Assignment 1a – Porters 5 Forces Essay Example

products in the market presents a risk for the company. For instance, Subway's brand value surged by 39% in the previous year (Millward Brown, 2008, p.).

As customer awareness of food nutrition increases, they are seeking healthier options and value for money. Unfortunately, McDonald's products are mostly known for being high in unhealthy fats. In order to remain competitive in this market, McDonald's must offer healthier alternatives and consider implementing loyalty programs or lowering prices to avoid losing customers to cheaper competitors. A strategic direction for future growth is recommended.

McDonald's growth is in danger as it faces the risk of losing customers to healthier food options or competitors with lower prices and loyalty programs. Two government proposals were made in 2008 to ban advertising for "junk food" due to the estimated economic impact of obesity at $21 billion, as reported by The West Australian newspaper. It should be highlighted that McDonald's has not implemented any recent loyalty programs.

To address the challenges of a price-sensitive market and to counter negative perceptions of the nutritional value of McDonald’s food, my suggestion is to implement a loyalty program that rewards customers who repeatedly purchase from their healthy food product lines. To participate, customers can receive loyalty cards that track their purchases of eligible items. With each purchase, they accumulate credits that can be redeemed for menu items from the healthy options section. This approach could increase customer loyalty by offering value for money and retaining customers who may have otherwise been deterred by concerns about healthy eating in the media. Reference: McDonald’s Company viewed on 21 September 2008 at ;http://www.mcdonalds>.

You can view the 2008 Brandz Top 100 by

Millward Brown Optimor on their website at http://www.millwardbrown.com.au/HTML/inside/company.asp. The site was accessed on September 16, 2008 and is also available at http://www.millwardbrown.com.The media report titled "BrandZ-2008-Report.pdf" can be found at "com/Sites/optimor/Media/Pdfs/en/". The article "Govts get off the couch on obesity problem" was published on August 29, 2008 in The West Australian.