People may not be eating as often as before at McDonald’s because they may be growing tired of McDonald’s menu. Nothing really great has changed through generations. Besides, the quality of food is not really good. The fastfood chain’s chief advantage is speed, but even perception of that seems to be deteriorating. People’s taste for food may have also changed, especially with so many migrants around and global influence. Image seems to be another problem. The idea of a kiddie place and a clown might not seem cool to teenagers and people in their 20s. McDonald’s attempts to be a café does not quite seem cool and contrived. Perhaps, the name itself might have problems to some age group: It may sound old and dated, and therefore not cool.
The challenge for McDonald’s—and perhaps many companies developed for the 1950s – 1970s generation—is to meet the demands and needs of the millennial generation. These are young people in their teens up to their 30s, born in the 1980s to early 2000s. This is a generation born into the computer or information age. They were born practically at the same time as the microcomputer was introduced to the market. The availability of computers and later the internet defines many of their knowledge, habits and lifestyles. Certainly, they, far more than generations before them are aware, of global trends as these trends occur. There is no time lag on trends in one country to another, especially in the developed world. The challenge for many companies is to be able to keep up with their developing needs and to be able to reach them through the evolving means of communication.
2. For your generation, what is the main problem with McDonald’s? Are you tired of hamburgers generally? Or are you just tired of hamburgers at McDonald’s?
The main problem with McDonald’s is first its food and second its image. The problem is not the hamburgers per se; the problem is the kind of hamburgers that McDonald’s serves. They are just too bland and safe, meant to address the majority of the mass market. There is little you could do to customize it or to improve its tasted. The condiments and other add-ons available are very limited. So, one ends up with essentially the same hamburger all the time.
McDonald’s has an image that feels too old for today’s young generation. The place feels like something that one would go to with his or her parents as a young kid. It feels a bit awkward when one wants to shake off the feeling of eating with one’s parents or somebody older to pay for one’s meals. The outlets seem to be a bit out of touch with today’s trends. It is still the same self-service kind of restaurant that some outlets have veered away from. It is not cool to talk on social media about McDonald’s as regular eating place.
Another important reality into today’s environment that could be affecting young people’s attitudes toward McDonald’s is the presence of internet and social media. Unlike for previous generations, the internet and social media is an important source of awareness for young people. Not only are these new media a source of information but they are also a way for young people to gain social acceptance. It is through the internet that many people today find out new trends that they could adapt. Because many new companies are also small, they do not have as big a budget as big companies like McDonald’s. So, they use alternative and cheaper means of communication. Happily for them, new media are cheaper and also reach a younger audience.
3. Beyond just your own impression, what FACTS are cited in the article about the competitive position of McDonald’s? Which of these facts does McDonald’s most need to focus on?
The 20s to 30s age group—part of the so-called millennials—is an essential part of McDonald’s market. Unfortunately, it is this age group that are veering away from McDonald’s. Availability of choices that customers find better than McDonald’s is another important fact in the shift of patronage. Such brands as Chipotle, Panera Bread Co., Noodles & Co., and Corner Bakery Café are making inroads into this target group. Sit-down format and availability of customizable choices are among the important factors. Labor issues in some franchises are also becoming problems leading to some losses in competitive advantage. Being a brand very strongly associated with the US or as American, it has suffered from some kind of harassment in China and Russia. Some of its outlets have closed as the company has been accused of unsanitary practices and using expired meat. Perhaps, most important of all is changing demographics and lifestyles especially with regard to healthy eating practices. McDonald’s products are perceived, rightly or wrongly, as unhealthy compared with those offered by competitors.
4. In terms of the organizational life cycle, is McDonald’s now starting to decline? Or is this setback just a dip in a much more open-ended process?
McDonald’s product or service concept may be starting to decline. The brand may have a chance to survive in the long term. The problem with McDonald’s concept is that this was developed in the 1950s. The concept was greatly needed as there were no low-cost restaurants with standard and consistent products and service available around. Every restaurant was a stand-alone unit. No one knows the quality of products and service that these restaurants have. Quality varies from one restaurant to another, and from place to place. One would know what to expect and feel safe eating at McDonald’s anywhere in the world. Besides, it was difficult to find out what alternative restaurants are available. Print and broadcast advertising were mainly the available source of information.
McDonald’s needs to adjust itself to changing trends. Today, information about restaurants abound, and customer reviews—numerous of them—are available on the internet. If a new restaurant opens, people who try the place out would write reviews about them and any one could check out these reviews. Restaurants can also be compared easily. So, they try to always improve their products. Restaurants would outstanding recipes stand by and stick with these recipes; those with bad ones improve them. McDonald’s should do something about their food given the bad and consistently bad reviews. It should keep in touch with the evolving tastes of customers. McDonald’s definite decline—that could lead to its demise—could still be arrested. It should break away from its old concept and study the customers closely.
