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Marketing Mix of KFC analyses the brand/company which covers 4Ps (Product, Price, Place,
Promotion) and explains the KFC marketing strategy. The article elaborates the pricing, advertising &
distribution strategies used by the company.
Let us start the KFC Marketing Mix:

Product:
KFC is one of the worlds most popular fast food joint, having a great specialty in burgers. KFC is
synonymous with fried chicken and it challenged the established fast food market of hamburgers. The
original product is pressure fried chicken nuggets flavored with secret seasoning of 11 ingredients.
Other specialties of KFC are Extra Crispy Chicken, home style sides and buttermilk biscuits. In 1990,
KFC expanded its menu and offered other chicken preparations like Chicken Fillet Burgers and wraps,
salads, potato fries, desserts and beverages. KFC has optimized its product offerings as per the
geography and demand. KFC has over 300 different menus as a part of its marketing mix product
strategy across different locations worldwide. In India they have introduced Hot and Crispy Chicken,
Fiery Grilled bucket options, Chicken Zinger Burger, Rice Bowlz. In middle Eastern and Islamic
countries, the chicken served is halal. For the essential components of products i.e. sauces,
marinades and seasonings, KFC has long association with McCormic Company. As it had association
with PepsiCo, most of the beverages served in KFC are from Pepsi however there are exceptions in
some geographies.

Price:
The menu at KFC is offered at affordable prices and they have adopted inventive strategies to
compete in different markets. In 2013, sale of KFC had reached $23 billion. The parent brand of KFC
is on 201st position of Fortunes listing with revenue of over 13$ billion. The target segment for KFC is
families of young people in urban and semi urban location belonging to upper middle class or middle
class. When nit entered the market, the prices were higher which were gradually reduced later on to
target lower income group. The price is also comparable to the competitors. KFC offers differential
pricing. The products are available as individual as well as bundles or combos. The pricing of bundles
is less as compared to combined price of all the products. It is especially lucrative in price sensitive
markets like India.

Place:
The founder of KFC identified the importance of franchising and established first KFC restaurant in
Utah in 1952. Later on, the international outlets were opened in Canada, UK, Mexico and Jamaica in
1960s. The Headquarters of KFC is located in Louisville, Kentucky. Today KFC is present in 125
countries worldwide with over 20,500 outlets, which shows its strong place strategy in its marketing
mix. It was the first Western Restaurant to open in China in 1987 and it is still going strong there.
Usual daily average orders catered by an outlet are 250, out of which many are fulfilled during peak
hours. For some of the places globally, like Malaysia which is multicultural country, the promotional
offers are launched as per the special occasions like Chinese New Year. The locations chosen by KFC
are state of the art and are selected after lot of deliberation. Many factors like proximity to
customers, business climate, total cost, infrastructure, quality of labor, and host community are major
deciding factors.
Promotion:
KFC has a website as well as presence in social networking websites like facebook, Twitter, Instagram
and YouTube. It also has depended on mass media for promotion. The KFC advertisements appear in
print as well as broadcast media. Print media include newspapers, magazines featuring tempting
display of KFC offerings, special offers and prices. It also uses billboards and hoardings on internal
city roads as well as highways for advertisements. It is famous for its taglines like 'Finger Lickin
Good', 'Nobody Does Chicken Like KFC' and 'So Good' and these are always included in the
promotional activities. It was found that KFC commercial is seen at least once a week by 185 million
viewers. In India recently they have introduced 5 in 1 meal box wherein more products are given as
compared to competitors. They launched this activity through Mumbai famous Dabbawallas. Also the
box given through this was capable of providing mobile charging.

Since this is a service marketing brand, here are the other three Ps to make it the 7Ps marketing mix
of KFC.

People:
KFC believes in providing freshly made highest quality meals at affordable prices and target
customers for them are families. The staff at KFC outlets is specially trained in customer service and
communication. On its website, it has separate options for employment opportunities in restaurants
and KFC corporate. KFC offers franchise option through its website also. For this they have a set of
assessment factors to qualify. These factors include Multi unit operation experience, financial
qualifications, Personal and financial reputation, motivation and commitment, culture and brand fit
and growth mindset. Financial qualification of a person are $1500,000 total net worth or $750,000
Total liquid assets. They are also impartial towards the minority and women candidates for franchise
application and encourage it. Through its parent company Yum, it has a program called Leading
Inclusion for Tomorrow (LIFT) for global inclusion and engagement efforts. Through Colonel's
Community Grant Program, sponsorship, partnership and donation is provided to non-profit
organizations. These programs are involved in community building, youth development.

Process:
KFC is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands which also owns Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. After the establishment
of franchise, it underwent many changes initially due to inexperience in field and corporate ownership
changes. The KFC outlets are either company owned (11%) or franchise owned (89%). Although
setting up KFC requires lot of initial investments, it offers large returns once established. The image
of a company founder Colonel Harland Sanders is always a part of the restaurant decor. The outlets
offer drive through as well and dine in and take out options. The delivery service of KFC is very
limited. It has small kiosks with limited menu at locations such as filling stations, convenience stores,
stadiums, theme parks, colleges etc. The website of KFC includes the common telephone number to
place order, nearest store locator, menu and the promotional offers available. It has one click button
through which user can register, fill in details and begin ordering. These details get registered and
are useful for next ordering.

Physical Evidence:
KFC started serving fried chicken in a cardboard bucket and it became its tradition. It was introduced
by Pete Harman in 1957. The headquarters of the KFC in Louseville is termed as Whitehouse due to
its resemblance to presidential white house. It has executive offices and Research and development
facilities. The main ingredient of KFC preparations, chicken is 100%whole muscle chicken. It is free of
hormones, steroids and raised without medically important antibiotics. Also all the chicken items are
without food dyes. They procure it from highest quality local suppliers, like in India Venkys and
Godrej. It is checked for quality, expiry date and fried at minimum 170°C for perfect product. To
maintain transparency with customers, they can visit the kitchens, see the process and meet the
cook. KFC runs another operation called KFC Foundation through which students and KFC employees
are given assistance for college education and hardship/crisis situations. Hence this gives an insight
on KFC marketing mix.

About KFC:
KFC is an American Fast food chain earlier called as Kentucky Fried Chicken. It was established in
Colonel Harland Sanders with humble beginning in a roadside stall during great depression. KFC is
second largest fast food chain in world after McDonalds.
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Browse 4Ps Analysis of more brands and companies similar to KFC Marketing Mix. The Marketing Mix
section covers 4Ps and 7Ps of more than 300 brands in 2 categories.

1. 1. Presentation on 7p’s of KFC Presented by: Bhawesh Bhatta MBA 1 Roll no:116
2. 2. INTRODUCTION • KFC stands for Kentucky Fried Chicken • It is a fast food restaurant chain
that specializes in fried chicken • Founded in March 20, 1930 in North Corbin, Kentucky by
Harland Sanders • It has more than 18,875 outlets in over 118 countries • It is a subsidiary of
Yum! Brands
3. 3. 7 p’sProduct Price Place Promotion People Process Physical evidence
4. 4. Products • Core product offering is pressure fried chicken • Chicken burgers ( including Zinger
and Tower burgers) • Wraps ( “Twisters” and “Boxmasters”) • Variety of finger foods like crispy
chicken strips and hot wings • Popcorn chicken and chicken nuggets • It has launched Flaming
Crunch Chicken • Side dishes include French fries, bread rolls, salad, PepsiCo soft drinks •
Krusher frozen beverage
5. 5. Price
6. 6. Place • It has over 300 outlets across 81 cities • Planning to have over 500 outlets by the end
of 2015 • Distribution based on franchisee and company run outlets • Delivered through online
media as well • It has overtaken Pizza Hut in Quick service restaurants
7. 7. Promotion • KFC does promotional activities by offering add-ons to the existing menu, gift
coupons, T- shirts, Kids meal etc • KFC promotes its products through LCD displays kept inside
its outlets which promotes their products • Online advertising • Advertising on television
8. 8. People • The people involved in providing services to the customers • The staffs working in
the outlets are trained by the company itself • They are provided with certain guidelines to
communicate with the customers
9. 9. Process • The process starts when the customers visit the outlet. • It also involves if the
customers order the products online • The easier and convenient the process it will lead to
greater customer satisfaction
10. 10. Physical evidence • This refers to the physical environment of the outlets where the
customers visit. • The interiors are made according to the certain standards given by the parent
company • This also helps in creating positive influence on the customer satisfaction • There is
use of good technology equipment

NIGERIA

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Published: Thu, 27 Apr 2017

KFC Corporation, or KFC®, also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food
restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky. The peculiar history of KFC® – Kentucky Fried
Chicken started between 1952 and 1964 when Colonel Harland Sanders (born on September
9, 1890), a politically appointed Kentucky colonel convinced the owners of 600 restaurants in
multiple states to pay him a nickel for every chicken they prepared using his secret recipe
seasoning. The seasoning is a blend of 11 herbs and spices and sold with his name on it (kfc
2010).

In 1964 ‘The colonel’ as he was popularly called sold the franchise system to John Y. Brown
and his business partner Jack Massey for only $2 million. In 1966 Brown and Massey took
their company public and increased efforts towards system development with the help of
franchisees and Sanders himself who was a marketing icon by all rights, owing to his
entrepreneurial success story and image. The company was listed on the New York Stock
Exchange on January 16, 1969. Since KFC Corporation went public and registered
tremendous growth over the years, it has been acquired by a couple of other multinational
corporations. The latest acquisition of KFC® was by PepsiCo, Inc. in October of 1986, from
RJR Nabisco, Inc. for $840 million (Liddle 2010).

In January 1997, PepsiCo, Inc. made KFC® and a couple of its other small quick service
restaurants into an Independent entity known as Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc. And
subsequently changed the corporation’s name to Yum! Brands, Inc. in May of 2002. Yum!
Brands, Inc. also owns A&W All-American food Restaurant, KFC® , Pizza Hut, Long John
and Taco Bell restaurants making it the world’s principal restaurant corporation in terms of
system units and spread, having over 32,500 units spread across over 100 countries. While its
primary focus is fried chicken, KFC® also offers a line of roasted chicken products, side
dishes and desserts (kfc 2010)

This report will be looking at KFC® in Nigeria; with the aim of investigating and analyzing
their main marketing activities and operations in general. KFC® looking to develop and
extend the volume of their market started operation in Nigeria by opening the first Nigerian
KFC® restaurant in December 2010. According to Keith Warren, Yum!’s general manager
for Africa, “We always knew a 150 million people… eating chicken on the bone as their
primary protein, had to be a good thing for KFC®, but we didn’t quite know how good a
thing it was going to be”. They have six stores in Nigeria now and they plan on building 20
more stores in 2011. They also forecast that by 2020 KFC® will have 300 restaurants doing
business in Nigeria (kfc 2010).

This report is particularly interesting because KFC® in Nigeria is a new venture for Yum!
Brands, Inc. This means that KFC® is a well known global brand in a new market
environment, therefore, the implementation of its market orientation is still taking shape. In
other words, the way that KFC® has decided to do business in Nigeria is still taking shape.
Their market orientation, marketing mix and strategies etc will depend on their perception of
the new Nigerian market, so we will be looking at KFC’s Marketing strategy. In general
terms, especially multinational firms use a different strategy in Nigeria than they do in other
markets. We are hoping that KFC® will follow the same trend.
2. KFC’S ORIENTATION
A business can be Product Orientated, Marketing Orientated or Sales Orientated; but
businesses can develop new products based on either a marketing orientated approach or a
product orientated approach (Tutor2u 2010). Organization’s orientation refers to its
familiarization with and approach to the market. A firm can develop new products either
based on what it thinks is the best for the market in order to maximize sales or what the
customers think. Sales orientated approach fits the profile of market orientation because it
uses such skills as selling, pricing, promotion and distribution except it pays little attention to
customer needs, priority being sales maximization (Jobber 2007). Market-orientated approach
is popular among most successful businesses as opposed to product orientated approach
where firms develop products based on their competencies and capabilities rather than the
customers’ needs (Tutor2u 2010).

However, (Tutor2u 2010) cited that some products are argued to create a need or want in the
customer/consumer, especially products that have high technology content. E.g. Mobile
phones have moved from being a business accessory to being a big consumer brand item,
with many additional gadgets, such as pictures, video and Internet access. Innovations create
the need rather than the customer being able to second-guess how new technology is going to
develop. Most technology driven products that requires high level innovation fall within this
range because the products create customer needs and market segmentation takes care of the
rest. KFC as an organization is Marketing Orientated because it tends to tailor its products
and services to the needs of customers in a particular market.

2.1 KFC’S MARKETING ORIENTATION:

According to Kaur and Gupta (2010:88) Market orientation is a business culture that ensures
a set of behaviours needed for generating, disseminating and responding to both internal and
external market information for creating superior customer value through superior
organizational skills and competencies which ensures long term profitability by continuously
identifying and managing limitation in the system that prevents market-orienting culture in an
organization. This is a wholesome definition of what market orientation is all about, in that it
takes into consideration the business environment, competences, constraints, activities,
strategies, implementation and results/targets of marketing orientation, A market orientation
needs to be balanced with creativity and a deep understanding of the firm’s unique
capabilities, competencies and objectives (Houston 1986; Sharp 1991; Hamel and Prahalad
1994). Alternatively, the definition of market orientation acknowledges the understanding
and acting upon the dynamics of the markets in which they operate and concentrating on
critical relationships (Povey 2000). The market dynamics he is referring to may range from
the needs of the customers, to what influences their buying decision.

There are positive relationships between market orientation and business performance
(Pelman and Wilson 1996; Ruekert (1992). As is the case with KFC, their technique of
market specialization (i.e. simply put, giving the customers what they really need and
importantly not giving them what they don’t need) has made them effective in Nigeria.
Market orientation is a popular approach especially for a product/service organization like
KFC. The need to gain customer preference over major competitors makes them react to the
needs and wants of the customer, in order words, they are customer/consumer focused. KFC
in Nigeria takes feedback from customers seriously, and they use feedback from
customers/consumers to alter or change their standard products according to the customer
specifications.

The major characteristics of KFC as a Marketing Orientated business is outlined in Table 1

below according to the compilation of Jobber (2007)

Table 1.
Business Function Activities
Identifying Customer/Consumer needs and wants. Marketing Research

Developing Products to meet customer/consumer Research and Development/Production

needs and wants

Deciding on the value of the product to customers Pricing (Sales and marketing department)

Making the products available to customers at the Distribution

right time and place

Informing customers.consumers of he existence of Promotion

the product and persuading them to buy it

2.1.1 CUSTOMER NEEDS:

In KFC Nigeria, customer needs are primary. The business decisions that KFC make in
Nigeria are mainly based on the needs or otherwise complaints or feedback from the end
consumer. The advantage of this approach to KFC is that it gives them an edge (competitive
advantage) over their competition in terms of meeting and exceeding customers needs.
Because a satisfied customer is a happy customer, a happy customer is a loyal customer and a
loyal customer is an additional ‘word of mouth’ promotion for the company; thereby
maintaining and increasing KFC’s market share. This approach is also growing in popularity
mainly because the average consumer has now become knowledgeable and can have very
easy access to information, therefore, rather than just working on making their products and
services more appealing to the target consumers, KFC is now paying more attention to the
customers’ wants and needs. This approach enables KFC to not only attract customers, but
also to satisfy and more importantly retain them.

Groucutt (2005 6-10 and 60) cited that an organization can achieve this by first identifying
and selecting their target customers and learn their needs and desires by building
relationships that will enable them ‘key in’ to the customers’ real needs and develop products
or services that can be sold at a profit in conformity with customers desire. He further stated
that there must be some form of dialogue between the firm and the customers, where
customers state their personal needs and wants, and this may be direct or indirect. Through
marketing research a customer may communicate directly with the firm, where the firm seeks
feedback on particular market issues. He goes on to say that on the other hand, customers
may communicate indirectly with the firm by switching brands, and this is to inform the firm
that there is a problem with the product (could be price or quality or both) Groucutt (2005)

Groucutt (2005 335) The real needs of customers depends on a hierarchy of

motives/motivators ranging from Psychological, Safety, Love and belongingness and self-
esteem to self-actualization. KFC uses this approach as well, however, with business
profitability as the needed end result. This means that they keep the needs of the customers in
focus, while they aim at maximize their profit in general. A good implementation of this
approach by KFC® in Nigeria is evident in the way they tailored their menu for different
parts of Nigeria. For instance, their menu in the Northern parts of Nigeria does not contain
pork because customers in those parts are predominantly moslems who prohibit the eating of
pork, and because the case of belongingness is a huge determinant on what people eat. In the
southern parts of Nigeria where you have a high density of educated families who tend to be
more safety and health conscious when it comes to what they eat, KFC drafted their menu
according to diet specifications, making it appear heathy and diet packed.

2.1.2 MARKETING RESEARCH:

Groucutt (2005) defines Marketing research as the process of designing, collecting, analyzing
and reporting of information that may be used to solve a specific problem in a firm’s
marketing. The marketing ‘problem’ he refers to can range from the market for a new
product, new market for product (as is the case of KFC® in Nigeria), to lack of patronage for
an existing product. Groucutt (2005) cited that Organizations need to narrow down their
targeted segment i.e. who they want to appeal to, before undertaking a proper marketing
research. It is only when you know who to appeal to that you devise means to appeal to them.
He further said that after understanding their targeted segment, firms must have a clear
objective as to what the firm aims to achieve – both marketing wise and corporate wise. This
is because for KFC to have a competitive advantage, they must be able to successfully tailor
customer satisfaction with their objectives and end target. KFC Nigeria use feedback from
customers as a major marketing research tool.

According to Groucutt (2005) When efficiently and effectively used, marketing research can
benefit the organization in the short-run and long-run. It can give the organization a complete
understanding of the market, which includes understanding their current customers, current
competitors, potential customers and the impact of macro environmental forces.
Organizations can be proactive or reactive to changing conditions only through understanding
these diverse groups, according to Groucutt (2005). Market research is important for KFC®
to understand the behavior of a typical Nigerian customer, by analyzing both current and
potential purchasing habits, tastes and influences. Marketing research is both a
communication tool and a means of communication for KFC, because they use it to get
needed information about current market conditions; on the other hand, customers give them
feedback on their products and services.

Forsyth (2007) cites market research as the planned problem analysis, model building and
fact finding to enable better decision making and control in the marketing of goods and
services. This implies that marketing research in addition to being an information tool, also
enables the organization to guild their internal activities effectively for better results in the
market place. According Forsyth (2007) market research contributes to the management of
the marketing mix as well as used to help decide on: the marketing strategy needed to better
exploit new opportunities; which market discontinuity to tackle; and the key interest areas for
future marketing strategy. In application to KFC’s activities in Nigeria, the information they
get from market research helps them to better adapt to the Nigerian business environment.
For instance, the ‘no camera’ policy in KFC stores is a way they decided to curtail the
excesses of some tough local competitors, because there is no limit to the extent a competitor
will go to beat business competition in Nigeria.

2.1.3 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT/PRODUCTION:

Effective and efficient use of marketing research creates more information for the
organization to potentially undertake research and development of new products; this entails
developing products based on customers’ wants and needs. Ideally, this is should be a
continuos process. According to Groucutt (2005). The development of new products and
services is usually the key to the beginning of new firms, or the continuation of an existing
one. Organizations undertake constant research and development of new products in order to
be innovative and stay competitive.

Firms engage in New Product Development for various reasons like: To replace a product, to
modify a product, to develop products in support of the firm’s long-term strategic objectives,
the adaptation of an existing product, unexpected occurrence leading to unexpected
innovation and product and in response to societal, including demographic factors. Societies
change and so does their needs, according to Grouccut (2005). The average Nigerian
customer is more aware and has easy access to information about different products;
therefore his needs and preferences are no longer the same with the last 10 years. KFC®
capitalized on this by rolling out products and services that appeal to Nigerian customers. The
important thing is making the products available to the customer when, how and where they
want it. For instance, KFC® incorporated a special type of local chicken seasoning called
‘Suya’ into their menu in Nigeria because people tend to prefer their chicken made in this
way with a lot local pepper spices, different from the rest of the world. KFC also made their
chicken a lot spicier because approximately 85% of Nigerians love spicy food and eat spicy
food three times in a day.

2.1.4 PRICING:
“Price is an inherent part of the product/service and must be used as an element of the
marketing process” (Forsyth 2007) This means that pricing needs to be set carefully because
not only does it reflect quality, it ensures that the financial objectives of KFC are met and
also creates good image and feeling of value for money by the consumers (Forsyth 2007).
Pricing is particularly a sensitive and delicate issue in Nigeria because to most people the
price is the first impression about any product. This means that just the mention of the price
of a product determines if the average Nigerian customer actually buys a product or not
without further inquiry about the quality of the product. Groucutt (2005) thinks that
customers may be particularly sensitive to either the set price or increases, even if the
increase are marginal. People usually associate this price sensitivity to economic class i.e.
lower income groups, but anybody could be price sensitive depending on different factors
like economic environment or volatility (high growth or low growth).

However, price sensitivity in Nigeria can easily be linked to the higher population or high
density of lower income people in the population. People work hard and earn relatively less,
so it makes sense to want higher value for as low as possible price. Moreover, for most
people in Nigeria eating out is a luxury and if that comes with a high price then it is
obviously targeted at the higher income groups. This is also a sensitive part of KFC’s
marketing orientation and it is interesting what they came up with, bearing in mind that they
had the objective to penetrate the market and also meet their financial objectives. According
to Groucutt (2005) there are different types of pricing tactics that firms use and depending on
the objectives/targets and external factors, firms could use some or all of these pricing tactics
during the life of a product or service.

KFC Nigeria uses Penetration Pricing (Predatory Pricing). Penetration pricing is all about
finding a way to access a market by cutting through the existing pricing structures or
strategies (Groucutt 2005). Grocutt (2007) also goes on to say that Penetration Pricing can be
used to attain entry into an existing market by introducing and maintaining low prices set
against the existing average price for that product or service. KFC Nigeria deliberately
maintained low prices for most of their products, while at the same time matching the price of
competition for some other products. The use of both penetration pricing and Price matching
tactics by KFC in Nigeria is very effective, but the use of Penetration Pricing is particularly
very important because it was what people mainly responded to and are still responding to.
With these pricing tactics, KFC was not just looking at penetrating the market and making
sales, but to also create a long lasting impression and customer loyalty in the long-run. KFC
achieved relatively easy entry in Nigeria mainly because of their pricing tactics because the
average Nigerian consumer is very price sensitive and care about quality a lot more than
status.

2.1.4 DISTRIBUTION
(Brassington & Pettitt 2003) “Distribution ensures availability and service” The availability
they are referring to incorporates timeliness as an important factor. It is good enough that
customers chose you and not your competition, but it is very important to provide the needed
product or service when it is needed on time. Forsyth (2007) cites that distribution is the
process that enables products and services to be delivered to customers/consumers in the
market. Distribution process typically involves intermediaries but for a fast food franchise
like KFC intermediaries are highly unlikely, but for KFC accessibility is vital. Making sure
their stores are located strategically to allow easy access by customers when they need to.
Therefore, to ensure that customer get timely access to their products whenever they wanted,
KFC strategically located their stores in specific parts of Nigeria, depending on the city or
area or state. They located stores primarily in areas where customers/consumers live
(suburban and urban locations), close to schools, companies and markets.

KFC opened 6 stores in Nigeria in December 2010 in the most populated cities in the country
including Lagos city, which is the highest populated city in Nigeria and the 4th highest
populated city in the world. KFC also plan to open 20 more stores located strategically in
2011. This also says a lot about KFC’s strategy in Nigeria. Currently, KFC does not provide
home delivery service which is more convenient for most customers, but they are not the only
one in the market who doesn’t provide this service. Some of KFC’s top local competitors do
not provide home delivery service as well because of lack of infrastructure that enables home
delivery like good roads etc.

2.1.5 PROMOTION
A firm must Promote itself, in other words, it must communicate, clearly and persuasively to
let people know what is available and encourage them to buy (Forsyth 2007). There are
various promotion tactics like advertising, direct mail, sales promotion e.t.c. Firms decide
whether to use some or all of them depending their target audience, the advantages and
disadvantages of the promotion tactics, available budget, and level of effectiveness of the
promotion tactic (Forsyth 2007). KFC uses advertising effectively in Nigeria as their main
promotion tactics. The most effective form of advertising by KFC in Nigeria are electronic
and billboard advert by Movie stars and musicians for KFC. KFC takes advantage of the fact
that the average Nigerian emulates these stars and follows what they do to some extent.

Another promotional tactics that KFC uses in Nigeria and is probably the best at it is
‘Selling’. This involves a one-on-one communication with the customer and sometimes
forms a final and important, link in the chain of different methods that link a firm to its
market, according to Forsyth (2007). KFC is very good at this because they already have
standard staff training specifications for all their staff and employees. This is one of KFC’s
global brand qualities that it brought to the Nigerian market. KFC’s competition in Nigeria
cannot match this quality at the moment, because they rarely train their staff and even when
they do they are not as meticulous as KFC in training their staff and making sure they perfect
customer relations. For instance, It is not strange to walk into a fast food store in Nigeria and
see a receptionist arguing with a customer, but just few seconds with KFC staff, you will
immediately notice that they are different in the way they interact with the customers. They
sort of draw you in and make you feel special and appreciated, and for a typical Nigerian
customer that respect and appreciation is almost everything.

3. KFC’S FOUR Ps OF MARKETING MIX

Jobber (2007) suggests that an effective marketing mix matches customer needs, creates
competitive advantage, matches corporate resources, and is well balanced. According to
Brassington and Pettitt (2003 1105) Marketing Mix is the blend of the 4Ps that creates an
homogenous and stable offering to potential customers to satisfies their needs and wants.
This means that there must be consistent synergy or balance between these four basic tools of
marketing to meet potential customers need and wants. For instance, a good product with bad
communication will not work, and so is a bad product with good advertising. This is simply
because the elements of the Marketing mix rely on each other and if they lack consistency
with each other in what they are saying about the product, then the customers will reject it all
because they not stupid. Brassington and Pettitt (2003 25)

The 4Ps is a widely recognized concept in marketing and it provides a central organized
structure or foundation for marketing activity,which manager can relate to and easily
understand, The 4Ps include Product, Price, Place and Promotion.

PUT DIAGRAM HERE

3.1 KFC’S PRODUCT
The product is at the core of marketing exchange. If the product does not deliver the benefits
the consumer wanted or if it does not fulfill the expectations created by the other elements of
marketing mix, then the whole exercise will be useless. (Brassington and Pettitt 2003 267). A
product is a physical good, service, idea, person or place that can offer tangible and
intangible qualities that individuals or firms consider necessary, worthwhile or satisfying and
are willing to pay for it or exchange any other valuables for it (Brassington and Pettitt 2003
268). This means that for a customer/consumer, the benefit of a product is everything because
they buy these products to meet needs, so when a customer/consumer exchanges money,
patronage or any other unit of value for a product what he/she is doing is simply paying to get
the benefits of that particular product to meet his/her needs. It also means that a product could
be anything or place that offers needed benefits and customers/consumers regard as
beneficial.

A product (tangible or intangible) is like a personality, and just like a personality there are
some characteristics that makes it essentially appealing to the buyer like branding, packaging
and labeling, design, style and quality e.t.c. The product and price are the two main parts of
the marketing exchange that interests marketers Brassington and Pettitt (2003 268).
Alternatively, Groucutt (2005 158) considers products as a collection of features and benefits
that provide customer satisfaction. All these different perspectives have two things in
common, which is that a product must be beneficial and must provide customer satisfaction.
KFC promotes their wide range and varieties of fried, smoked and roasted ‘Suya’ chickens in
Nigeria as nutritious, convenient and even healthy in some parts according to their adverts.
According to Doyle (2002) Product decisions comprises of Product variety,product
performance, product features, product design, product presentation, product packaging, sizes
and brand name.

KFC’s specialty is fried chicken served in various forms. KFC’s primary product is pressure-
fried pieces of chicken made with the original recipe. The other chicken offering, extra
crispy, is made using a garlic marinade and double dipping the chicken in flour before deep
frying in a standard industrial kitchen type machine (Scribd 2011). KFC in Nigeria offers
non-durable products and Service products as well. They offer wide range of fried, smoked
and roasted chicken in Nigeria, as well as side dishes with fish, port and beef, desserts and ice
creams. These are all tangible but non-durable products because the can only be consumed
once. KFC’s service products in Nigeria represent intangible products such as activities,
benefits or satisfaction that customers/consumers derive from their relationship with KFC.
KFC menu in Nigeria contains three different segments namely: Family Meals, Individual
Meals and Sandwiches. Family Meals comprises of Family Meal, Party Meal and Economy
Meal. Individual Meals comprises of Snack Box, Strips Light Meal and Dinner Box.
Sandwiches comprises of Suya rap, Suya Burger, Fish rap, beef rap, Chicken fillet supreme,
Pork Supreme. They also give customers the chance to make up their own variety box
comprising of some or all available products. All the fried Chicken Meals are prepared in the
traditional KFC style of frying in oil with the colonel’s range of spices. All the Meals also
have ‘Suya’ variety, this means that customers/consumers can either chose between the
locally prepared ‘Suya’ or the traditional KFC fried Chicken. KFC also have the same
strategy for the beef, fish and pork meals. For the sake of simplicity, this report shall be
discussing Fried Chicken.

3.1.1 MARKET SEGMENTATION

KFC in Nigeria segments the market demographically by dividing it into groups based on
age, gender, family size, income, occupation, religion and ethnicity. KFC segments the
market demographically in this way:

Age: Between 6 – 65
Gender: Males and Females

Family Size: 2 – 4, 4 – 6, 6+

Income: 500Naira and above

Family life style: ALL

KFC’s typical customers/consumers in Nigeria are adults between 18 to 58 who live fast
paced lives, and therefore considers convenience when deciding what to eat or drink. This
convenience is the totality of what KFC offer in Nigeria.

3.1.1.1 PSYCHOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION

Entails dividing a market into different groups based on social class, lifestyle, religion or
personality characteristics (Scribd 2011). KFC in Nigeria divides the market based on
psychographic variables like: Upper and Middle class, Life style (not specific) and
Personality (ambitious and authoritarian), role expectation of the sexes, reference groups,
customs and traditions KFC is concerned about the potential effects of these variables on the
sales of its products. This is precedes target market. Psychographic segmentation enable KFC
tailor their products or menu content to the specific needs of the target customers in different
parts of Nigeria.

3.1.1.2 TARGET MARKET

This is the process of evaluating each market segment’s attractiveness and selecting two or
more market segments (Scribd 2011) The two main factors usually considered when selecting
a target market segment are the attractiveness of the segment and the fit between the segment
and the firm’s objectives, resources and capabilities. KFC in Nigeria targets upper, middle
and a group known as Upper-lower class in Nigeria. KFC’s main target are the upper and
middle class, but due to the pricing system they initiated, they widened the net to take in this
special group known as the upper-lower class, who can afford to take advantage of the KFC’s
penetration pricing system. KFC’s target in Nigeria depends on

-Size and growth rate of the segment

-Competition in the segment

-Brand loyalty of existing customers in the segment

-Attainable market share given promotional budget and competitors’ expenditures

-Required market share to break even

-Sales potential for the firm in the segment

-Resources and structural attractiveness of market segment

-Expected profit margins in the segment

The market research and analysis discussed before is instrumental in obtaining the above
information. (Scribd 2010)

3.1.1.3 MARKET PRESENCE

According to Brassington and Pettitt (2006 862) It is a reasonable objective, especially for a
small company or a new entrant into an industry/market, to create awareness, both of the firm
and of the products offered. According to Jobber (2007) in the communication effects
pyramid, 90% Awareness leads to 70% Knowlegde/compreehension, to 40% Liking to 25%
Preference, to 20% Trial and 5% Use. This means that to generate more than 5% actual usage
which is tantamount to sales of a product, a firm must be more than 90% effective at creating
awareness. Even well know brands could have some blind spot relative to a particular market
or a new market environment. KFC created awareness in Nigeria through pre-campaigns and
promotions, while already gathering potential customers’ feedback on what they would like
to see in KFC eventually. KFC utilized this and tailored their product to popular costumer
specifications and needs and this allowed them a relatively easy entry and penetration into the
market. The position of KFC products in the minds of target consumers/customers is also
important. KFC uses all these attributes to position its products to occupy a clear, distinctive
and desirable place relative to competing products in the minds of target
consumers/customers. KFC in Nigeria takes feedback from customers and then improve their
products. KFC pays more