Kfc - Maintaining an Effective and Successful Company

Introduction

Currently, KFC's growth is determined by a strategy that consists of maintaining an effective and successful company. The factors that drive KFC to be successful are franchising and building emphasis on corporately-owned restaurants. Franchising helps KFC to expand further into countries that can only support a small number of restaurants. In contrast, paying more attention on corporately-owned restaurants provided KFC with more control over their product, quality, and cleanliness of every restaurant.

However, while attempting to penetrate into foreign markets, KFC has encountered several obstacles that have hindered the company's ability to achieve its goal of expansion. While KFC was the first fast-food restaurant to expand globally, recently, much of its attention has been focused towards Latin America and Mexico. Furthermore, KFC should consider other international markets such as Europe and China, which offer large population and attractive markets for high potential growth.

Marketing Plan

The marketing plan implemented will include a problem statement, alternatives, and recommendations. Focus will be given to the multi-branding expansion in the organization, as well as others. Due to the recent success of 2-in-1 locations nationwide, it was suggested that KFC should continue with this strategy, and expand into 3-in-1 locations. Yum! Brands are currently market leaders in the chicken, seafood, pizza, and taco industries. The only segment in which the organization does not hold the position as market leader is the hamburger industry; however, A&W was acquired in order to corner this market, and diversify holdings. Research conducted will include basic information regarding strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for KFC, as well as product, place, price, and promotion. Moreover, alternatives will be examined in order to improve the operations of KFC, and lastly, a final recommendation will be provided.

The primary strength of KFC resides in the fact that the organization represents the number one fast-food chicken chain in the world. When it comes to weaknesses, perhaps the greatest fault of KFC has been the dramatic change in management that the organization has experienced through the years. The largest opportunity for KFC resides in continuous expansion into multi-branding; while the greatest threat relates to the increasing trend of health-conscious consumers that strive towards a healthier lifestyle.

KFC has become the leader in the fast-food chicken industry by continuing to diversify its product line throughout the years. KFC expanded its menu in 1992 to include a greater variety of products that are lower in fat than the traditional fried chicken, such as chicken wings, popcorn chicken, and honey BBQ chicken. In addition, KFC later added rotisserie chicken, chicken pot pie,