CASES IN MARKETING MANAGEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

CASES IN MARKETING MANAGEMENT - Essay Example Competition, including McDonalds, Wendy’s and Burger King, has been opening business in South American countries of Chile, Argentina and Brazil, while KFC intends to focus on Mexico (De Wit & Meyer 916). A major issue in the expansion of franchising is the disconnection between the management and the franchisees: the latter feels that the management does not understand the chicken business and is not aware of the way fast food restaurants are run. In the past, this has impacted sales as well as customers. Case in point is the strategy of the company to distance itself from its Southern deep fried legacy in favor of healthier cooking options such as grilling. Helm (2010) writes that this strategy is actually hurting the brand and the traditional customers. However, there is an increasing number of people in the US and in countries where the company operates who are opting for healthier options, mostly refraining from deep fried fast foods. This creates a big dilemma for the company as it does not have anything to offer this growing group of consumers. Another issue is the management of franchise cost of KFC, which is currently quite high, taking into account the increased food items prices and inflationary pressures in potential markets. The company needs to open doors in more locations after detailed research and testing. This testing should include culture testing to establish better pricing strategies in conjunction with local franchisees; besides, the company must be more locally entrenched. Traditionally, KFC has opted for a standard franchising strategy wherein standard menus and services have been offered to consumers irrespective of country or region. Competition such as McDonalds, however, has made effort to rework on its tactics to make them more culturally entrenched and local. This means that the policy of standardization must not be used extensively, except for standards of