Mcdonalds and Starbucks Essay Example

customer preferences based on their cultural, social, and religious values, the restaurant provides specific menu options such as a vegetarian menu in India where beef consumption is restricted for religious reasons.

In addition to the company's positive financial outlook and increasing customer inflow, McDonald's is prioritizing store remodeling to create a more relaxing and pleasant atmosphere. As part of these renovations, they are updating furniture, wall colors, air circulation systems, and adding Wi-Fi. They have also made changes to the drive thru for improved efficiency. These efforts aim to transform McDonald's into a social destination rather than the typical fast-food restaurant. Furthermore, McDonald's considers local customs and traditions when designing their stores to attract customers from the local community.

McDonalds is heavily investing in e-commerce for various reasons such as process enhancement and brand promotion. E-commerce is widely utilized for product and service communication, cultural promotion, and customer interaction. Brand promotion involves online advertising and the use of social media. McDonalds places significant emphasis on online media because it enables direct customer engagement.

McDonald's constantly reinvents itself, focusing on customer needs, which leads to a promising brand value and image, resulting in increased profits. Similarly, Starbucks, under the ownership of Howard Shultz since 1984, has successfully become the largest coffee chain globally. The company's efforts have been directed towards fostering a coffeehouse culture in its stores.

According to the "Company Timeline" (2009), Starbucks founder Howard Shultz emphasized that while coffee is the core of their business, it is the experience they provide in their stores and throughout their company that sets them apart. He highlighted the importance of quality coffee and serving their customers. With approximately 20,000 stores,

Starbucks has become the global leader in the coffee chain industry. Their commitment to creating a "third place" atmosphere, where customers can relax, indulge, rejuvenate, and enjoy, as described by Hummon D. (1991), distinguishes them from their competitors. Starbucks' brand value and marketing strategy initially focused on enticing customers to visit their stores and enjoy their coffee.

Starbucks has experienced growth through customer recommendations and visits to its appealing storefronts. The company dedicated its resources to expanding its stores in response to the increasing number of customers. Starbucks prioritized enhancing the customer experience during store visits, which led them to place significant importance on store designs.

The company developed a distinctive store design centered around the four elements of earth, water, air, and fire, representing the coffee bean growth process. This design choice also influenced other elements, including the use of round tables to create a relaxed atmosphere for customers. Overall, the store's unique design elements were unmatched by competitors. (Birchall)

According to J (2005), there are four design concepts implemented by Storedeisgn (2012). These concepts involve the use of regionally inspired furniture and culturally relevant fabrics to create a calm and contemporary aesthetic suitable for our fast-paced society.

E-commerce plays a crucial role in Starbucks' marketing strategy as it facilitates customer connection. This is exemplified by the provision of internet Wi-Fi in a large number of Starbucks stores both domestically and globally. The implementation of Wi-Fi has proven to be highly advantageous for Starbucks, as it has already yielded positive outcomes (Tedechi, 2003).

The company uses a highly active social network to collect direct feedback from customers, which is crucial for influencing product design and development according to customer

preferences. This social network also assists in resolving customer problems and preserving the company's brand reputation. Moreover, their website offers comprehensive explanations of in-store products and enables customers to reserve exclusive coffees exclusively available at certain stores. Nevertheless, it is important to note that their e-commerce functionalities are not very advanced. Furthermore, there is potential for them to explore possibilities like in-store digital content and mobile payments.

Starbucks has a strong focus on customer experience and presents their product and store designs in a masterful way. Their strategy revolves around providing the highest quality coffee beans.

Starbucks is the embodiment of being conscious about its brand. The company possesses a unique and identifiable voice, which attracts customer loyalty based on a clear understanding of their desires, principles, and way of life. A notable distinction between McDonald's and Starbucks is their market positioning. These two retailers provoke disparate perceptions. Starbucks resembles an elegant living room, providing a space for customers to enjoy coffee and read the news. Conversely, McDonald's exudes a bright illumination with seating comprised of plastic and vinyl, serving meals in the billions. Throughout history, different segments of society have been affiliated with these brands.

Despite Starbucks penetrating various sectors of society, not just a small elite segment, McDonald's visitor presence remained unchanged. The commonality between them is their aggressive growth strategy and international marketing approach. Both companies have a wide network of locations spread across multiple countries. Additionally, they prioritize cultural and regional interests, allowing them to tailor their design, food menu, and marketing strategies to specific markets before and after launching.

Both Starbucks and McDonald's experienced rapid growth, expanding their stores nationally and internationally. However, this

growth concealed underlying issues that affected their businesses at one point. Starbucks took note of McDonald's challenges and implemented changes. For instance, one noticeable change was in the menu offered to cater to health-conscious customers. While McDonald's is known for high-calorie foods like hamburgers and fries, their advertising of kids' happy meals in the 80s contributed to a rise in childhood obesity, causing dissatisfaction among many parents.

Starbucks, unlike McDonalds, has learned from their mistake and made efforts to include healthy sandwiches in their menu, despite still offering high-calorie Frappuccinos. In terms of labor-related concerns, McDonalds faced severe criticism for taking advantage of the desperation of young workers, while Starbucks practices a socially responsible business philosophy. Notably, Starbucks provides health insurance coverage to even part-time employees (Fellner).

According to K (2008, p 142), McDonald's main environmental concern for critics is its waste and packaging. It also faces criticism from animal rights activists regarding the treatment and slaughter of animals. On the other hand, Starbucks is known for purchasing and selling environmentally friendly products and has a track record of promoting ethical practices through the conservation of tropical forests (Birchall, J, 2008). Starbucks has further enhanced its brand value by diversifying into mass distribution of coffee and related products.

McDonalds and Starbucks both became revered brands and market leaders by successfully spreading their brand in mainstream markets. They achieved this through joint ventures with PepsiCo and Dreyers ice-cream, learning from their mistakes, and adapting their business strategies to changing customer trends (Botterill ; Kline).

(2007). From McLibel to McLettuce: Childhood, spin and re-branding. Society and Business Review, 2(1), 74-97. Doi:10.

1108/17465680710725281 Birchall, J. (2005, Mar 29). The business blend that brought

Starbucks to the world: BOOK REVIEW BUILT FOR GROWTH. Personalising the impersonal, achieving a unified concept of design and encouraging high touch service it takes a sophisticated brew of elements to sell coffee, discovers Jonathan Birchall. Financial Times, pp. 11-11.

Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/249661351?accountid=8289 Fellner, K, 2008, Wrestling with Starbucks: Conscience, capital, cappuccino, Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, New Jersey. p 142 Hummon, D.

M. (1991). Ray Oldenburg's book "The Great Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Community Centers, Beauty Parlors, General Stores, Bars, Hangouts, and How They Can Get You Through the Day" examines different social places and their influence on individuals' lives. This critique of the book is available in Social Forces journal, volume 69(3), pages 931-931. The review is sourced from http://search.

The Company Timeline for Starbucks can be found at proquest.com/docview/229863366?accountid=8289. Additionally, information about Starbucks' store design can be found at starbucks.com/coffeehouse/store-design.The source of the information is a PDF file from the Starbucks website, specifically from the newsroom reference page. The PDF file is titled "Company Timeline" and was accessed on January 22, 2012. The author of the PDF is M. L. Light.

& Kiddon, J. S. (2009). Six Rules for Brand Revitalization: Learn How Companies Like McDonald’s Can Re-Energize Their Brands, 1st Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Tedechi,Bob, 2003,E-Commerce Report; Starbucks and McDonald's lead the drive for the customer that uses wireless Internet technology, New York Times from http://www.

The URL https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/14/business/e-commerce-report-starbucks-mcdonald-s-lead-drive-for-customer-that-uses.html?pagewanted=all;src=pm leads to a report on e-commerce from The New York Times.