Market Segmentation of KFC

Our world has almost 8 billion population and most probably 7 billion of them have at least once heard and tried the yummiest fried chickens of the well-known brand KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken). The company was founded by Colonel Harland Sanders, who started selling fried chicken from his roadside restaurant in Kentucky in 1952. While nobody could imagine that Colonel’s business would succeed, nowadays, KFC is considered one of the leaders in the food industry and is a synonym for fried chicken. This post is about KFC’s marketing segmentation, which plays a significant role in the company’s success

Let’s begin with understanding which segment KFC has chosen to target.

One of the best ways to do so is by analyzing the company’s advertisements. So, for that purpose, let’s watch this commercial.

So, even from the beginning of the video, the commercial catches everyone’s attention for being funny, engaging, and attractive. This food company shows its label in less than a minute and presents one of its unique offerings – Chewy Cheese.

The main participants of the commercial are four friends. When the boy holding the package of Chewy Cheese shows it to the boy coming towards him, the melting of the cheese seems alluring to this guy, which is apparent when looking at his eyes.

This KFC Chewy Cheese makes KFC absolute heaven for cheese lovers because it is a crunchy mozzarella ball packed with a soft cheesy filling fried to perfection.

After watching the video, it becomes clear that the participants of the commercial are people who like to be surrounded by friends and have entertaining gatherings.

Furthermore, it makes us realize that whenever one thinks of KFC, they also start to think of somebody: family, friends, loved ones, or somebody else, somebody to share those pleasurable moments of eating and feeling the taste.

As a result, it leads us to conclude that the company has chosen Nesters as a target segment.

Now, let’s learn interesting facts about this target group.

Lifestyle and Values

• Nesters look for long-term relationships, and they always try to find a partner who will live in harmony with their family.

• While these people love to spend their time with friends, family is one of the most important values for them, and they believe that no place will replace home.

• Gardening is usually on the list of their hobbies. They like to take care of the home because when everything is fixed at their houses, they feel better.

• People belonging to this target segment are not risk-takers. That is the reason why they prefer to choose jobs based on their stability than the salary.

• They would instead buy an outdated but proven technological device than buy a new model and understand they do not work.

• The representatives of this target segment usually are not fond of reading. However, when they read, it is mostly about family, local issues, gardening, healthcare, etc.

• Nesters are fond of watching TV and are average radio listeners.

Brand Usage

• The people representing this target segment are pretty shy, and as they do not like to stand out of the crowd, they would never dress differently.

• Nesters buy products, clothes for their comfortability and durability as they do not pay much attention to fashion and style.

• These people are very attentive to promotions and sales.

• Nesters prefer domestic products to foreign ones, even if the quality is the same or higher.

• In most cases, the representatives of this target group go to small stores and markets.

• Their shopping is always well-organized. Nesters prefer to go shopping with bikes rather than cars (if the market is not too far).

Now, let’s refer to the positioning plan of this food company.

First of all, it is essential to note that market positioning is the ability to influence costumer perception. Positioning plan tells its customers why they should use the company’s products, how are they different from the rest industry.

The positioning statement of KFC is hidden in their slogan, which says that “its finger lickin’ good.” This slogan means that the customers of KFC perceive this food company’s food products as very tasty.

The company’s main emphasis is on the price and taste of the food products. KFC positions itself as a company whose products are available for every person. Moreover, one of the main goals of KFC is to unite families, friends. They seek to create good memory and positive feelings toward their unique products.

Now, let’s move on to the Marketing Mix of KFC.

Marketing strategy aims to help companies achieve their goals. Marketing Mix is an easy and convenient way to define marketing strategies. Marketing Mix analyses the brand, which covers 4Ps, including Product, Price, Place, Promotion.

However, in some cases, Marketing Mix can have 5-7Ps. In the following paragraphs, we will introduce 5Ps of the Marketing Mix of KFC.

• Product
• Price
• Place
• Promotion
• People

Product

When the food industry was already full of hamburgers, KFC challenged it by bringing their fried chickens to the market. These new and tasty fried chicken nuggets flavored with secret seasoning of 11 ingredients immediately caught the population’s attention, and as a result, KFC gained popularity pretty quickly.

The main offering product is this fried chicken, and other extra crispy chicken offerings are made of using a garlic marinade and double dipping the chicken in flour before deep frying in a standard industrial kitchen type machine.

In the 1990s, KFC expanded its menu by including chicken preparations, such as Chicken Fillet Burgers and wraps, potato fries, salads, beverages, and desserts. The company really considers the customers’ opinions, which is why the menu of this company differs from country to country.

For example, as Indian people like to eat rice and spicy food, one can find in Indian KFCs Hot and Crispy Chicken, Fiery Grilled bucket options, Chicken Zinger Burger, Rice Bowls, etc. 

Nowadays, KFC’s primary menu includes:

Chicken- Original Recipe, Extra Crispy, Kentucky Grilled Chicken, Honey BBQ Chicken, Hot Wings Grilled and Fried Chicken, KFC Fried Gizzards, Nashville Hot Chicken, Georgia Gold, Kentucky Nuggets, Popcorn Chicken.

Sandwiches- Zinger, Honey BBQ Chicken Sandwich, Chicken Little, KFC Shrimp Burger, Double Crunch, Double Down, Cheetos Sandwich.

Various kinds of meals, such as Little Bucket Kids Meal, Zinger & Chicken Big Box Meal, Tenders & Popcorn Big Box Meal, etc.

Sides-French Fries, Seasoned Potato Wedges, Mac & Cheese, Green Beans and many more.

The company’s menu expands based on some factors, such as

• Competition
• Demand
• The satisfaction of key financial criteria 

Price

The company utilizes a market skimming pricing strategy to determine the price for its products. In market skimming, the company/brand sets high prices to attract people who desire the product and then gradually reduces the prices in order to attract other costumers, mostly from the lower class.

So, in the case of KFC, the company’s target audience is primarily upper-middle and middle class, and the prices of the products are set accordingly. However, by the time KFC decreases the price of its offerings which helps them to attract many other people.

Besides, the company constantly compares its price with leading competitors, such as McDonald’s. If McDonald’s provides the same product at a lower price, then KFC also sets the same price.

Place

Having more than 25000 restaurants, at present KFC  is present in almost 145 countries, which shows the company’s strong place strategy. KFC chooses its location based on major factors, including business climate, total cost, quality of labor, host community, infrastructure.

So, considering these all factors, most of the KFC outlets are easily accessible as they are located next to schools, market areas, colleges, and cinemas so as to attract more customers. Customers can visit these outlets and enjoy their food.

Besides restaurants, the company also provides home delivery service to its customers’ doorsteps. It is essential to mention that this service is not available in every area and has a limited menu. However, this way, KFC ensures the availability of food products according to the demand of its users.

Promotion (Advertising)

The idea behind the advertising plan is about all the things that the company uses to promote its products among society.

First of all, one can meet KFC advertisements in print media. Print media usually includes various newspapers and magazines, displaying KFC offerings, special offers, and prices.

Apart from print media, the company also uses billboards and hoardings on crowded roads for advertisements. KFC focuses on some catchy slogans such as “Finger Lickin Good,” “Nobody Does Chicken Like KFC,” and “So Good,” and writes them down on billboards.

These are mostly considered “reminder advertisements” because they make the customers remember how tasty the food was and ate in KFC, and even if there are people who have not tried KFC, these slogans are “call to actions” for them.

This, way the company attracts many customers, as during the traffic drivers and other passengers are usually looking at the surrounding.

It was even found that the company’s commercials are seen at least once a week by almost 185 million viewers in crowded cities.

Besides, KFC is available on social media platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube. Being active on social media allows the company to always be in touch with its customers, get better insights about their products and services.

Also, the promising and exciting coupons strategy is another way KFC promotes its products and attracts more customers. Using coupons that can be purchased after spending some money on KFC products gives customers a chance to have free premium food.

People

This part of the marketing mix is about the individuals involved in the company’s activities, starting from deliveries to promoters and so on.

 KFC pays particular attention when choosing employees. The staff of the brand KFC is usually specially trained in customer service and communication. For example, these people have product knowledge training. KFC’s staff is always provided with standard uniforms that they are obliged to wear throughout the working day.

This leading food company has people work in the customer service department. The role of these people is to communicate with customers (mainly those who have issues with the product) and help them solve the problems.

It is essential to note that they are trained to respect the customers and not make any conflicts with the customers.

KFC also has special employees who work on the quality of the final product. In that sense, their main job is to get the best raw materials.

Besides, KFC has another group of individuals that contribute to the promotion of the products, are always in touch with the customers by answering their phone calls and messages.

To sum up, this blog was about the market segmentation of KFC, which is one of the leading brands in the food industry. This blog discussed the positioning strategies and Marketing Mix of KFC. Besides, through analyzing one of its commercials, we learned about its target segmentation. You may find additional information about the company’s target market by clicking on following link. For more posts like this, visit our main page.