald’s?
- How do people develop perceptions about new services/products or revisit existing services/products in various markets?
- (McDonald’s) How does service quality affect performance outcomes and image variables within organizations like MacDonald’s?
Consumers by Age
McDonald’s is marketing their products to an increasingly older audience.
In 2012, 19% of customers were aged 18-24 years old, down from 22% in 2011 and 24% in 2010. Meanwhile, 25-34-year-olds represented 32% of sales in 2012 (up from 30% in 2011), 35-44-year-olds were 29% (down from 31%), and 45-54-year-olds increased slightly to 17%.
Education Level
For over 45 years, McDonald’s has remained one of America’s favorite fast-food restaurant chains. However, with a growing number of competitors, including local and franchise-owned stores, it has become more important than ever for McDonald’s to attract new customers and continue to maintain a strong customer base.
- When examining McDonald’s target market one quickly realizes that demographic factors are vital to understanding which consumers and businesses will have a higher propensity to visit or purchase from restaurants or drive-thrus.
- In many ways, demographics can be viewed as a person’s buying habits and behavior patterns when deciding what products they would like to buy; although these pieces can be difficult to define because it varies from person to person.
Factors such as income level play an important role in defining a consumer’s purchasing power which has influenced how much time a parent will spend working versus spending time raising their children.
Type of job
What is the job market like for fast-food workers? It all depends on what type of job you want. If you want to manage a franchise one day, you may need college or business school, or extensive experience in managing employees and overseeing accounts.
That said, employers often seek applicants with work experience in their restaurants. That can include positions as crew members (cooks and cashiers), who start out earning minimum wage and gradually work their way up to higher pay as they move into supervisory roles with more responsibility and better hours. There are also opportunities for high schoolers looking for summer jobs, though not typically full-time employment after graduation.
Country where you live
The United States and Canada are by far their largest target markets. While they have managed to secure many international locations, as well, they still see North America as their main priority.
- The one exception is in Germany, where they’ve found success through a partnership with Deutsche Telekom AG called McCafé.
- As part of that contract, Deutsche Telekom maintains approximately 1000 McCafés across Europe and is solely responsible for catering to its German clientele; in doing so, it exclusively provides McDonald’s coffee to those locations.
- No matter how hard other countries may try to imitate these relationships, no other chain has been able to find such an effective arrangement.
- All McDonald’s restaurants outside of North America and Japan fall under host-country marketing plans, which means each individual location must determine what foods will appeal most to its specific customer base—which can sometimes lead to major differences between locations.
For example, you won’t find fish filets or McFlurries in France!
Ethnicity
McDonald’s is most popular with Caucasians, who represent 40% of customers. Blacks make up a fairly equal share, at 16%, but Hispanics form a much smaller percentage, at 12%. Asians and Pacific Islanders, who make up 4% of customers are almost outnumbered by American Indians and Alaskan Natives (4%).
- Surprisingly, there’s no pattern regarding gender; males and females are equally likely to eat at Mickey D’s.
