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Think of a specific company's product. What segmentation base/s does the company use to segment its market? And what is the targeting strategy that the company uses to target its market? Justify your answer.

McDonald’s McFalafel

The company I am dealing with here is the international well known fast food brand McDonald’s which has global presence in the four corners of the world. The specific product is called McFalafel. The following is my analysis for the segmentation base and targeting strategy of this product as used by McDonald's.

Introduction:

Falafel (or Tamiaa) is a fried ball or patty made from spiced fava beans and/or chickpeas. It is a popular form of fast food in the Middle East in general and in Egypt in particular. Falafel is usually served in a pita-like bread called Arabic bread, either inside the bread, which acts as a pocket, or wrapped in a flat bread.

In many countries falafel is a popular street food or fast food. The falafel balls, whole or crushed, may be topped with salads, pickled vegetables and hot sauce, and drizzled with tahini-based sauces.

Falafel balls may also be eaten alone as a snack. During Ramadan, they are sometimes eaten as part of an iftar, the meal which breaks the daily fast after sunset. Falafel has been part of the diet of Egyptians and the people of the Middle East for centuries.

Segmentation:

McDonald’s depended on the geographic segmentation of the Middle East Region, particulary Egypt. In addition, McDonald’s also depended on the demographic segmentation based on income. As a global renowned fast food company, McDonald’s has seen an opportunity in introducing McFalafel to the Egyptian market. Many reasons encouraged McDonald’s to seize this opportunity such as:

▪ Falafel is the first popular meal in Egypt. ▪ There was a growing concern about the mad-cow disease especially during the years 2000 – 2006 and people were searching for alternatives other than meat. ▪ Being part of people’s daily life and getting closer to their local needs bring strength to McDonald’s situation in the Egyptian market.

Targeting:

Target market consists of a set of buyers who share common needs or characteristics that the company decides to serve. Micromarketing is the practice of tailoring products and marketing programs to suit the tastes of specific individuals and locations. In our case McFalafel targets the Egyptian local market of low class people.

However, due to few factors, the targeting process of McFalafel did not meet success in Egypt. These factors include:

▪ McDonald’s is generally reputed as a place for middle to upper class. This is why lower class people, who are the most consumers of Falafel, refrain from entering McDonald’s. ▪ The relatively high price. Although all social classes eat Falafel, it is most consumed by low class people who cannot afford LE 4 per sandwich whereas they can get it outside with less than LE 1. ▪ The general brand image of McDonald’s is beef and chicken. It would be difficult to change customers’ opinion about that. When people go to McDonald's they are pre-decided that which of these two options they will take. It is something like paradigm. Another reason could be that middle and upper class people might not have the same affection for Tamiaa as much as the low class people who opted for Tamiaa mainly due to its low price, and it became part of their culture.

Conclusion:

It is noteworthy to mention that in my opinion, there are certain steps not taken by McDonald’s which could have saved McFalafel, such as:

▪ Enhance the advertising campaign to even distribute free small samples in malls or shopping places. ▪ Revise the pricing strategy to the break-even point at least for the first year of introducing the sandwich to the market. ▪ Include free potatoes or other promotional offers of food. ▪ Stress the healthy advantages of hygiene while making McFalafel in comparison to popular restaurants.

References

Kotler P., Armstrong G., Habib A., Tolba A., (2001) Principles of Marketing, Arab World Edition, Pearson

http://www.eatoutzone.com/Falafel.htm