5 Takeaways from Mcdonald’s Case Study You Should Not Miss in Your Report

Business students have to do a lot of case studies throughout their course. This is because they have to understand the working of the business of the real-world, which they cannot understand through textbook concepts. There are some classic case studies that are included in the curriculum of all kinds of business courses. This is because these cases or businesses have set an example that every business manager follows. The McDonald’s case study is one of them. You may think of french fries when you hear about McDonald’s, but it has more to it. It has one of the most interesting stories and the fact that it still has a thriving business after more than half a decade of its inception is quite commendable.

Students performing a case study mostly tend to focus on facts and fill their reports with them. But a case study aims to analyze these facts and provide interpretations. Here is a list of key takeaways from the McDonald’s case study that you shouldn’t miss in your report:

1. Keep on Re-Inventing to Stay Relevant

Most of the early-established businesses are seen to have the trait of not changing. They tend to keep their business traditional, but that is not the case with McDonald’s. It recognizes that the customer needs change with time and business needs to adapt to the changing trends to survive. They keep constantly changing and trying new things to keep the customer engaged. They created region-specific menus, build an online presence and keep trying new things like all-day breakfast and such so the customer isn’t bored.

2. Importance of Philanthropy

Businesses are always being watched for their social contributions. And McDonald’s has made sure they do their part by investing in children’s health, giving out scholarships, starting fundraisers etc.

3. Focus on Branding and Presence

McDonald’s has focused on its brand and presence from the very beginning when the concept of branding wasn’t as strong as it is in today’s world. The founder paid emphasis on the now popular yellow ‘M’ with its arches. They kept this consistent in all their branding to this day. The ‘I’m lovin it’ slogan was also chosen to create a neutral and positive messaging that would make everyone connect to it.

4. The Up-selling Strategy

“Would you like fries with that?” Well, it’s hard to say no to that. How many times have you went to McDonald and purchased a single item? Rarely right? Most customers go to get a burger and end up buying a coke and fries or what is called a combo. This has become an obvious order for most customers. But actually, it has been a strategy used by the fast-food chain. They wait for the customer to decide and then provide them with an offer that would influence them.

5. Giving Convenience Priority

Fast-food means convenience and McDonald’s is seen by many to be the pioneer of this food and convenience trend when they started offering food in convenient packaging. Since then, they have done a lot to improve the factor by offering options like drive-thru orders, online ordering and home delivery.

A good case study must always state the key learning at the end. But most students struggle with this as they are not trained to draw inferences and make interpretations. The above-mentioned are some takeaways that you can mention in your McDonald’s case study report.

Summary: This write-up lists some of the key takeaways from McDonald’s case study.