KFC Marketing Strategy 2024: A Case Study | Simplilearn (2024)

Committed to continuous growth, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) today ranks second on Forbes' list of top 10 global fast-food chains. Is it only because "it's finger-lickin' good"? No, there is more to it. The brand has always been keen to shake up its marketing strategy and engage customers more effectively. The KFC marketing strategy has been able to capture the accelerating food interests over the years spanning over 145+ countries worldwide.

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KFC Consumer Profile

KFC uses demographic segmentation to serve the target market that has both vegetarian and non-vegetarian customer segments. Its offerings cater to kids, young adults, and almost all age groups. KFC's target audience can be categorized into four groups:

  • Children
  • Teens and young adults
  • Families
  • Budget customers

Its primary customer profiles incorporate teenagers and families because most teenagers are impulsive, and they love to dine out with friends or order online to have a meal with their family. The secondary customer profile includes adults, and the tertiary customer profile has people with lower budgets.

Types of KFC Marketing Channels

KFC started with an undifferentiated targeting strategy as it served the same menu worldwide. However, in recent times, it has started localizing its menu for better acceptability in the market. The KFC marketing strategy incorporates two types of marketing channels: Personal and Non-personal.

Personal channels involve communicating directly with the audience, such as a KFC salesperson introducing products to a customer in person or over the telephone. Non-personal marketing channels include the use of media both online and offline, such as

  • Newspapers
  • Magazines
  • Radio
  • Television
  • Leaflets
  • Billboards
  • Posters
  • Emails
  • Webpages
  • Promotion Campaigns
  • Events
  • PR activities
  • Social Media

Digital Marketing Strategy of KFC

The KFC marketing strategy primarily includes SEO, content marketing, email marketing, social media marketing, and video marketing. However, the company pays special attention to social media marketing and uses the most popular digital marketing platforms to highlight its price and customer satisfaction.

KFC's Facebook and Twitter pages are extremely high on interactions with customers.

KFC's Facebook Pages

KFC uses Facebook as a medium to educate its customers with new offers, products, discounts, and other schemes. It also uses Facebook to address customer grievances. The brand ensures that they put across product-oriented content. It promotes online ordering facilities via social media.

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KFC’s Official Facebook Page Displaying A Range of Meals

On festive occasions, the Facebook page has several animated photos that have often received tremendous responses and helped KFC connect with the audience on occasion. Their posts strike great engagement ratios, with likes soaring above 250,000 and comments reaching 5000+. On average, the total engagement level of the page is approximately 5% depicting quality interaction and engagement.

KFC's team that handles its Facebook page is extremely quick in responding to customers. They encouraged the audience to lodge a complaint of dissatisfaction at their outlets.

KFC's Twitter Handles

The Twitter handle of KFC is as interactive as the Facebook page. The team successfully pacifies unhappy customers and has an extremely high engagement level.

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KFC’s Twitter Handle

To take interactions to the next level, the team organizes contests often integrated across Facebook and Twitter. They also promote new schemes and discounts via Twitter. Although the number of retweets or conversations on these tweets isn't quite high presently, the brand also seems focused on upscaling its business via Twitter.

KFC's Instagram Handles

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KFC’s Instagram Post with the Latest Offers

KFC has several verified pages on Instagram for various countries besides its main page. It uses this digital marketing platform mainly to attract customers by posting luring images of food items on its menu. The brand also publishes posts about its present offers, new introductions, and other schemes.

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KFC on Youtube

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KFC India Youtube Channel Displaying Ads

Although KFC has video marketing on its list of digital marketing strategies, it uses its YouTube Channel for advertisem*nts only. It has short videos of not more than two minutes, but the channel still has a good number of subscribers. The company uses Youtube as a secondary medium to show its ads.

KFC's Email Marketing Strategy

KFC restaurants create bulk mailings using the AMP technology to target its mobile phone users too. Its AMP emails are different from ordinary emails as these mails have interactive elements in the form of order buttons, product carousels, subscription forms, sliders, animations, an interactive showcase of meals, and more so that the emails do not get lost in the potential customer's inbox. The company also uses this strategy to segment its audience and personalize its email campaigns, targeting specific audiences. Their brand awareness campaigns lead to valuable conversions later.

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Conclusion

The KFC marketing strategy is strong and actively uses Twitter and Facebook to attract customers, share promotions and schemes, and solve customer grievances. The potential of YouTube has still not been completely explored by them.

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KFC Marketing Strategy 2024: A Case Study | Simplilearn (2024)

FAQs

What marketing strategies does KFC use? ›

The KFC marketing strategy primarily includes SEO, content marketing, email marketing, social media marketing, and video marketing. However, the company pays special attention to social media marketing and uses the most popular digital marketing platforms to highlight its price and customer satisfaction.

What is the KFC promotion strategy? ›

In conclusion, KFC's digital marketing strategy encompasses various elements, including social media engagement, SEO, and online advertising. By leveraging these techniques, KFC has successfully built a strong online presence, connecting with its customers on a deeper level and driving brand loyalty.

What are the objectives of KFC marketing plan? ›

KFC advertising strategy aims to increase brand awareness among potential customers and to differentiate its products from those of its competitors. But, how does the brand manage to do that? Well, obviously emphasizing the uniqueness of its fried chicken, most importantly its flavor and the Colonel's secret recipe.

What is the growth strategy of KFC? ›

Part of KFC's growth strategy is to revolutionize our data and technology while building high-value products at scale, and that holistic vision requires deep collaboration across multiple teams and functions.

How does KFC use direct marketing? ›

KFC also spices up its marketing strategy with a savory blend of direct marketing: email offers, subscription forms, targeted direct mail, SMS deals, loyalty rewards, and in-store promotions to entice all chicken lovers.

What are the key success factors of KFC? ›

KFC's key success factor also lies in its core competencies, which are its trademark recipes, outstanding customer service, the brand equity and its international footprint. The organization has also worked towards a perception change from deep-fried to healthy grilled, retaining chicken as its core product.

How does KFC gain competitive advantage? ›

Overall, KFC's product differentiation strategies have been effective in helping the company maintain its position in the competitive fast-food industry. KFC focuses on unique recipes, menu items, restaurant design, and digital innovation to distinguish itself from competitors and attract customers worldwide.

How does KFC use transnational strategy? ›

KFC is another example of a transnational company, as it has restaurants in every part of the world, providing a high level of local responsiveness and valuing customers' preferences in local markets.

What strategies does KFC use to protect the environment? ›

Responsible sourcing: KFC is committed to sourcing their ingredients and products from suppliers who adhere to high standards of sustainability and environmental responsibility. This includes using suppliers who follow responsible fishing practices, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and protect forests and wildlife.

What are the three objectives of KFC? ›

KFC has a number of ambitious aims and objectives: To increase its percentage share of the fast-food market. To improve profit margins year-on-year to fund the growth of the company. To return profit on investments to owners and franchisees.

How much does KFC spend on marketing? ›

As of September 2021, the KFC brand spent 98.4 million U.S. dollars on measured media advertising in the United States that year. In the previous year, the brand's ad spend reached 116.6 million dollars.

What type of market structure is KFC? ›

MONOPOLISTIC COMPETITION (KFC)

How does KFC use social media to promote? ›

However, the real work happened on Twitter and the rest of the social media platforms. Here, KFC constantly talked about how bad the old fries were (it was getting ready to reveal new fries to the market) and encouraged people on social media to agree and talk about the bad aspects of the old recipe.

Does KFC use transnational strategy? ›

What is an example of a transnational strategy? An example of a transnational strategy is KFC. With numerous locations globally, the franchise is known for its transnational marketing strategy that caters directly to the different market's local preferences and tastes.

How does KFC segment the market? ›

KFC may tailor marketing messages and product offerings to appeal to specific psychographic segments, such as health-conscious consumers, busy professionals looking for convenience, or individuals seeking indulgent comfort food.

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