M RahmanMarketing mix of Burger King (BK)
This is a detailed analysis of the marketing mix of Burger King. It explores the 7Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion, Process, People, and Physical Environment) of Burger King and explains its business & marketing strategies. Burger King is an American fast-food restaurant, headquartered in Florida.
Products of Burger King
Burger King divides its menu into different categories i.e. flame-grilled burgers, crispy and tender chicken, fish and veggie, breakfast, sides, king savers, king deals, sweet treats, drinks & coffee, and kids meals. Any new items in the menu are displayed under a separate category called ‘New’. Burger King takes the issue of food quality very seriously as evidenced from its practices e.g. patties with 100% beef, and tomatoes and onions being freshly cut in restaurants every day (Burger King, 2022).
As Burger King has reached out many countries and territories, its menu often reflects regional tastes and religious adherences. Examples include but not limited to bigger sized burgers, Halal, and Kosher restaurants in some countries. This localisation strategy has helped the company cater for a wide range of customers. However, not every item introduced by Burger King becomes successful. In fact, some e.g. Halloween Whopper, Dinner Baskets, and Flame-Broiled Meatloaf failed badly for different reasons.
Prices and pricing strategy of Burger King
As the competition is very high in the quick service restaurant industry, Burger King has adopted a competitive pricing policy. This is clearly demonstrated when the prices of its products are compared to the similar products of its competitors e.g. McDonald’s and KFC. This type of pricing does not allow the company to set its prices too high or too low compared to its competitors.
Burger King also uses psychological pricing strategy. For example, it sells some of the products at $0.99, $4.49, and $2.99 each. Many analysts opine that the price of most of its products is generally very reasonable.
Burger King even goes as far as offering its products at different prices in different locations. This pricing strategy is generally known as price discrimination which allows it to maximise profits. The price of BK products depends on where customers are purchasing a product. For example, a product in New York City may have a different price than the one in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Place/distribution channels of Burger King
Place is a very important element in this marketing mix of Burger King (BK). Burger King operates in around100 countries and US territories. It has around 20,000 locations (Lock, 2022). It has a plan to have more than 40,000 restaurants in the next 8 to 10 years. This expansion strategy will certainly be met by counter strategies taken by its competitors.
Customers usually walk into Burger King restaurants to enjoy their meals. However, they have options to order online for home delivery. For example, Burger King uses JUST EAT and Deliveroo to take the customers’ orders straight to their ‘sofa’ in the UK. Likewise, it has partnered with Uber Eats to serve its customers across the USA. However, it is worth mentioning that home delivery option is not available in all countries and territories.
Promotional strategies of Burger King
Promotion is one of the most important and noticeable parts of this marketing mix of Burger King (BK). Burger King is famous for its creative and unique advertising campaigns. It is active on social media and promotes itself through TV, and print media. It also uses sales promotions, and the employees apply some degree of personal selling to persuade customers to buy additional products from the menu.
It is worth mentioning that Burger King has lowered its advertising spending over the years and rather focused on creativity. Some of its ads in countries such as Spain and Austria have also been criticised for various reasons that led its advertising agencies to issue apologies.
Burger King has worked with several celebrities to get them to endorse its products. For example, it has worked with LeBron James to create different marketing campaigns. In addition, the restaurant sponsors a variety of sporting teams and events.
People of Burger King
Burger King regards employees as one of its business cornerstones; hence its commitment to investment in people. It focuses on the importance of teamwork and has partnered with Beastly to support its staff training with video contents. As long as customers are concerned, more than 11 million people visit Burger King restaurants everyday around the world (Burger King, 2022).
Processes in Burger King
Each Burger King business function goes through a process; however, due to the limited scope of this article, just a few issues are discussed here. For instance, customers can walk into the restaurants to order food. They can also use online to do so in many countries. Concerning food preparation, Burger King prepares every WHOPPER sandwich to order.
Physical environment of Burger King
Physical environment is the last element of the marketing mix of Burger King (BK). It includes but not limited to its interior designs, logo, drink cups, napkins, staff aprons, and many more. It launched a new restaurant design concept called ‘20/20 Garden Grill’ in the UK few years back to replicate an outdoor BBQ atmosphere. Its logo is also well recognised worldwide.
Summary of the marketing mix of Burger King (BK)
To sum up, Burger King has a well-balanced marketing mix strategy. It uses different marketing tools to get its product in front of the desired audience. The marketing strategy is very effective; however, this article has identified some areas of improvement as shown above.
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Last update: 18 June 2022
References:
Burger King (2022) About BK, available at: https://www.burgerking.co.uk/about-bk (accessed 15 June 2022)
Lock, S. (2022) Number of Burger King restaurants worldwide, available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/222981/number-of-burger-king-restaurants-worldwide/ (accessed 15 June 2022)
Author: M Rahman
M Rahman writes extensively online and offline with an emphasis on business management, marketing, and tourism. He is a lecturer in Management and Marketing. He holds an MSc in Tourism & Hospitality from the University of Sunderland. Also, graduated from Leeds Metropolitan University with a BA in Business & Management Studies and completed a DTLLS (Diploma in Teaching in the Life-Long Learning Sector) from London South Bank University.
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