Service Quality and Branding

Strategies at McDonalds

By: Chenoy Ceil

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 Service Quality and Service Efficiency at McDonalds

Table of Contents

1. Report Summary................................................................................................................3

2. Introduction........................................................................................................................3

3. Characteristics of Service Structure at McDonald’s......................................................4

4. Market Segmentation at McDonald’s..............................................................................6

5. Service Blueprint at McDonald’s...................................................................................10

6. Service Recovery Recommendations..............................................................................13

7. SERVQUAL Recommendations.....................................................................................14

8. Brand Strategy Recommendations for McDonald’s.....................................................16

9. Conclusion........................................................................................................................18

10. References.........................................................................................................................20

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 Service Quality and Service Efficiency at McDonalds

Report Summary
This report looks at the service quality and service efficiency delivered at the restaurant
chain of McDonald’s. McDonald’s was first opened in USA over 50 years ago and the first
McDonald’s in UK was opened at Woolwich in 1974 (Crosby, 1979). Today, McDonald has
opened over 1000 branches in UK. This report looks at the existing service structure at
McDonalds and provides certain recommendations in the field of SERVQUAL and brand
strategy that the company might incorporate to improve their service efficiency. This report takes
into account the service characteristics such as intangibility, heterogeneity that are relevant to the
fast-food chain restaurants such as McDonald’s. Further, this report also studies the service
blueprint and servicescape that has been adopted at various outlets of the company.
From the findings of this report it can be suggested that there is scope for improvement of
McDonald’s stores in their design layout for faster delivery of food and better service delivery to
consumers. Branding strategies of the company such as co-branding and individual branding can
be adopted to improve the perception of the service quality amongst consumers. This report
proves that SERVQUAL can be utilized to understand the gaps creates in service delivery and
consumer perception (Carman, 1990). This report helps in understanding how McDonald’s can
improve their service qualities to improve customer perception (Bolton and Drew, 1991).

Introduction
Service marketing is very different from product marketing and the field of services
marketing was first developed in late 1970s. Since then, there has been huge progress in
developing service quality and service efficiency to improve consumer retention. Service
industry is generally developed in advanced economies and branding service providing
companies can be very difficult to maintain.
In 1985, Zeithmal et al. were the first researchers to suggest that services are different
from tangible goods and service industry generally composes of four unique characteristics such
as intangibility, heterogeneity (variability), perishability and inseparability (Brown et al., 1991).
Another fifth quality of services is the lack of ownership. Services can only be experienced but
never owned.

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 Service Quality and Service Efficiency at McDonalds

These qualities are unique to the service sector. However, some of these qualities are
directly expressed by some consumer products. This paper looks into the different service quality
factors as well as servicescape model and functions evident at McDonald’s fast-food restaurants
around the world. The characteristics of services, the SERVQUAL gap are studied and thereafter
service quality recommendations are suggested that will help to improve the service quality at
McDonald’s outlets.

Characteristics of Service Structure at McDonalds

McDonalds is all about quality food, excellent service and cleanliness. McDonalds is
world known for their food chains and they are known as one of the world’s biggest food retail
chain. However, McDonald’s services are wide in variety and the range of products served in
their menu also varies widely ranging from hamburgers, sandwiches and French fries to salads,
milk shakes and sundaes (Yunus, Razak and Ilias, 2013). True to the service industry,
McDonald’s services are variable in nature and they provide wide range of services to their
customers. Heterogeneity or variability can be of particular risk in the service sector if different
customers are provided different services (Zeithmal et al., 1985). Heterogeneity leads to lack of
standardization of services and can lead to negative consumer perception. It is true that
McDonald’s tries to maintain homogeneity in its products line throughout the world but the same
cannot be said about the services provided by the outlet managers and staff. However with the
retail format, training and staff management, McDonald’s continuously tries to maintain some
form of homogeneity in its services. McDonald’s greatest strength is its consistency in services
through its products (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, 2012). Services are difficult to be made similar
or standardized and most often services might vary (Lewis, 1993). However, at McDonald’s, the
services are uniform because whether customer’s are buying a Big Mac at India or UK, they will
get the same quality of the product and same sort of service (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, 2012).
However, maintaining the same form of quality in service is indeed difficult and heterogeneity is
a part of the service industry because production and consumption is inseparable when a service
is generated (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, 2012). Although, at McDonald’s training is imparted to
the employees to increase consistency and reliability of the services but it cannot be guaranteed

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 Service Quality and Service Efficiency at McDonalds

that the services will be similar always at all stores throughout the world. This why heterogeneity
is a part of the services offered at McDonalds.
Another important quality of services at McDonald’s is that they provide excellent
seating and décor. Physical facilities and equipment at McDonald’s forms the tangible part of the
business that can be seen. Tangibles are often employed in the service industry to make an
impression. Services generally tend to be intangible as the service cannot be caught or touched.
However, the service can always be felt. Services are intangible and at McDonald’s both
intangible and tangibles are utilized in the marketing mix. McDonald’s utilizes world class
standardized features for their internal décor and organization of the outlets (Yunus, Razak and
Ilias, 2013). However, in spite of the tangibles, inherent services at McDonald’s remains
intangible in nature. McDonald’s also faces the challenges that any service industry faces related
with the intangibility of the services offered.
Services at McDonald’s are intangible in nature and this implies that they cannot be
touched. This creates difficulty in developing concrete, tangible service offerings for the
consumers (Gronroos, 1978). Quality of services are difficult to assess because they lack search
quality (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, 2012). Similarly, due to the intangible nature of the services
offered at McDonald’s, most of the services are difficult to assess and understand by the
consumers. Consumers only have experience quality and it is through their feedback that the
service providers understand the quality perception of the service.
Behind the décor at McDonald’s lies the amount of services that the employees invest in
keeping the consumers happy. The entire process from making of the product till the delivery of
the food item to the consumer is the service process (Yunus, Razak and Ilias, 2013). Service
quality is measured not by the quality of the end product served at McDonald’s but by the quality
of the service that creates perception within the mind of the consumer (Douglas and Connor,
2003). Quality is an important service process that is of utmost importance at McDonalds.
Quality depends a lot on customer perception and McDonalds has been able to generate positive
consumer behaviour with its various outlets and excellent services.
Perceived service quality is very important for success of any business and McDonald’s
has been able to concentrate on providing the right services to their consumers with the help of
various services. Another important characteristic of the services offered at McDonald’s is the

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 Service Quality and Service Efficiency at McDonalds

inseparable nature of the services. Inseparability implies that production of goods and their sale
occurs simultaneously giving little time to separate the impact of the two. At McDonald’s,
burgers and French fries are produced within the store and served fresh, giving very little time to
differentiate between the quality of the good and the quality of the service. This is relevant with
the idea presented by Shostack (1977) that when the mix of services and goods are closely
related, then there might be problems with defining the market as service or goods industry.
Another characteristic of the service industry is perishability of services. Perishability
implies the inability of services to last long without ending (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, 2012).
Services cannot be stored or warehoused and this creates tremendous financial difficulty in the
service sector. However, perishability of services does not imply that goods cannot be
imperishable. At McDonald’s, the services provided by the employees are uniform but they can
end with end of day’s service.
Lack of ownership is another important feature of the service sector. Each service offered
at McDonald’s provide a unique experience. However, this experience cannot be bought and
hence it has to end (Edgett and Parkinson, 1993). Ownership

Market Segmentation at McDonald’s

Consumer behaviour is largely dictated by perception, which in turn is reliant upon
lifestyle, status, beliefs, attitude, motivation and experience. Consumer perception can be altered
by building trust and motivating consumers to buy specific products and services (Schiffman et
al., 2014). Understanding consumer behaviour helps the company to understand purchase
decisions. This in turn will help the company to make the right changes in their marketing mix to
draw a lot more consumers to their products and services. Factors that affect purchase decision
and product use are also important to understand how consumer behaviour is regulated (Lamb,
Hair and McDaniel, 2012).
Consumer behaviour depends on various factors and it is impossible to have same service
blueprint for different restaurant outlets located in different parts of the world. Customer
satisfaction plays an important role in developing consumer behaviour (Churchill and
Surprenant, 1982). McDonald’s outlets comes under the restaurant business and they have to
take into consideration the unique consumer behaviour while working in any market. For

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 Service Quality and Service Efficiency at McDonalds

example, while entering the Indian market in 1996, McDonald’s specifically focused on
considering the non-vegetarian palate of the Indian consumers and focused on creating special
items such as McAloo Tikki Burger which is a potato burger meant for non-vegetarians
(Majumdar, 2010).
Consumer behaviour depends on various factors and culture and local conditions are
important considerations (Lee and Ulgado, 1997). In the study conducted by Lee and Ulgado
(1997), it has been found that customer evaluation of fast-food services often depends not only
on internal factors but also on external factors. McDonald’s has focused on thinking globally but
acting locally. Since Indians worship cows, McDonald’s has also gone to the extent of dropping
beef from the Big Mac and instead going with chicken to adhere to the local tastes of the Indian
market. However, consumer behaviour is not just regulated by internal factors but they are also
regulated by outside factors. Most importantly, consumer behaviour can only be understood by
understanding the consumer decision making process (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, 2012).
The buying process is a continued process and it is dependent upon the relative
importance given to particular factors by the buyers (Woodruff, Cadotte and Jenkins, 1983). For
example, McDonald’s is in the restaurant food-chain business and it offers variety of products
and exclusive services that makes the company unique. However, when people buy burgers at
McDonald’s, they will always compare the quality and price of the burgers at other companies
such as Burger King or others. This shows that decision makers will do some research or utilize
his own experience to decide what to buy.
Consumer decision making is based on need recognition, information search, evaluation
of alternatives and finally the decision to buy. McDonald’s have created their service unique in
several ways so that the consumers would be happy with the service quality as well as the quality
of the products. Consumers generally go with McDonald’s due to excellent services offered at
McDonald’s. The decision-making process by consumers depends not only the service but also
the previous experience with the service, interest in the service, social visibility of the service
and such other factors (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, 2012).
Understanding consumer behaviour is a difficult task and McDonald’s understands the
needs of the consumer. However, McDonald’s is also aware of the risks involved with their
business structure. Retail outlets and restaurants require a lot of market research to understand

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 Service Quality and Service Efficiency at McDonalds

the quality of the services offered. Consumers generally tend to decide whether to go with brand
first, retail outlet second or retail outlet is given more priority compared to brand of the company
(Ramesh, 2008).
Due to all the factors that play a role in the industry, McDonald’s thought about utilizing
consumer behaviour to understand which market to target. McDonald’s target segment has often
been baby boomers and the children. Services at McDonald’s including games, toys and other
such promotional items that are given with the Happy Meal to young customers (Shimizu, 2012).
McDonald’s understood from the buying behaviour of consumers that they like incentives and
rewards, especially children. So, McDonald’s developed their services strategy towards children
by introducing several funny characters and gave out free gifts with meals.
Targeting a particular market depends on analysis of consumer buying behaviour.
McDonald’s has focused its services towards baby boomers because they have realized that
buying behaviour of small families often gets motivated by children’s choices and if the children
can be targeted then automatically the family will also indulge in the same product and services.
McDonld’s has also utilized their services to position their products in unique markets. By
understanding the buying preferences and food tastes of people from all around the world,
McDonald’s has been able to create specific products for specific markets. McDonald’s has been
able to create products such as the McFalafel in Egypt, Samurai Pork Burger in Thailand and Mc
Aloo Tikki Burger for the Indian market (Shimizu, 2012).
Identifying the bases for any market is important to understand the consumers to be
targeted. The selection of bases for market segmentation is a critical process that is dependent on
several important criteria (Wedel, Wagner and Kamakura, 2000). Some of the common bases for
market segmentation are geographic, demographic, psychographic, behavioural and others
(Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, 2012). McDonald’s has focused on segmenting their products
according to the bases of demographic, psychographic and behavioural.
Demographic segmentation implies that the market is targeted according to the age,
gender, income and ethnic background of the population. Family life cycle is also taken into
account to understand when the services or products would be applicable for any particular
family. McDonald’s products and services are targeted towards children, youth singles and
young urban families. However, their most important target is children and McDonald’s

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encourages young urban families to spend time with their children at McDonald’s outlets. To
target the young children, McDonald’s utilizes a wide range of toys that are given along with
Happy Meals and some of the toys are also Disney characters that enjoy wide recognition.
Another important service feature of McDonald’s is that they have integrated “play
place” stores at their outlets where children can actually play and enjoy time with other kids
(Yunus, Razak and Ilias, 2013). McDonald’s targeted market according to the demographics bias
is children between the age of 5 and 20. However, age segmentation is only a part of the
demographics segmentation that is visible at McDonald’s. McDonald’s also utilizes gender
segmentation to provide services and products that are meant exclusively for men or women.
Some of the services such as family “play place” helps women to bring their children frequently
along with themselves and the women can enjoy their time at McDonald’s without worrying
about their children.
From the consumer buying behaviour survey McDonald’s have understood that pricing of
products significantly influences buying behaviour and to encourage buying behaviour,
McDonald’s has priced their products at reasonable rates and they also encourage kids to come
with their family. However, the biggest targeted buyers are the school and college going kids.
Income segmentation is according to the income status of the people and McDonald’s has priced
their products reasonably to target specifically the middle class and low-middle class income
people. McDonald’s understands that their customers are extremely price sensitive so they obtain
real time data to understand customer behaviour and accordingly prices their products so that any
change in prices does not change the perception of the consumers (Yunus, Razak and Ilias,
2013).
Market segmentation at McDonald’s is also done according to psychographic segments.
Psychographic segmentation looks at the personality of the buyer from the perspective of their
buying behaviour and motive (Shimizu, 2012). Personality of buyers at McDonald’s stores are
generally young people who are extroverts and who enjoy outside company. Lifestyle
segmentation is another base for segmentation of the products at McDonald’s. Most of the
products are promoted according to the preferences of the middle-class people. There is not
much regard for organic food or high-quality food at McDonald’s. However, the prices are
always kept low so that the middle-class people, children and students can enjoy the low price

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 Service Quality and Service Efficiency at McDonalds

burgers. The service offered at McDonald’s is also made convenient and friendly so that young
students and children can enjoy the environment. The service landscape has also been designed
so that families and friends can come out in huge number and relax or entertain themselves at the
outlets (Yunus, Razak and Ilias, 2013).
McDonald’s also utilizes behavioural segmentation to market its services according to the
needs of the consumers. Behavioural segmentation takes into account the user status, buyer-
readiness stage, attitude towards particular products and buyers response towards services
(Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, 2012). McDonald’s often allows birthday parties and events to be
held at their outlets. They can also promote such events to cater to the needs of young people.
Special occasions can be a good source of targeting the market to promote special services at
McDonald’s. McDonald’s also utilizes coupons and other forms of loyalty cards to encourage
people to frequent the outlets. Services and products at McDonald’s are specifically segmented
according to such requirements of the people.

Service Blueprint at McDonald’s

Understanding consumer buying behaviour helps the marketing manager to create the
service blueprint for any organization that requires further improvement of their services. The
blueprinting process helps the organization to analyze the process of delivery of services or
products to the consumers (Hoffman and Bateson, 2008). Creating the service blueprint requires
understanding of the service system by breaking it down into serval small sequence of events.
Blueprints are generally required to understand where the services have failed or when the
company intends to launch a new product into the market (Hoffman and Bateson, 2008).
Creating the visual service blueprint map for McDonald’s requires an understanding of
the main service processes at McDonald’s. Service blueprint at McDonald’s will consist of the
following:

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 Service Quality and Service Efficiency at McDonalds

When a customer enters a McDonald’s outlet, there are two actions that take place
simultaneously. Firstly, the customer or consumer will enter and look for a place to sit or
evaluate the different products on offer and make his selection. McDonald’s services rely
primarily on the sale of burgers and fries. However, when the consumer is deciding which
product to buy, the employee actions also come into force as the employee has to take order,
invoice the bill, take payment, assemble the food and deliver it (Verma, 2012).
The services offered at McDoanld’s can be classified as facilitating and enhancing
services. Under facilitating, some of the primary services include information providing to
consumers, order taking from consumers, billing the customer and acceptance of payment. Under
enhancing services, McDonald’s employees have to provide hospitality to the customers, consult
and provide advice if required, ensure safekeeping of customers and provide special assistance if
required (Verma, 2012).
The service blueprint at McDonald’s has a number of stations with offers for hot-food,
drinks and also desserts. The cashier takes the orders and sets the order into motion by

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instructing the labour at hot-food counters, dessert counters to assemble all the food and provide
her while the cashier engages in creating in the bill. Once the food is delivered, the next order is
taken. This process runs smoothly but at times, there may be a huge queue that might gather due
to the single cashier taking all the orders.
Service blueprint at McDonald’s can also be understood from its servicescape. The
concept of servicescape was developed by Booms and Bitner (1981) to explain why physical
environment impacts the service quality (Kapoor, Paul and Halder, 2011). Servicescape was
originally thought by Booms and Bitner (1981) to represent the point where the services are
delivered to the customer. However, in recent years, it has been understood that Servicescape
represents the atmosphere or ambience within which the services are rendered to the consumer
(Kapoor, Paul and Halder, 2011). The servicescape strongly influences consumer decision
making and it plays an important role in defining the success of the service.
The servicescape not only consists of the plan layout of the service delivery outlet but it
also depends on approachability, atmosphere, aesthetics and ambience of the store (Kapoor, Paul
and Halder, 2011). At McDonald’s the servicescape consists of exterior facilities as well as the
interior facilities. Tangibles are very important for McDonald’s to appeal to the targeted segment
of children and youth. Tangibles help the customer to form an impression about the services
delivered at McDonald’s. In fact, the golden arched design at McDonald’s is very appealable to
customers and the colorful schemes and decorative lightings help McDonald’s to retain its
competitive priorities of speed, consistency, cleanliness and customer service (Collier and Evans,
2010).
McDonald’s facility exterior consists of colorful decorations and the McDonald’s mascot
that helps to draw students. The color scheme of red and yellow is very appealing to the eyes and
helps McDonald to maintain its image. However, McDonald’s believe in standardization and this
too helps in maintaining the brand image (Collier and Evans, 2010). The ambient conditions
visible at McDonald’s consist of the visible settings where service encounters take place. The
sight, sound and smell of the food helps in creating the ambience at McDonald’s.
Inside the store, McDonald’s has spatial layout and functionality with the arrangement of
furniture for both families and individuals. There is also evidence of children’s play area that
helps in improving the service perception. The McDonald’s symbol of M in red and yellow helps

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the company to maintain the brand image and also improves the service efficiency. Some of
other tangibles evident at McDonald’s are the toys that are given out with most meals to students
and children. These toys represent the key focus area at McDonald’s and they are designed to
appeal to the senses of children (Collier and Evans, 2010). However, in spite of the servicescape
and excellent service design at McDonald’s, there are certain service failure points that are
impeding the growth of the company.

Service Recovery Recommendations

Some of the service failure points at McDonald’s are located where they do not have
special packages for specific occasions. McDonald’s is generally frequented by students who
love to celebrate birthdays and other special days with their loved ones. The service process at
McDonald’s is extremely rigid and there is no room for customization. The process design is
especially effective for operation of large-scale services that focus on consistency and efficiency
(Verma, 2012). Most of the services offered at McDonald’s are specifically focused towards
children and youth but none of the services are directed towards adults.
Further, McDonald’s suffers from heterogeneity in its services because the employees
differ in providing services at different locations. Delivery of products also remains a concern in
countries where home delivery of food is allowed. McDonald’s often fails to deliver prompt
service when home delivery service is required. Some of the McDonald’s employees differ from
each other and it has been reported that there are occasions when the same service provider may
react differently under different conditions (Hoffman and Bateson, 2008).
To recover from these service failure points, McDonald’s must introduce better service
structure to allow hosting of special events at their location. McDonald’s should also train their
employees rigorously to allow homogeneity in delivery of service. There must be consistency in
service to achieve any impact in service delivery (Hoffman and Bateson, 2008).
Service failure can be prevented if ineffective recruitment is avoided, conflict in duties
managed and staff are trained to integrate technology in their daily work. McDonald’s already
incorporate a special gift for their employees under the “Employee of the Month” award (Yunus,
Razak and Ilias, 2013). These incentives would help McDonald’s to avoid service failures and
retain optimum output.

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SERVQUAL Recommendations
Servqual or service quality is not a new phenomenon. SERVQUAL is the model
suggested by Parsuraman, Zeithmal and Berry in 1988. SERVQUAL is actually a gap analysis to
understand whether the organization is able to meet the consumer needs (Buttle, 1996).
SERVQUAL measures the service quality and service delivery gap created between service
providers and consumers (Parsuraman, Zeithmal and Berry, 1985). Service quality is evaluated
by consumers based on the reliability of the service, responsiveness, assurance provided by the
service providers, empathy shown by service providers and the tangibles that are visible to the
consumer (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, 2012). However, SERVQUAL has been criticized by
Cronin and Taylor (1994) as they have held that it does not give the true idea about service
quality or consumer satisfaction. SERVPERF consists of 22 perception items that give an
accurate test about the disconfirmation of consumers to services (Cronin and Taylor, 1992). In
fact, service quality has now been understood to be more about the perception than anything else.
However, in spite of the critique, SERVQUAL still serves as a good examination of the gaps
between the service delivery and service perception of consumers (Babakus and Boller, 1992).
Fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s have to maintain quality of service to retain
customers. Customer perceptions are formed according to the services received and this in turn
affects customer’s satisfaction levels (Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman, 1996). McDonald’s has
incorporated several tangible factors such as the structure and layout of the stores, coloring and
servicescape to bring uniformity in the different chains around the world. However, some gaps
do remain between customer expectations and service quality which McDonald’s is trying to
control so that they can meet the needs of their customers (Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman,
1990). Since McDonald’s is a global chain it has to meet the local needs of the consumers and
arrange its services according to the customer expectations. The first Gap 1 is created when the
management of McDonald’s stores do not accept the local expectations of consumers. While
trying to maintain uniformity in services, McDonald’s stores often fail to do the necessary
market research to understand the local needs (Yunus, Razak and Ilias, 2013). McDonald’s can
reduce the first gap understanding the needs of consumers in different regions. To close the gap
1, McDonald’s need to take into consideration the local culture and food preferences of the

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targeted market. McDonald’s should also ensure that special services are arranged for special
occasions and events that are held at their outlets.
Gap 2 is created when the management of the company fail to perceive customer
expectation and convert them into quality specifications (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, 2012).
McDonald’s often suffers from Gap 2 failure because managers at different stores react
differently to customer needs. Delivering services on time and maintaining cleanliness at the
stores are some of key focus areas for services at McDonald’s. However, the Gap 2 is created
when customers do not perceive the service quality to be appropriate (Spreng and Mackoy,
1996). McDonald’s can reduce Gap 2 if they concentrate on understanding customer
expectations and perceptions. It is recommended that to close Gap 2, McDonald’s can reduce
Gap 2 if they take regular surveys from customers to understand their tastes and preferences.
McDonald’s can also ask questions about the layout plan of the store to get suggestions for
improvement according to preferences and expectations of the consumers. By getting the
necessary feedback, McDonald’s can design their services to meet customer expectations and
perceptions (Fu and Park, 2001).
Gap 3 is created when the perception and expectation of services is not met by the service
delivery system incorporated by the company (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, 2012). At McDonald’s
service managers and employees are generally trained regularly to attain best service practices.
However, McDonald’s need to integrate training according to the customs and cultures of
different locations instead of having the same kind of training manual for employees all around
the world. Management of McDonald’s should ensure that employees are trained regularly so
that they understand the expectations of the customers as well as the management. McDonald’s
should also ensure that the current program of “Employee of the Month” is extended to
encourage employees to perform better. McDonald’s should also train their employees in
customer care. McDonald’s employees should also be trained to deliver food effectively during
peak hours.
Gap 4 is created by communication gap between the marketing of services and perception
of the quality of services by the consumers. The external communications to consumers and
actual service delivery creates Gap 4 (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, 2012). McDonald’s is a
renowned chain of fast food but some of the items that are promoted by the company can be

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misleading as they are not available in other countries. Generic advertising campaigns creates
Gap 4 and McDonald’s should try to create country specific advertisements so that local targeted
population can understand the kind of services available at McDonald’s. McDonald’s can also
close Gap 4 by regularly advertising about new products range so that consumers are aware
about any new changes in the menu. To close Gap 4, McDonald’s can also encourage new
product catalogues, handbills or even mobile apps for faster home delivery options. Another
possible way of closing Gap 4 is reducing channels of communication that are misleading or
harmful to the reputation of the company. To close Gap 4, companies should always focus on
creating realistic customer expectations that can be met by the management of the company
(Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, 2012). Similarly, at McDonald’s, the management should allow
customization of menu with Happy Meals, so that more customers are willing to opt for it.
Most importantly, McDonald’s should try to close the gap between the service that
customers receive and the service that they seek. If the gaps increase in size then the service
quality will reduce. McDonald’s can definitely integrate the recommendations and create a
branding strategy that helps the company to close the gap and improve the perception of service
quality and service delivery.

Brand Strategy Recommendations for McDonald’s

Branding strategy at McDonald’s concentrates on several factors which are relevant for
fast-food restaurants. The McDonald’s brand strategy is focused on providing quality food,
excellent services and maintain cleanliness. McDonald’s branding strategy is based on its
building design and utilization of the colour red and yellow in its logo. To promote brand
awareness, McDonald’s utilizes not just the tangibles but also the intangibles such as delivery
time for food and cleanliness at the restrooms. McDonald’s targeted market desires food that is
affordable and convenient in a friendly and clean atmosphere (Light and Kiddon, 2009). Further,
the essence of McDonald’s brand is to appeal to children and youth.
The most significant aspect of McDonald’s marketing strategy has been its multi-segment
and multidimensional marketing strategy. McDonald’s has build its brand image to appeal to not
just kids but also to young adults and students (Light and Kiddon, 2009). McDonald’s provide
benefit to their consumers and also provides emotional rewards for their loyalty towards

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McDonald’s. This in turn has helped build consumer values for the company and integrated the
same with the image associated with the brand. McDonald’s has also created a brand essence
with the catchword “Forever Young” (Light and Kiddon, 2009). This reflects that McDonald’s
has modified its image from only catering to children to providing food and services to even
young adults and adults.
McDonald’s also provides paradox promise since it promises an experience which is
familiar yet modern. The stores are global yet local in design and the food offered is simple yet
healthy and of excellent quality (Light and Kiddon, 2009). However, there are several other fast-
food chains such as Taco Bell, KFC and Burger King who have come up in recent years and are
competing with McDonald’s market share in the fast-food restaurant industry. To tackle such
challenges, McDonald’s need to focus on altering its marketing mix so that they can concentrate
on people, product, place and promotional strategies (Light and Kiddon, 2009).
McDonald’s can reinvent the P by focusing on providing more training and support to
employees. Employee pride must restored so that they can continue working for McDonald’s.
Further, McDonald’s can also rotate the duties of the store managers to provide them more
exposure to different industries. Recently, McDonald’s has also improved their brand essence by
incorporating the words “I’m loving it”. McDonald’s need to develop its services so that they are
in consonance with the brand. McDonald’s can also improve upon the first P by improving the
customer care and hospitality reputation of the company (Light and Kiddon, 2009).
McDonald’s should also focus on the actual food products they are servicing so that they
are better that the best. Food item should be according to the local tastes and preferences of the
local people. McDonald’s is already investing in research and development of the burgers so that
they taste better through new seasoning (Light and Kiddon, 2009). Further, McDonald’s should
also focus on improving the quality of the coffee and beverages that are served along with
burgers and French fries. Consumer expectations from McDonald’s clearly illustrates that there
is a need for expansion of the food range and new meal plans that will appeal to children and
families should be introduced. However, branding of the products are required so that consumers
can distinguish between different types of food.
McDonald’s can also improve its brand globally if it collaborates with another big brand
such as Coke or Pepsi. McDonald stores around the world can be branded along with Coke or

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 Service Quality and Service Efficiency at McDonalds

Pepsi to improve the visibility of the company products (Light and Kiddon, 2009). Co-branding
strategies can really benefit both the companies if the people perceive a higher value when both
the brands come together (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, 2012).
Another branding strategy that can work for McDonald’s is that they can concentrate on
promoting a particular food range such as the Happy Meals or Mc Nuggets. These products
would help the company to create a new image about itself. By individually branding each
product and service available at McDonald’s, they can definitely improve the targeted market
and also improve consumer perception of the products and services.
McDonald’s can also think about improving its positioning in the market by targeting
different segments of the population. McDonald’s can market its products separately and they
can also think about creating a separate coffee station to provide better quality of service and
food products (Light and Kiddon, 2009). McDonald’s services around the world can incorporate
the USA model of drive-thru services where cars can directly drive through and order food via a
window without having to get down from the car. These services can definitely impact the
emotional and physical experience of consumers, which in turn will help the company to
improve its service quality.

Conclusion
In conclusion, McDonalds is doing a lot of right things and they have created a global
brand that is accepted throughout the world. The above study reflects on the different
characteristics of services that are exhibited at McDonald’s and the wide range of strategies that
are incorporated to make the brand name for McDonald’s. The integration of tangible and
intangible factors is the key to success for any company.
Although services suffer from intangibility and heterogeneity, McDonald’s has been able
to create a standardization within its services and products range. McDonald’s has concentrated
on targeting children and the youth market segment. Their focus is on targeting children and
youth with the servicescape design of McDonald’s stores. The service blueprint of McDonald’s
suggest that they are still utilizing the cashier cum vendor design where only one person takes
the order, assimilates the food and delivers it. This can lead to very hectic schedule during weeks

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 Service Quality and Service Efficiency at McDonalds

when the demand is at peak. McDonald’s can better design the layout plan of its stores to allow
more space for employees and create customized services to their customers.
Overall, the SERVQUAL at McDonald’s suggest that several gaps have been created
between McDonald’s and their consumers which can be closed by integrating the
recommendations suggested above. McDonald’s should not only concentrate on improving the
service delivery but also concentrate on improving the service quality perception amongst
consumers. With sustained branding strategies, training of employees, incentives to consumers
and loyalty programs, McDonald’s can definitely improve its overall brand image and service
quality.
Today, the fast-food restaurant business is vastly improving and there are already several
competitors such as Burger King, KFC and others who have entered the market and competing
with McDonald’s. In times such as these, McDonald’s should review their marketing strategies
to integrate the recommendations given in this paper. The perception of services and the
consumer expectations can greatly vary in the food service industry (Johns and Howard, 1998).
However, by closing the SERVQUAL gaps, McDonald’s can definitely achieve better service
quality for their consumers.

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 Service Quality and Service Efficiency at McDonalds

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