Lyka Borbe
Global Standardization Strategy
A global standardization strategy is when ‘sameness’ is seen and felt everywhere the service,
product, or brand is found, creating a familiar and trusted relationship between user/consumer
and brand. The world’s biggest international brand, such as McDonald’s. It uses the core
branding and advertising methods across all countries in which they operate, but alter the
messages to appeal to local consumers.
McDonald's is the world's leading chain of hamburger fast food restaurant and the prominent
global foodservice retailer. It is worth noting that a McDonald's restaurant is operated by either
an affiliate, franchise, or the company itself. The essential products that are sold in McDonald's
include cheeseburgers, hamburgers, French fries, chicken products, desserts, soft drinks and
breakfast items.
McDonald’s brand is synonymous with the consistency of service. A customer purchasing from
the fast-food chain anywhere in the world can have the same service delivery expectations.
Highly organized control over the consistency in products and methods of delivery are the keys
to their success. There may be a local variation of very few menu items, the size of products, and
the images paired with locally advertised products. Still, the brand as a whole is recognizable and
uniform throughout, more so than the small variations. This is critical to the reputation of the
brand and reduces cost and time by applying a global standardization strategy.
Sundae Fronteras
Pressure for Cost Reduction
Instead of buying food for one household, imagine buying for thousands of locations and you'll
begin to understand just how little McDonald's has to pay for ingredients compared to everyone
else. In fact, McDonald's is the world's largest buyer of beef, pork, potatoes, lettuce, and
tomatoes. They're also the second-largest purchaser of chicken behind only other brands.
Needless to say, the phrase "buying in bulk" takes on a new meaning with the fast-food
corporation. Because McDonald's buys so much food, any supplier would want their business.
Therefore, these businesses offer the fast-food giant steep discounts on products. They are
essentially buying the ingredients they need at wholesale prices. McDonald's can then turn
around and pass on of those savings to the customer, resulting in some very inexpensive food.
You might be asking yourself, why would anyone want to open a McDonald's if so much money
just gets sent right back to the corporate office? It's because there's still plenty of cash to be
made. McDonald's has an unrivaled brand identity. It is so well-known and serves so many
customers that owner can still make a nice profit. According to Bloomberg, the average
McDonald's location made roughly $2.7 million in annual sales. After all the costs, expenses,
fees, and rent, each franchise had a total operating income just north of $150,000.
Myca Angeles
Pressure for Local Responsiveness
The strategy can be compared to localization. With this strategy, McDonald’s adapts to the
needs of the consumers as required by the cultures of specific countries.
Adaptation works very well for McDonald’s. The strategy enables the fast-food chain to have a
wider reach worldwide. The strategy does require higher communication and production costs.
Aside from the winning strategies, the company’s marketing mix is likewise flexible, in order to
tailor it to the local market requirements in terms of location of distribution, promotions plans and
pricing. Anywhere the company operates, it offers identical food products such as McFlurry,
McNuggets, McChicken, Happy Meal or Filet-O-Fish. The plan provides the company with a
strong image. The strategy is a time and money saver for McDonald’s as it helped build
economies of scale.
McDonald’s is able to adapt its menu and business plans to each culture. It shows that it
respects the differences between cultures and adheres to the country’s policy when they
develop additional items for their menu. The company does product tests and experimentation
through the addition or removal of food items based on local trends and popularity among
consumers.
Shoebie Clarito
The first and most obvious benefit is the time and cost savings. Brand recognition and trust is
another big benefit.
Consumers will see and recognize a familiar brand and they’ll remember that brand as ‘safe’
when traveling in unfamiliar places. That’s very powerful when building a brand and inspiring
trust.
It’s important to consider that when it comes to economic status, not all countries are equal. This
includes what is and isn’t considered a luxury product. For example, a dishwasher is
commonplace in developed countries, regarded as an everyday essential. In some developing
countries, however, this is the height of luxury.
The trick is finding a marketing strategy that works across all economic demographics without
changing the broad appeal and consistency of what makes the brand so recognizable.
Chez Estrabo
A global standardization strategy can also be a brand’s blueprint. The idea of standardization is
that things are the same across all markets, regions, and sectors, but sometimes this is
impossible when maintaining a competitive advantage in a market.
Mcdonald’s tailors its recipe to appeal to different countries’ tastes to be mindful of is differing
local preferences and cultures, prompting them to sway from its global standardization strategy.
These strategies work for big companies like Uber, Apple, Intel, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, but they
don’t work for everyone. When demands for responsiveness are high, this is not a good strategy.
Think of a Global Standardization Strategy as a map that organizations can follow nationally and
internationally to maintain the core brand, similar enough to be recognized no matter where it’s
encountered. Then take local nuances into account to market and appeal to a region to bring
value, built trust, and maintain relationships. It’s leveraging the ability to scale and reduce cost,
but also maintain appeal.
