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• Harvard Business School →
• Faculty & Research →
• October 1992 (Revised September 1996)
• HBS Case Collection

McDonald's Corporation

• Format: Print
• | Pages: 22

About The Author

Joshua D. Margolis

Related work.

• October 2002 (Revised June 2005)
• Faculty Research

McDonald's Corporation (Abridged)

• McDonald's Corporation (Abridged)  

• DOI: 10.5539/IJBM.V3N11P72
• Corpus ID: 45032178

The Business Strategy of Mcdonald’s

• Published 9 February 2009
• International Journal of Biometrics

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How McDonald's Became The Benchmark For Fast Food

Table of contents.

The McDonald brothers developed a system to make it all happen. Yet we know them for Ray Kroc, who created one of the world's largest chains of restaurants, real estate and toy retailers, while 'outmaneuvering' the founders. 

Although McDonald's has not been the largest fast-food chain in the world since 2011, it is still the best-known brand. Even in Israel's Negev Desert, 100 kilometers from the nearest city, there is a restaurant, because franchising has given the company such a huge boost worldwide. 

A few key facts about McDonald’s:

• The Kellogg Company was founded in 1940. 
• McDonald’s and its franchise partners employ more than 200,000 people globally.
• McDonald’s reported $8.1 billion in sales by corporate-owned restaurants and $10.7 billion by franchise partners .
• The gross profit in 2020 was $4.7 billion .
• Global comparable sales decreased 7.7% in 2020 , mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• McDonald’s spent over $100 million on the international markets to boost marketing in hope of recovery. 
• McDonald's operates more than 39,198 restaurants in more than 100 countries around the world .

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You Don’t Sell Burgers! It’s A Real-Estate Business! 

The first burgers.

Richard (Dick) and Maurice (Mac) McDonald opened their first diner together, a hot dog stands in Monrovia, California, in 1937. Later, in 1940, they moved to nearby San Bernardino and opened McDonald's Bar-B-Que. Over time, the eatery became more popular and profitable, but the brothers realized they could cut a lot of costs if they rethought their concept. They developed a series of revolutionary ideas and strategic measures that proved to be closely linked: reducing the range of products, preparing ingredients properly, keeping potatoes warm with an infrared lamp, and building a kitchen where food could be prepared more quickly. They also encourage people to take their orders and target families rather than young people.

In 1948, the McDonald brothers closed a well-established restaurant and reopened it a few months later with a slimmed-down menu - and by then under the McDonald's name. They realized that most of their income came from selling burgers, so they reduced the selection to almost nothing. (To give you the full picture, the fries and milkshakes were replaced with French fries and patties for a short time.)

Effectiveness above all

Kitchen work was sped up by having only two things to bake. Washing up was also kept to a minimum, as the food was served in disposable packaging. In 1952, the restaurant was closed again for several months to remodel the kitchen so that food could be served more quickly and efficiently than before. The new kitchen and associated system allowed all orders to be filled in as little as half a minute. Since the operation was supported by the "fast system," it's not hard to guess where the term "fast food" came from.

McDonald's goal at the time was to get people to store there, but not to eat there, but to take something there. This was achieved not only by the packaging of the products but also by the fact that there was no built-in canteen in the first restaurant; if you did not want to take what you bought home with you, you could either eat your lunch in your car or sit on a bench nearby. For a while, they also experimented with serving drinks in cone-shaped cups that customers could not put down, which encouraged them to eat faster.

Thanks to this incredibly efficient and fast operation, they were able to sell burgers for 15 cents - about half the price of other places. The fast service, consistent quality, and low price amply compensated customers for the inconvenience. Soon, the McDonald brothers wanted to open more restaurants, but they were not nearly as successful as their first location. The reason was simple: they could not be everywhere; they could only be personally responsible for quality assurance at the first restaurant. At the same time, the oldest McDonald's still in operation today opened in Downey, California.

The arrival of Ray Kroc

The brothers realized that they did not necessarily have to open new locations themselves to expand, but that others would do it for them. So in 1948, they began to reform their business model and set up a franchise system. By 1954, they had sold the royalties from 21 franchises. 

1954 marked a turning point in the McDonald brothers' lives. To further speed up service, they ordered a new type of mixer that could ensure the preparation of multiple servings at once. The order put them in contact with Ray Kroc, a travel agent. Kroc was amazed at how efficiently the restaurant operated. He wanted to get into the business and eventually convinced the brothers to make him their franchise representative. From then on, he was in charge of who and where they could open new restaurants.

The new buildings were now built the way the McDonald brothers envisioned their dream restaurant. A clean, red and white exterior with a neon yellow golden arch on either side of the building attracts potential clients (aka bypassers) to the restaurant. The juxtaposition of these two golden arches became the familiar Meki logo, which also forms an "M," a reference to the initials of their name. It took on a similar look to today's image after Ray Kroc became the owner, or rather founder, of the company.

In 1955, Kroc founded the forerunner of today's McDonald's Corporation (McDonald's System, Inc.) and opened its first new restaurant. The first was followed by the second, the third, and within a year, the 18th. Kroc was entitled to 1.9% of gross sales for each of these restaurants, but under his agreement with the brothers, they were entitled to 0.5%. He could barely cover his expenses with the remaining amount. Then he met Harry Sonnenborn, who gave him a new perspective: McDonald's was in fact a huge real estate business.

Turn of events

Sonnenborn encouraged Kroc to buy the land on which he wanted to build restaurants and then lease it to operators. Kroc listened to him and took the biggest step toward owning the entire chain. This way, he received a steady stream of income and did not have to give any of it to the McDonald brothers. The latter, of course, was not happy about this situation. Everything in the restaurants had to continue to be done the way the brothers wanted, although Kroc tried to introduce several innovations. Finally, in 1961, Kroc bought out the brothers for $2.7 million. To raise this sum, he had to take out loans, 14 million of which he was later able to repay.

Years of rapid expansion

As part of the agreement, the brothers would continue to own the restaurant in San Bernardino, but they had to change the name because Kroc already owned the naming rights to McDonald's. So they continued to run the restaurant under the name "The Big M," but Kroc was upset that he could not have it. Soon after, he opened a Meki just around the corner from the M, which allowed the McDonald brothers to close the location in a few years. They probably regretted the deal for life, because, with their 0.5% share at the time, it would have guaranteed them $15 million a year until the late 1970s, while their heirs would have received $305 million in 2012. And Kroc probably got a good deal on that loan.

By 1965, the company was operating more than 700 restaurants. That year, they went public. McDonald's stock started at $22 a share, but within a week the price had risen to $49. By the end of the decade, they had 1,500 restaurants worldwide and has started at Sonnenborn's suggestion, they continued to own the land on which the Meccas operated. Now they are looking for new land with fairly high standards: it should be about 4,600 m2, with the possibility of building on 370 m2, and located on the corner of at least one, but preferably two, busy roads.

Also in 1965, the then very limited offer was expanded: the Filet-O-Fish sandwich was added to the national menu. The fish burger was invented to give Catholic customers a choice during Lent. In 1968, the Big Mac, the iconic double-decker burger, was introduced. The Egg Muffin was introduced in 1975, the Happy Meal in 1979, and Chicken McNuggets in 1983. Of these, the Happy Meal is perhaps the most interesting, as it has made McDonald's one of the largest toy sellers in the world: 1.5 billion toys are sold each year thanks to the Happy Meal.

Ray Kroc never stopped working for McDonald's until he died on January 14, 1984. To this day, McDonald's provides its customers with great-tasting, affordable food, franchisees and crew members with job opportunities, and suppliers with reliable ingredients and products.

Key takeaways

Successful market penetration does not always require a complete upheaval of the rules of the sector. The McDonald brothers did not invent any truly new dishes, but they did let awareness guide the design of their restaurants. So the number-one success factor for McDonald's is professional design and process management.

The second success factor is sales behavior. While other restaurants were slower to offer their products, the excellent policies encouraged employees to sell customers as many extras as possible. Even today, "go big" accounts for a significant portion of restaurant profits (industry rumors say 40%). 

The third approach is the real estate-based approach. The franchising system that Ray Kroc perfected is still used today, and we know from the annual report that the company makes more revenue from franchisees than it can generate itself.

The McDonald’s Products

Core products.

McDonald's core products include burgers, which typically consist of a slice of beef, cheese, and sauce sandwiched between two halves of a bun - in all combinations and sizes. The smallest product is the standard burger, while the largest is the Big Mac. The sandwiches are available with chicken and fish, as well as localized versions in many countries around the world.

Core products include French fries, which also come in a variety of sizes. In addition, the Happy Meal menu specifically for children, as well as shakes and soft drinks, continue to be an integral part of fast food restaurant menus in almost all countries. According to market research , an average McDonald’s menu includes around 145 items. 

Seasonal products

National holidays, Halloween, Christmas, or even Easter - whatever the occasion, McDonald's introduces new seasonal products every month in every country around the world. Some are country- or region-specific (for example, the foie gras sandwiches are made specifically for the European audience), but most products are available in other countries after a limited local testing period. 

Typically, a traditional product, such as a standard burger, is enhanced with additional ingredients (e.g., spices, additional meat, or a special design) to reflect the seasonal event.

Localized products

McDonald’s has achieved this global success through maximizing localization techniques and appealing to local audiences. The company manages the menus to fit culturally and socially accepted norms; tailoring their traditional Big Mac meals to suit a local audience with specific requirements.

• Argentina: McFiesta burgers are available at McDonald's restaurants in Argentina, which are quarter pounders with mayo instead of ketchup. There are typical US sides here like French fries and Coca-Cola. Consider getting ice cream in an Oreo cone for dessert.
• France: Typically, you'd find the McBaguette combo at Mcdonald's in France - a sandwich that is topped with two hash browns and includes breaded chicken, ham, and cheese. The 'Le McWrap' and the 'Le Menu Happy Meal' are also available. Try their apricot and lime macarons for dessert, or their cherry tomatoes as a side dish.
• Hungary: In Hungary, specialized seasonal menus are very common, both in terms of ingredients and appearance. This is also facilitated by the fact that, since 2019, Hungarian McDonald's restaurants have been managed by a centralized, Hungarian-owned company, while the American McDonald's company provides only the brand and franchise rights. Foie gras is a regular item on Hungarian menus, as is "Dotted McFlurry" (a cottage cheese-based ice cream) made in cooperation with a very popular local dairy supplier. ‍
• India: McDonald's has created the Maharaja Mac by substituting chicken patties for the traditional beef patties in its Big Macs. In India, cows are regarded as sacred animals, thus the reasoning behind this change. Indians also enjoy the Vegetable Pizza McPuff, a unique side dish. However, fries and Coca-Cola are just as popular here as they are everywhere else.

• Middle East: Specifically for Middle East dining, Mcdonald's has created the McArabia Pita, which is served with beef or chicken patties (pork is not allowed in the predominantly Muslim diet), onions, and tahini sauce. 
• New Zealand: Despite being removed from the permanent McDonald's menu in New Zealand, the 'Georgie Pie' is still available in some restaurants. With fries and frozen Coke, a square pie topped with steak and cheese is served.
• Sweden: Scandinavian countries tend to favor healthy diets, especially vegetarian food. McDonald's capitalizes on localization with its vegetarian McBean Patty. Served in a bun with lettuce, tomato, and sauce, it has cannellini and kidney beans, onions, green peppers, and carrots.
• Thailand: There is a Samurai Pork Burger on Thailand's national McDonald's menu, which is a pork patty dipped in teriyaki sauce with lettuce, onions, tomato, and mayonnaise. Besides the usual apple pie, you'll also find corn and pineapple pies that aren't available anywhere else.

Partnerships with other companies

• Coca-Cola: The story of McDonald's and Coca-Cola began in 1955 when the fast-food restaurant was looking for a soft drink supplier. The partnership has continued ever since, with Coca-Cola selling not only soda but also other products to the restaurant chain.
• Oreo: Oreo is a worldwide popular dessert brand that mainly produces biscuits. The filled biscuits have become so popular that McDonald's has become a major supplier of Oreo to Mondelez International. In most countries, the biscuit pieces are served with ice cream, but in 2019, McDonald's China team tested the market with a burger with spam and Oreo biscuits . (It was not a global hit.)
• Beyond Meat: The trend toward vegetarian diets is spreading like wildfire around the world, and McDonald's is no stranger to it. According to the BBC , the McPlant burger will be available in British and Irish outlets as early as next year. The beef patty, made with pea protein, is available in 10 restaurants in Coventry, England, in the first round since the end of September, and then throughout the United Kingdom next year. The product's main ingredient is made for McDonald's by Beyond Meat, a publicly-traded startup.
• Local suppliers: Whether we're talking about the US or any other country in the world, one of McDonald's main and most forward-thinking efforts is to source its ingredients from local suppliers. To ensure that the fish, meat, or burger bun is always made to the same standard, McDonald's applies incredibly strict and centralized guidelines. 

Healthy or not healthy?

The restaurant chain has made great strides in the area of healthy eating in recent years: think supply chain with only local suppliers or the introduction of gluten-free, lactose-free, and vegetarian options. The calorie content of a hamburger today is much lower than that of a burger from 1980. In addition, the McDonald's team places great emphasis on healthy living - and they are trying to recruit new colleagues who will promote this corporate image. But that's just one side of the big picture.

A very interesting post came to light in 2008 when Karen Hanrahan revealed a shocking picture. Out of curiosity, she had set aside a McDonald's burger she bought in 1996 to see how quickly it would disintegrate (since there were theories about "plastic" foods in the past). After 12 years, the burger looked exactly like the one she had just bought, except it had shrunk a bit.

Although this is not part of the company's strategy, the following sources have been criticized the company:

• Jamie Oliver and his legal battle against the company
• Super Size Me , a movie in which the protagonist eats only McDonald’s products 
• In 1986, Greenpeace distributed flyers against obesity, naming McDonald’s among the ones responsible.
• There are also a lot of myths (most of them already busted) around the company’s procedures and products.

The product portfolio is the company's strength, so it's no wonder McDonald's is constantly improving and perfecting its recipes. Although the company has yet to build its healthy food image, its fast service and delicious, robust flavors win over millions of customers every month. 

The range includes flagship products available in all restaurants (except were banned for religious or legal reasons). These include traditional burgers, fries, and cola.

The company also diversifies its menu with seasonal and localized items. In the latter category, offerings vary from country to country and region to region, usually in partnership with local businesses and brands.

Franchise System

What is a franchise system.

Franchising has spread throughout the world not as a separate form of business, but as a special kind of business.

Franchising is a form of business based on close cooperation in which the franchisor or the owner of the system sells a complex system that has been carefully designed professionally and commercially in every respect and successfully tested in a market environment. The system is handed over to the franchisee with full training, branding, and ongoing support and supervision. Franchisors operate the franchise system to the specifications of the transferor, in the agreed territory, for a fee, for a fixed period.

McDonald’s Franchise Costs & Requirements

When purchasing an existing restaurant or a new restaurant, an initial down payment of 40% is required. Down payments must be made from non-borrowed personal resources, such as:

• cash on hand
• vested profit sharing
• business or real estate equity

The down payment amount will vary depending on the total cost of the restaurant. McDonald's generally requires $500,000 of non-borrowed personal resources before considering a new franchise partner. With less cash available, most opportunities to participate in the program are limited and depending on the transaction's specifics, financial requirements may be much higher. Additional or multi-restaurant opportunities may be more available to those with additional funds.

Franchise financing

To purchase a McDonald's restaurant, the buyer must pay a down payment of at least 25% cash. It is possible to finance the remainder of the purchase price for a period of up to seven years. Although McDonald's does not offer funding the project, McDonald's Owners/Operators benefit from established relationships with many national lenders.

Franchise - Ongoing Fees

• Service fee: Currently, a service fee of 4.0% of monthly sales is based on the restaurant's sales performance. 
• Rent: Rent that is based on a percentage of sales monthly.

Other costs of setting up a new franchise

Costs usually range from $1,2 million to $2,2 million. Most of the costs are related to the construction of the restaurant, such as building and interior design, but the franchisee also pays for equipment, furniture, and kitchen appliances.

General franchising strategy in 2021

McDonald's restaurants provide quality food and beverages in 119 countries, which are franchised and operated by the company. At year-end 2020, McDonald's will have 39,198 restaurants, of which 36,521 are franchised, or 93 percent.

McDonald's franchise restaurants fall into one of the following categories: conventional franchises, development licenses, and affiliates. Optimal ownership structures for restaurants, trading areas, and markets (countries) depend on a variety of factors, including financial resources and entrepreneurial abilities, as well as legal and regulatory frameworks in key areas such as property ownership and franchising. McDonald's business relationship with independent franchisees is governed by standards and policies, which are of fundamental importance to the company's performance as well as its brand protection.

McDonald's franchise partners are not financial investors, but committed partners who not only put up the capital to open a restaurant, but are also willing to participate in the day-to-day operations and running of the restaurant. They know all the ins and outs of the business, but they also reinforce the McDonald's brand through their involvement in the local community.

The potential partner does not have to have a suitable location, as the location of the restaurants is always determined by the company and handed over to the franchisee.

The Company’s Old/New Strategies

Accelerating the Arches is the Company's new growth strategy for 2020. As the leading global omnichannel restaurant brand, McDonald's Strategy encompasses all aspects of the company's business as well as updated values and new growth pillars that leverage the company's competitive advantage.

Growth Pillars

• Marketing: Investing in new, culturally relevant marketing approaches to effectively communicate the brand's story, food, and purpose. Customers will be provided with more personal services through enhanced digital capabilities. 
• Products: Focusing on serving delicious burgers, chicken, and coffee. Chicken and beef will be the company's primary focus as they represent the largest growth opportunities. McCafe’s brand, experience, value, and quality will be leveraged by the markets to drive long-term growth for McDonald's.
• Digital, Delivery, and Drive-Thru: McDonald's plans to accelerate technology innovation to meet the needs of customers as they interact with the company.
• Digital Experience: Known as "MyMcDonald's", the new digital experience platform will transform the company's digital offerings across drive-thru, takeaway, delivery, curbside pickup, and dine-in options. Through the digital tools available on the platform, customers will receive tailored offers, will be able to enroll in a new loyalty program, and will have the option to order and receive McDonald's food using their preferred channel. 
• Delivery expansion: McDonald's has expanded its delivery service to nearly 30,000 restaurants in the last three years and plans to expand further.
• The increasing importance of Drive-Thru: More than 25,000 restaurants globally have drive-thrus, including nearly 95% of the over 13,000 in the U.S. This channel has gained in importance since the COVID-19 outbreak, and leadership expects that it will play an even greater role as customers demand more flexibility and choice. In the U.S. and International Operated Markets, the vast majority of new restaurants will have a drive-thru. In addition to automated order taking, the Company plans to test a drive-thru express pick-up lane for customers with digital orders and a restaurant concept that offers drive-thru, delivery, and takeaway only for customers to enjoy a faster and more convenient experience.

For decades, McDonald's sales efforts focused on the cash register and drive-thru. One of the strongest elements of this was the introduction of the "Go Large" theme. By sizing and pricing the products, even those who had no real need chose the largest product, believing it to be the best and most appropriate offering. 

Today, in addition to physical sales, digital sales have become a priority. An app developed by the company not only speeds up the ordering process but also offers additional discounts that can further increase the cart value per customer.

With the introduction of home delivery, McDonald's has begun working with several partners including UberEats, FoodPanda, and Wolt. For a long time, these online marketplaces did not offer fast food products like McDonald's, but they have now become serious players in the market. The company's offering is particularly strong when it comes to speed: on average, food is delivered in 15-20 minutes, compared to 50-80 minutes for a traditional restaurant.

There are several cornerstones of the company's marketing strategy that have contributed greatly to McDonald's success:

• The Ronald McDonald figure: An owner of a McDonald's franchise introduced Ronald McDonald in 1967. To appeal to children, franchise partners decided to use a clown icon as an advertising tool. 96% of American children knew the name Ronald McDonald by 1973. Ronald McDonald is the second most recognizable fictional character among US schoolchildren, behind Santa Claus.

• The McDonald’s logo: There's no doubt that McDonald's golden arches are one of the most recognizable logos in the world. It was created in 1940. During the '60s, McDonald's decided to simplify their logo and focus on branding the company. A brilliant move was choosing the golden arches as the logo for the fast-food restaurant. The McDonald's logo looks very much like two golden-brown French fries bent into a letter M, and this is one of the most effective design features of the logo. McDonald’s is advertising one of its most popular menu items without viewers even noticing it.

• “Para PaPa Paaaa… I’m lovin’ it”: McDonald's has been using this jingle for a very long time. McDonald's jingle highlights a positive dining experience. The musical theme makes the diners feel at home during their meals there, as well as conveys how friendly and helpful the staff is.
• Promotion campaigns: Television advertising has become a favorite field for all fast-food restaurants with the proliferation of TVs. To this day, McDonald's is a loyal advertiser on channels aimed at children and their parents. Its campaigns focus on delicious food, fun, natural ingredients, and health. 

The company is one of the biggest innovators in the food industry and is credited with inventing or perfecting the following:

• McDonald's put in place order-taking kiosks in 2015, making it one of the first fast-food chains to do so. A touchscreen machine located near the front of restaurants lets customers place their orders without the need for a cashier.
• The introduction of specialty coffee at McDonald's changed McDonald's from a fast-food restaurant to something more. McDonald's introduced its specialty coffee line in mid-2007.
• The company separated a part of larger restaurants and re-branded it as McCaffes, a place where customers can buy coffee and desserts. Now it competes with Starbucks for coffee-lovers.
• McDonald's was one of the first fast-food chains to organize even the smallest details of its operations in a manual. This manual is still being improved today.

The 2020 growth plan contained nothing new compared to the path taken a year earlier. The key elements were digital customer access, which was a key driver of the company's continued growth during the COVID epidemic.

Sales and marketing go hand in hand at McDonald's: over the past 80-plus years, the techniques used have been perfected, all aimed at getting customers to buy. Advertising builds on this image of cheap and healthy food.

Final Thoughts And Key Takeaways

Growth by the numbers.

McDonald's has seen steady growth since its founding. Because of the relative cheapness of its products, it is a truly crisis-proof company, which even COVID could not bring to its knees - unlike millions of small catering businesses.

The company has emerged from the crisis as a winner, thanks in particular to digital developments, drive-thru, and the spread of home delivery.

Key takeaways from the McDonald’s story:

• Real estate business: The McDonald's business model has evolved from a restaurant to a complex system in a relatively short period, with some revenue coming from franchise fees, some from land leases, and some from food sales. 
• Thoughtful processes: While other restaurants are constantly experimenting with food, McDonald's has focused on improving its production technologies from the beginning. In addition to innovative machinery, internal processes have also been organized to ensure that products reach customers as quickly and consistently as possible.
• Franchise system: Behind the amazingly dynamic growth of McDonald's has been a well-constructed franchise system, the foundations of which were laid by the McDonald brothers, but perfected by Ray Kroc. 
• Core, seasonal and localized products: The main feature of the company's product range is that it is extremely consistent, as we can also get fries and cola in the farthest corners of the world. At the same time, local companies, at their discretion, can launch the menu with seasonal and localized products, enabling them to engage their customers even more.
• Strong marketing: Mcdonald’s has consciously built up the dining experience - regardless of whether we’re eating a hamburger in the car, in a restaurant, or at home. The logo, the iconic clown figure, the company’s theme song, the packaging, the internal design, and many other elements add up to become an unforgettable experience.
• Home delivery: Delivery was the largest innovational step from McDonald’s for decades, and partnering with food delivery startups, like UberEats or Wolt helped the company not only to survive the pandemic but get in shape for rapid growth.

Consumer opinion on McDonald's is certainly divided: some say it's plastic, others say it has grown up to meet consumer expectations. As a publicly-traded company, the owner of the golden arch has no choice but to march forward, pioneering innovation as it has throughout its history. What does the future hold for the company? An even broader product range, a stronger home, and digital experience - and, investors expect, continued revenue growth.

In-Depth McDonald’s Marketing Case Study – I’m Lovin’ It Already.

By Aditya Shastri

McDonald’s has been one of the leading food chains for many years in terms of the quick-service segment. They are a company with a broad understanding of the needs of its customers. 

Today, McDonald’s is the industry’s leader not only in sales volumes but also in profit rates and market valuation. But how did they manage to gain such a strong position? The answer lies in its well-thought-out strategic marketing moves as well as other internal factors. 

That’s why in this case study, we’ll dig deeper into McDonald’s Marketing Strategy in India and globally from a marketing perspective by going through its marketing strategies, marketing mix, marketing campaigns, and SWOT analysis.

So let us start by first learning more about the business model and brand history of McDonald’s.

About McDonald’s

McDonald’s Corporation, or simply McDonald’s, is the world’s largest chain of fast-food restaurants, serving around 69 million customers per day.  Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald.

In 1948, they reorganized their business as a hamburger stand but later in 1955, businessman Ray Kroc joined the company as a franchise agent who subsequently purchased the chain from the McDonald brothers and oversaw its worldwide growth.

The mission of the company is, “To create delicious feel-good moments for everyone” .  

McDonald’s offers its customers a wide variety of its menu items, along with drinks and other merchandise. It is known for its employee satisfaction, innovation, and commitment to quality.

The business model of McDonald’s is intensive, but in short, it is a franchise-based model. It shares the rights of the business with its franchise partners who later operate McDonald’s in select regions. 

In India, McDonald’s is run by two companies, Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt. Ltd (controls South & West India) and Connaught Plaza Restaurants Private Limited (controls North & East India). It first entered India back in 1996.

Now that we know about McDonald’s Corporation and McDonald’s India. Let us now go through the company in greater detail by going through its marketing mix.

What’s new with McDonalds?

Here’s everything that was buzzing around McDonalds recently:

• McD introduced the new “KARTIK AARYAN Meal” inspired by the actor’s personality. We will discuss this in detail below in the marketing strategies.
• McDonalds in India dropped tomatoes in August of 2023 because of rising prices.
• Mcdonald’s giving away free NFTs in Singapore. Details in this news article by Decrypt .
• In July 2023, McDonald’s announced that they are coming up with a new concept called CosMc – a spinoff restaurant.
• McDonald’s opened their first fully automated restaurant in Texas.

Sounds like McDonald’s was quite the talk of the town all this year and rightfully so. Let’s now move on and discuss the buyer persona of McDonalds.

Buyer Persona of McDonald’s

A buyer persona generally refers to the detailed information of an ideal customer of a company. When it comes to Mcdonald’s, people from all countries, ages, and genders enjoy their juicy burgers and fries. Hence, we have focused on the attributes of an ideal buyer at Mcdonald’s.

Buyer’s Persona

Profession:

Graphic Designer

• Seeks quick, convenient meals
• Values cost-effectiveness
• Enjoys variety and occasional indulgences
• Prefers shareable food options

Interest & Hobbies

• Digital Art & Design
• Socializing with friends
• Watching movies and TV series
• Exploring new cafes and restaurants

Pain Points

• Time-strapped due to work
• Dislikes long wait times
• Concerned about food consistency
• Health-conscious
• Prefers a quieter ambiance

Social Media Presence

Marketing mix of mcdonald’s.

A marketing mix is a model that an organization uses to advance its interest in its image or product. The main components of this model are the 4Ps: Product, Price, Place and Promotion. So let us look at McDonald’s marketing mix strategy in the coming section.

We have written a separate blog taking a deeper dive into the marketing mix of McDonald’s if you wish to learn more.

Product Strategy of McDonald’s

Being a fast-food company, it primarily sells burgers, french fries, breakfast items, soft drinks, milkshakes and desserts. 

McDonald’s menus are known around the globe, although there are geographic variations to suit the local preferences & tastes of customers. The company continuously improves its products and services based on the changing needs and tastes of consumers.

The core value of what McDonald’s offers has always been fast service which is a huge value addition. Nowhere else can you get such a range of items at even lower prices with such efficiency, convenience and customer service.

Price Strategy of McDonald’s

The pricing strategy of McDonald’s has always been to offer food at low prices. This is what has allowed the restaurant to be successful for many years.

This also has primarily helped McDonald’s build its reputation as one of the top fast-food brands in the world. However, with the costs of living continuing to rise, McDonald’s has begun offering combos and specials in an effort to entice customers and churn out profits through economies of scale.

In India, the brand came up with a punchy line – “Aap Ke Zamane Mein, Baap Ke Zamane Ke Daam” . This was done back in 2008 to attract lower and middle-class customers to experience the offerings of McDonald’s India and it worked out very well.

Place and Distribution Strategy of McDonald’s

McDonald’s is one of the world’s leading quick-service restaurants (QSR) with over 38,000 restaurants in 100+ countries. It recently opened nearly 1,000 new restaurants globally &  also modernized another 900 restaurants in the US.

It has opened different restaurant formats as well as drive-ins, online ordering, and tying with food delivery partners . These new formats allow the customers to get the desired food at a particular time and place which also helps them to have a better experience overall.

The stores themselves are clean unlike others as they always keep their outdoor seating space sanitized while having indoor seating areas for an elegant ambience.

Promotion Strategy of McDonald’s

McDonald’s uses a lot of promotional techniques as promotional activities help build brand loyalty and interest. It gives people who may not normally go to McDonald’s a reason to go there.

Just like any other company, McDonald’s also sponsors various promotion campaigns to push their brand. Promotions help in creating a sense of community and association between the company and its customers.

Now that we know about McDonald’s offerings and its promotional tactics, let us now go through the core marketing elements of its marketing strategy in the coming section.

McDonald’s Marketing Strategy in India and Globally

With an innovative approach to marketing and consumption patterns through value-added menu improvements, McDonald’s aims to significantly improve market share in key markets through continually improving customer satisfaction and attracting new customers through cost savings, operational efficiencies and improving brand awareness.

So let us look at some of the marketing strategies implemented by McDonald’s over the past years .

A Detailed Focus on McDonald’s Franchise Model

McDonald’s has made such a franchise model that many companies even today replicate this model in their operations. 

Why did their model work? Two main factors contributed to the success of the Model: First, McDonald’s made a huge investment to ensure that the quality of services it provided was consistent across all its franchise outlets. The company invested in acquiring its products from local regions and crafted menus that catered to individual regions’ palettes.

The above two factors have worked wonders for McDonald’s and paved the way to enter and expand its reach globally.

Catering to All Age Audience

Being a fast-food restaurant, MC Donaldss decided to cater to all ages. Since then McDonald’s has scouted ways to market its offering for all age groups of a family.

Mcdonald’s came up with options like Happy Meal to target children and also offered its meals in bigger packages and different portion sizes to ensure that hunger be it small or large can be satisfied at Mcdonald’s. 

McDonald’s – I’m Lovin’ It…. Para Pap Pap Paa:

“I’m Lovin’ It…  Para Pap Pap Paa” is a very well-known jingle that has been used by McDonald’s for a very long time now.

This jingle highlights the positive experience one can have while dining at McDonald’s. The jingle is memorable because it speaks about how happy consumers are during their meals there, and how helpful and friendly the employees are.

Brand Mascot of McDonald’s

What is the best McDonald’s brand mascot? A funny clown character that McDonald’s can successfully market to both children and adults. The brand mascot strategy was first implemented by McDonald’s in 1963 and since then this mascot has become an integral part of the company’s legacy. 

Collaborations with McDonald’s

McDonald’s has a long history of collaboration with various companies and artists. The motive behind these collaborations is to maintain its brand reinforcement in the minds of its customers. This goes beyond simply creating advertising campaigns that promote the value of its products. 

It very recently collaborated with BTS – the very popular South Korean Music band where it introduced a special McDonald’s meal called the BTS Meal. Likewise, it has collaborated with artists like Travis Scott, and J Balvin as well as Companies like Coca-Cola .

Digital Marketing Strategies of McDonald’s

By adopting digital marketing practices, McDonald’s has been able to increase its brand awareness and create demand for its offerings. The information promoted is similar to the ones used in traditional marketing platforms such as TV, billboards, newspapers, etc., however, the execution of the same content differs. 

By encouraging its customers to click pictures of their meals and post them on various social media platforms. This growing food photography trend has helped McDonald’s to lure new customers, in fact, between the period of September 2018 and February 2019, there were 4.9 million McDonald’s logos posted on Twitter globally.   

The company also adopted SEO practices, where it found that its “organic” practices perform better than “sponsored” promotions. As per Simplilearn, in December 2019, McDonald’s received 90.7% of the search traffic through organic searches by their customers, while the remainder was received through sponsored activities.  

McDonald’s has increased its engagement with its customers by interacting with them on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Also communication of various offers and discounts through social media have also been a factor contributing to the increase in customer traffic on its website and App.

By incorporating digital elements in McDonald’s marketing strategy, the company has been able to maximise its reach.

Are you interested in learning digital marketing strategies that can help your business grow, then I recommend you check this blog on “ IIDE’s PG in Digital Marketing ROI ” so that you can understand how investing in a PG course can help you reap benefits for your business in the long run.

Marketing & Advertising Campaigns of McDonald’s India

A marketing campaign can have many goals, but at the core, they are all about getting more customers. An effective and well-timed campaign will create a demand which then supports the product or service. 

When it comes to McDonald’s, it has a very strong strategy in place. Right from showcasing its delicious burgers along with bringing out the positive “McDonald’s vibe” to ending the commercials with slogans like, “I’m Lovin’ It…  Para Pap Pap Paa” .

So let us look at some of the popular campaigns of McDonald’s.

Kartik Aaryan Meal by Mcdonald’s India  

Mcdonald’s India introduced the new Kartik Aaryan Meal including burger, fries, and a pizza puff with a different packaging than unusual. The meal also features a QR Code, which upon scanning, fans can take a selfie with him virtually. 

We Get It – Campaign & Commercial Ad  

Another Campaign launched by McDonald’s India was “We Get It” revolving around the craziness of life and how McD continues to make you feel special and give the best experience through that. 

There’s A McCafe for Every Moment – A Marketing Campaign of McDonald’s India

McDonald’s India came up with this campaign to highlight its beverage range, McCafe and how they are there for all the good, bad and neutral moments of life. 

This campaign was released back in 2017, showcasing all the minute elements of life through a catchy theme song.

Family time means McDonald’s #Mealsmakefamilies – A Marketing Campaign gaining lots of love

McDonald’s India came up with this campaign to highlight how meals bring families together.

This campaign which was launched recently showcases some relatable moments people share with families while having a McDonald’s meal.

Marketing & Advertising Campaigns of McDonald’s during the Covid-19 Pandemic:

McDonald’s released a series of advertising commercials showcasing how so many things have changed since the pandemic . The basic idea behind the campaign was to highlight how life has changed but McDonald’s is still there, offering the same positive experience with extra hygiene and safety measures.

 #MatchedByYou – A Marketing Campaign of McDonald’s India

McDonald’s introduced an exciting campaign #MatchedByYou. It shows a love triangle between burgers, fries, and cola. This campaign showcased the offering of food combos for a price as low as ₹45.

After reading the McDonald’s Marketing Strategy, I suggest that you take a deeper look into the SWOT Analysis of Mcdonald’s .

Top Competitors of McDonald’s 

Like fast fashion, fast food outlets are also trying to get a share of the monopoly that McDonald’s once enjoyed. Here are a few top competitors of McDonald’s in India as well as internationally:

1. Top Competitors in India

• Burger King 
• Jumbo King 
• Wow Momo’s 
• Local Food Joints 

2. Top Competitors Internationally

• Smokin Joes
• Burger King

Failed Campaigns of McDonald’s

We looked at the campaigns that brought the essence of McDonald’s to everyone’s screen but now let’s look at some of the failed campaigns that didn’t hit a chord with the audience. 

1. #McDStories on Twitter  

In the late 2010s, McDonald’s introduced a hashtag on Twitter –  #McDStories & that encouraged their fans to share their stories revolving around the Happy Meal. 

What the brand expected was stories that would inspire people to get together with their friends and family to enjoy a Happy Meal. 

Instead, Twitter users started using this hashtag sarcastically and shared their negative experiences with McDonald’s.

Here’s one of the tweets using #McDStories:

2. Controversial Ad in India 

In 2023, McDonald’s released a commercial ad where a customer was wooing a female staff member. The ad didn’t go well without the viewers and faced a lot of backlash. 

Q1. What is the marketing strategy of McDonald’s?

Ans: McDonald’s marketing strategy adopts an emotional approach by marketing Ads that evoke emotions, such as togetherness, joy, and laughter among its target audience. The only aim in evoking such emotions is to show that this brand can deliver an enjoyable experience and make their moments cherishable.

Q2. What type of strategy does McDonald’s use?

Ans: McDonald’s has heavily focused on its pricing strategy by keeping its price as low as possible with the aim to deliver happiness in the lowest possible price.

Q3. What is the marketing strategy of McDonald’s in India?

Ans: McDonald’s marketing strategies in India adopt 5ps: product, price, place, promotion and people. The primary aim of all these 5 Ps is to deliver value to its products and build a relationship over the long run.

Q4. Why is McDonald’s marketing so successful?

Ans: McDonald’s has been working on creating a strong brand through its marketing efforts involving traditional and digital marketing channels. Such consistent communication has helped the community to build a strong relationship with their customers contributing to the success of their marketing efforts.

Q5. Who is the target audience of McDonalds?

Ans: McDonald’s caters to everyone, be it children, elders, working professionals, etc. They have curated meals that can cater to both small and large hunger, making their products a go to meal for their audience. 

McDonald’s is one of the world’s most recognized fast-food restaurants. With annual revenues in excess of $19 billion, it is no doubt that McDonald’s has a major influence on society in terms of food choices. 

Its reach extends far beyond the borders of its home country and geographically encompasses many nations around the globe. With a strong presence on both offline and online marketing, and cruise control over production and distribution, McDonald’s looks very well placed to take up industry-changing challenges.

Want to learn how you can create such compelling strategies? Head onto our Online Digital Marketing Courses where you will be trained in such aspects.

Let us know your thoughts on this case study in the comment section down below. Thank you for reading, and if you liked our then do share this in your circle. 

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Home » Management Case Studies » Case Study: McDonald’s Business Strategies in India

Case Study: McDonald’s Business Strategies in India

The modest beginnings of McDonald’s at Illinois in USA, turned out to be among the main brand names in the international scene. It has been synonymous to what is widely-accepted the fast-food concept. The company operates over thirty one thousand stores all over the world to date. It was one of the first to perfect the concept of fast service in the food industry in its early days of operations in 1955. Given that the products of the company are mainly western in character; its operations have also expanded to the Asian region. The first Indian McDonald’s outlet opened in Mumbai in 1996. In the rest of the globe, it operates thousands of store franchises that functions autonomously.

McDonald’s in India

Around the world, McDonald’s traditionally operates with local partners or local management. In India too, McDonald’s purchases from local suppliers. McDonald’s constructs its restaurants using local architects, contractors, labour and – where possible — local materials. McDonald’s hires local personnel for all positions within the restaurants and contributes a portion of its success to communities in the form of municipal taxes and reinvestment.

Six years prior to the opening of the first McDonald’s restaurant in India, McDonald’s and its international supplier partners worked together with local Indian Companies to develop products that meet McDonald’s rigorous quality standards. Part of this development involves the transfer of state-of-the-art food processing technology, which has enabled Indian businesses to grow by improving their ability to compete in today’s international markets.

McDonald’s worldwide is well known for the high degree of respect to the local culture. McDonald’s has developed a menu especially for India with vegetarian selections to suit Indian tasted and culture. Keeping in line with this McDonald’s does not offer any beef and pork items in India. McDonald’s has also re-engineered its operations to address the special requirements ofa vegetarian menu. The cheese and cold sauces used in India is 100% vegetarian. Vegetable products are prepared separately, using dedicated equipment and utensils. Also in India, only vegetable oil is used as a cooking medium. This separation of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food products is maintained throughout the various stages of procurement, cooking and serving.

The McDonald’s philosophy of Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value (QSC&V) is the guiding force behind its service to the customers. McDonald’s India serves only the highest quality products. All McDonald’s suppliers adhere to Indian Government regulations on food, health and hygiene while continuously maintaining their own recognized standards. All McDonald’s products are prepared using the most current state-of-the-art cooking equipment to ensure quality and safety. At McDonald’s, the customer always comes first. McDonald’s India provides fast friendly service- the hallmark of McDonald’s that sets its restaurants apart from others. McDonald’s restaurants provide a clean, comfortable environment especially suited for families. This is achieved through McDonald’s stringent cleaning standards, carefully adhered to McDonald’s menu is priced at a value that the largest segment of the Indian consumers can afford. McDonald’s does not sacrifice quality for value — rather McDonald’s leverages economies to minimize costs while maximizing value to customers. The company has invested Rs 450 crore so far in its India operations out of its total planned investment of Rs 850 crore till 2007.

McDonald’s India Pvt. Ltd. has moved an application to the government seeking permission for payment and remittance of the initial franchise fee and royalty to Mc Donald’s Corporation. The permission has been sought on two grounds: McDonald’s India would pay an initial franchise fee of $45,000 on each of the McDonald’s restaurants already franchised or to be franchised, in the future, in India; and a royalty equal to 5 per cent of the gross sales from the operations of all its Indian restaurants on a monthly basis to McDonald’s International. They currently serve around 5 million customers a day and hope to grow at the rate of 50% to 70% a year.

Business Model

• Franchise Model — Only 15% of the total number of restaurants are owned by the Company. The remaining 85% is operated by franchisees. The company follows a comprehensive framework of training and monitoring of its franchises to ensure that they adhere to the Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value propositions offered by the company to its customers.
• Product Consistency — By developing a sophisticated supplier networked operation and distribution system, the company has been able to achieve consistent product taste and quality across geographies.
• Act like a retailer and think like a brand — McDonald’s focuses not only on delivering sales for the immediate present, but also protecting its long term brand reputation.

Challenges in Entering Indian Markets

• Regiocentricism: Re-engineering the menu – McDonald’s has continually adapted to the customer’s tastes, value systems, lifestyle, language and perception. Globally McDonald’s was known for its hamburgers, beef and pork burgers. Most Indians are barred by religion not to consume beef or pork. To survive, the company had to be responsive to the Indian sensitivities. So McDonald’s came up with chicken, lamb and fish burgers to suite the Indian palate.
• The vegetarian customer — India has a huge population of vegetarians. To cater to this customer segment, the company came up with a completely new line of vegetarian items like Mc Veggie burger and Mc Aloo Tikki. The separation of vegetarian and non-vegetarian sections is maintained throughout the various stages.

Product Positioning

“Mc Donald’s mein hai kuch baat” projects McDonald’s as a place for the whole family to enjoy. When McDonald’s entered in India it was mainly perceived as targeting the urban upper class people. Today it positions itself as an affordable place to eat without compromising on the quality of food, service and hygiene. The outlet ambience and mild background music highlight the comfort that McDonald’s promises in slogans like “You deserve a Break Today” & “Feed your inner child”. This commitment of quality of food and service in a clean, hygienic and relaxing atmosphere has ensured that McDonald’s maintains a positive relationship with the customers.

Source: Docstoc.com

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McDonalds Case Study

In this paper we worked on the case study on Mcdonalds marketing case study which is in marketing management........

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A generative AI reset: Rewiring to turn potential into value in 2024

It’s time for a generative AI (gen AI) reset. The initial enthusiasm and flurry of activity in 2023 is giving way to second thoughts and recalibrations as companies realize that capturing gen AI’s enormous potential value is harder than expected .

With 2024 shaping up to be the year for gen AI to prove its value, companies should keep in mind the hard lessons learned with digital and AI transformations: competitive advantage comes from building organizational and technological capabilities to broadly innovate, deploy, and improve solutions at scale—in effect, rewiring the business  for distributed digital and AI innovation.

About QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey

QuantumBlack, McKinsey’s AI arm, helps companies transform using the power of technology, technical expertise, and industry experts. With thousands of practitioners at QuantumBlack (data engineers, data scientists, product managers, designers, and software engineers) and McKinsey (industry and domain experts), we are working to solve the world’s most important AI challenges. QuantumBlack Labs is our center of technology development and client innovation, which has been driving cutting-edge advancements and developments in AI through locations across the globe.

Companies looking to score early wins with gen AI should move quickly. But those hoping that gen AI offers a shortcut past the tough—and necessary—organizational surgery are likely to meet with disappointing results. Launching pilots is (relatively) easy; getting pilots to scale and create meaningful value is hard because they require a broad set of changes to the way work actually gets done.

Let’s briefly look at what this has meant for one Pacific region telecommunications company. The company hired a chief data and AI officer with a mandate to “enable the organization to create value with data and AI.” The chief data and AI officer worked with the business to develop the strategic vision and implement the road map for the use cases. After a scan of domains (that is, customer journeys or functions) and use case opportunities across the enterprise, leadership prioritized the home-servicing/maintenance domain to pilot and then scale as part of a larger sequencing of initiatives. They targeted, in particular, the development of a gen AI tool to help dispatchers and service operators better predict the types of calls and parts needed when servicing homes.

Leadership put in place cross-functional product teams with shared objectives and incentives to build the gen AI tool. As part of an effort to upskill the entire enterprise to better work with data and gen AI tools, they also set up a data and AI academy, which the dispatchers and service operators enrolled in as part of their training. To provide the technology and data underpinnings for gen AI, the chief data and AI officer also selected a large language model (LLM) and cloud provider that could meet the needs of the domain as well as serve other parts of the enterprise. The chief data and AI officer also oversaw the implementation of a data architecture so that the clean and reliable data (including service histories and inventory databases) needed to build the gen AI tool could be delivered quickly and responsibly.

Creating value beyond the hype

Let’s deliver on the promise of technology from strategy to scale.

Our book Rewired: The McKinsey Guide to Outcompeting in the Age of Digital and AI (Wiley, June 2023) provides a detailed manual on the six capabilities needed to deliver the kind of broad change that harnesses digital and AI technology. In this article, we will explore how to extend each of those capabilities to implement a successful gen AI program at scale. While recognizing that these are still early days and that there is much more to learn, our experience has shown that breaking open the gen AI opportunity requires companies to rewire how they work in the following ways.

Figure out where gen AI copilots can give you a real competitive advantage

The broad excitement around gen AI and its relative ease of use has led to a burst of experimentation across organizations. Most of these initiatives, however, won’t generate a competitive advantage. One bank, for example, bought tens of thousands of GitHub Copilot licenses, but since it didn’t have a clear sense of how to work with the technology, progress was slow. Another unfocused effort we often see is when companies move to incorporate gen AI into their customer service capabilities. Customer service is a commodity capability, not part of the core business, for most companies. While gen AI might help with productivity in such cases, it won’t create a competitive advantage.

To create competitive advantage, companies should first understand the difference between being a “taker” (a user of available tools, often via APIs and subscription services), a “shaper” (an integrator of available models with proprietary data), and a “maker” (a builder of LLMs). For now, the maker approach is too expensive for most companies, so the sweet spot for businesses is implementing a taker model for productivity improvements while building shaper applications for competitive advantage.

Much of gen AI’s near-term value is closely tied to its ability to help people do their current jobs better. In this way, gen AI tools act as copilots that work side by side with an employee, creating an initial block of code that a developer can adapt, for example, or drafting a requisition order for a new part that a maintenance worker in the field can review and submit (see sidebar “Copilot examples across three generative AI archetypes”). This means companies should be focusing on where copilot technology can have the biggest impact on their priority programs.

Copilot examples across three generative AI archetypes

• “Taker” copilots help real estate customers sift through property options and find the most promising one, write code for a developer, and summarize investor transcripts.
• “Shaper” copilots provide recommendations to sales reps for upselling customers by connecting generative AI tools to customer relationship management systems, financial systems, and customer behavior histories; create virtual assistants to personalize treatments for patients; and recommend solutions for maintenance workers based on historical data.
• “Maker” copilots are foundation models that lab scientists at pharmaceutical companies can use to find and test new and better drugs more quickly.

Some industrial companies, for example, have identified maintenance as a critical domain for their business. Reviewing maintenance reports and spending time with workers on the front lines can help determine where a gen AI copilot could make a big difference, such as in identifying issues with equipment failures quickly and early on. A gen AI copilot can also help identify root causes of truck breakdowns and recommend resolutions much more quickly than usual, as well as act as an ongoing source for best practices or standard operating procedures.

The challenge with copilots is figuring out how to generate revenue from increased productivity. In the case of customer service centers, for example, companies can stop recruiting new agents and use attrition to potentially achieve real financial gains. Defining the plans for how to generate revenue from the increased productivity up front, therefore, is crucial to capturing the value.

McKinsey Live Event: Unlocking the full value of gen AI

Join our colleagues Jessica Lamb and Gayatri Shenai on April 8, as they discuss how companies can navigate the ever-changing world of gen AI.

Upskill the talent you have but be clear about the gen-AI-specific skills you need

By now, most companies have a decent understanding of the technical gen AI skills they need, such as model fine-tuning, vector database administration, prompt engineering, and context engineering. In many cases, these are skills that you can train your existing workforce to develop. Those with existing AI and machine learning (ML) capabilities have a strong head start. Data engineers, for example, can learn multimodal processing and vector database management, MLOps (ML operations) engineers can extend their skills to LLMOps (LLM operations), and data scientists can develop prompt engineering, bias detection, and fine-tuning skills.

A sample of new generative AI skills needed

The following are examples of new skills needed for the successful deployment of generative AI tools:

• data scientist:
• prompt engineering
• in-context learning
• bias detection
• pattern identification
• reinforcement learning from human feedback
• hyperparameter/large language model fine-tuning; transfer learning
• data engineer:
• data wrangling and data warehousing
• data pipeline construction
• multimodal processing
• vector database management

The learning process can take two to three months to get to a decent level of competence because of the complexities in learning what various LLMs can and can’t do and how best to use them. The coders need to gain experience building software, testing, and validating answers, for example. It took one financial-services company three months to train its best data scientists to a high level of competence. While courses and documentation are available—many LLM providers have boot camps for developers—we have found that the most effective way to build capabilities at scale is through apprenticeship, training people to then train others, and building communities of practitioners. Rotating experts through teams to train others, scheduling regular sessions for people to share learnings, and hosting biweekly documentation review sessions are practices that have proven successful in building communities of practitioners (see sidebar “A sample of new generative AI skills needed”).

It’s important to bear in mind that successful gen AI skills are about more than coding proficiency. Our experience in developing our own gen AI platform, Lilli , showed us that the best gen AI technical talent has design skills to uncover where to focus solutions, contextual understanding to ensure the most relevant and high-quality answers are generated, collaboration skills to work well with knowledge experts (to test and validate answers and develop an appropriate curation approach), strong forensic skills to figure out causes of breakdowns (is the issue the data, the interpretation of the user’s intent, the quality of metadata on embeddings, or something else?), and anticipation skills to conceive of and plan for possible outcomes and to put the right kind of tracking into their code. A pure coder who doesn’t intrinsically have these skills may not be as useful a team member.

While current upskilling is largely based on a “learn on the job” approach, we see a rapid market emerging for people who have learned these skills over the past year. That skill growth is moving quickly. GitHub reported that developers were working on gen AI projects “in big numbers,” and that 65,000 public gen AI projects were created on its platform in 2023—a jump of almost 250 percent over the previous year. If your company is just starting its gen AI journey, you could consider hiring two or three senior engineers who have built a gen AI shaper product for their companies. This could greatly accelerate your efforts.

Form a centralized team to establish standards that enable responsible scaling

To ensure that all parts of the business can scale gen AI capabilities, centralizing competencies is a natural first move. The critical focus for this central team will be to develop and put in place protocols and standards to support scale, ensuring that teams can access models while also minimizing risk and containing costs. The team’s work could include, for example, procuring models and prescribing ways to access them, developing standards for data readiness, setting up approved prompt libraries, and allocating resources.

While developing Lilli, our team had its mind on scale when it created an open plug-in architecture and setting standards for how APIs should function and be built.  They developed standardized tooling and infrastructure where teams could securely experiment and access a GPT LLM , a gateway with preapproved APIs that teams could access, and a self-serve developer portal. Our goal is that this approach, over time, can help shift “Lilli as a product” (that a handful of teams use to build specific solutions) to “Lilli as a platform” (that teams across the enterprise can access to build other products).

For teams developing gen AI solutions, squad composition will be similar to AI teams but with data engineers and data scientists with gen AI experience and more contributors from risk management, compliance, and legal functions. The general idea of staffing squads with resources that are federated from the different expertise areas will not change, but the skill composition of a gen-AI-intensive squad will.

Set up the technology architecture to scale

Building a gen AI model is often relatively straightforward, but making it fully operational at scale is a different matter entirely. We’ve seen engineers build a basic chatbot in a week, but releasing a stable, accurate, and compliant version that scales can take four months. That’s why, our experience shows, the actual model costs may be less than 10 to 15 percent of the total costs of the solution.

Building for scale doesn’t mean building a new technology architecture. But it does mean focusing on a few core decisions that simplify and speed up processes without breaking the bank. Three such decisions stand out:

• Focus on reusing your technology. Reusing code can increase the development speed of gen AI use cases by 30 to 50 percent. One good approach is simply creating a source for approved tools, code, and components. A financial-services company, for example, created a library of production-grade tools, which had been approved by both the security and legal teams, and made them available in a library for teams to use. More important is taking the time to identify and build those capabilities that are common across the most priority use cases. The same financial-services company, for example, identified three components that could be reused for more than 100 identified use cases. By building those first, they were able to generate a significant portion of the code base for all the identified use cases—essentially giving every application a big head start.
• Focus the architecture on enabling efficient connections between gen AI models and internal systems. For gen AI models to work effectively in the shaper archetype, they need access to a business’s data and applications. Advances in integration and orchestration frameworks have significantly reduced the effort required to make those connections. But laying out what those integrations are and how to enable them is critical to ensure these models work efficiently and to avoid the complexity that creates technical debt  (the “tax” a company pays in terms of time and resources needed to redress existing technology issues). Chief information officers and chief technology officers can define reference architectures and integration standards for their organizations. Key elements should include a model hub, which contains trained and approved models that can be provisioned on demand; standard APIs that act as bridges connecting gen AI models to applications or data; and context management and caching, which speed up processing by providing models with relevant information from enterprise data sources.
• Build up your testing and quality assurance capabilities. Our own experience building Lilli taught us to prioritize testing over development. Our team invested in not only developing testing protocols for each stage of development but also aligning the entire team so that, for example, it was clear who specifically needed to sign off on each stage of the process. This slowed down initial development but sped up the overall delivery pace and quality by cutting back on errors and the time needed to fix mistakes.

Ensure data quality and focus on unstructured data to fuel your models

The ability of a business to generate and scale value from gen AI models will depend on how well it takes advantage of its own data. As with technology, targeted upgrades to existing data architecture  are needed to maximize the future strategic benefits of gen AI:

• Be targeted in ramping up your data quality and data augmentation efforts. While data quality has always been an important issue, the scale and scope of data that gen AI models can use—especially unstructured data—has made this issue much more consequential. For this reason, it’s critical to get the data foundations right, from clarifying decision rights to defining clear data processes to establishing taxonomies so models can access the data they need. The companies that do this well tie their data quality and augmentation efforts to the specific AI/gen AI application and use case—you don’t need this data foundation to extend to every corner of the enterprise. This could mean, for example, developing a new data repository for all equipment specifications and reported issues to better support maintenance copilot applications.
• Understand what value is locked into your unstructured data. Most organizations have traditionally focused their data efforts on structured data (values that can be organized in tables, such as prices and features). But the real value from LLMs comes from their ability to work with unstructured data (for example, PowerPoint slides, videos, and text). Companies can map out which unstructured data sources are most valuable and establish metadata tagging standards so models can process the data and teams can find what they need (tagging is particularly important to help companies remove data from models as well, if necessary). Be creative in thinking about data opportunities. Some companies, for example, are interviewing senior employees as they retire and feeding that captured institutional knowledge into an LLM to help improve their copilot performance.
• Optimize to lower costs at scale. There is often as much as a tenfold difference between what companies pay for data and what they could be paying if they optimized their data infrastructure and underlying costs. This issue often stems from companies scaling their proofs of concept without optimizing their data approach. Two costs generally stand out. One is storage costs arising from companies uploading terabytes of data into the cloud and wanting that data available 24/7. In practice, companies rarely need more than 10 percent of their data to have that level of availability, and accessing the rest over a 24- or 48-hour period is a much cheaper option. The other costs relate to computation with models that require on-call access to thousands of processors to run. This is especially the case when companies are building their own models (the maker archetype) but also when they are using pretrained models and running them with their own data and use cases (the shaper archetype). Companies could take a close look at how they can optimize computation costs on cloud platforms—for instance, putting some models in a queue to run when processors aren’t being used (such as when Americans go to bed and consumption of computing services like Netflix decreases) is a much cheaper option.

Build trust and reusability to drive adoption and scale

Because many people have concerns about gen AI, the bar on explaining how these tools work is much higher than for most solutions. People who use the tools want to know how they work, not just what they do. So it’s important to invest extra time and money to build trust by ensuring model accuracy and making it easy to check answers.

One insurance company, for example, created a gen AI tool to help manage claims. As part of the tool, it listed all the guardrails that had been put in place, and for each answer provided a link to the sentence or page of the relevant policy documents. The company also used an LLM to generate many variations of the same question to ensure answer consistency. These steps, among others, were critical to helping end users build trust in the tool.

Part of the training for maintenance teams using a gen AI tool should be to help them understand the limitations of models and how best to get the right answers. That includes teaching workers strategies to get to the best answer as fast as possible by starting with broad questions then narrowing them down. This provides the model with more context, and it also helps remove any bias of the people who might think they know the answer already. Having model interfaces that look and feel the same as existing tools also helps users feel less pressured to learn something new each time a new application is introduced.

Getting to scale means that businesses will need to stop building one-off solutions that are hard to use for other similar use cases. One global energy and materials company, for example, has established ease of reuse as a key requirement for all gen AI models, and has found in early iterations that 50 to 60 percent of its components can be reused. This means setting standards for developing gen AI assets (for example, prompts and context) that can be easily reused for other cases.

While many of the risk issues relating to gen AI are evolutions of discussions that were already brewing—for instance, data privacy, security, bias risk, job displacement, and intellectual property protection—gen AI has greatly expanded that risk landscape. Just 21 percent of companies reporting AI adoption say they have established policies governing employees’ use of gen AI technologies.

Similarly, a set of tests for AI/gen AI solutions should be established to demonstrate that data privacy, debiasing, and intellectual property protection are respected. Some organizations, in fact, are proposing to release models accompanied with documentation that details their performance characteristics. Documenting your decisions and rationales can be particularly helpful in conversations with regulators.

In some ways, this article is premature—so much is changing that we’ll likely have a profoundly different understanding of gen AI and its capabilities in a year’s time. But the core truths of finding value and driving change will still apply. How well companies have learned those lessons may largely determine how successful they’ll be in capturing that value.

The authors wish to thank Michael Chui, Juan Couto, Ben Ellencweig, Josh Gartner, Bryce Hall, Holger Harreis, Phil Hudelson, Suzana Iacob, Sid Kamath, Neerav Kingsland, Kitti Lakner, Robert Levin, Matej Macak, Lapo Mori, Alex Peluffo, Aldo Rosales, Erik Roth, Abdul Wahab Shaikh, and Stephen Xu for their contributions to this article.

This article was edited by Barr Seitz, an editorial director in the New York office.

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