Question

Royal Dutch Gazelle produces several types of bikes for different kinds of customers. City bikes are made for short trips to nearby locations, to work, or for a regular shopping trip. Gazelle also produces a traditional city bike known as the Robust Classic. Trekking bikes are for people who want a sporty and lightweight bike. These bikes come with high-grade components, a sleekly shaped aluminum frame and carbon front fork. The light weight makes for easy transport, so you could take with it you on a holiday trip. Lifestyle bikes, on the other hand, with tough, wide tires and a robust frame, are for the rider to cruise through the town in style. Gazelle also produces e-bikes for daily use, but the Gazelle Ultimate e-bike belongs to a top-flight range: made from lightweight high-end carbon or aluminum parts and frames, it is meant to combine sportiness and speed with great comfort. OR McDonald’s Mom Bloggers. McDonald’s systematically reaches out to key “mom bloggers,” those who influence the nation’s home- makers, who in turn influence their families’ eating-out choices. For example, McDonald’s recently hosted 15 influential mom bloggers on an all-expenses-paid tour of its Chicago- area headquarters. The bloggers toured the facilities (including the company’s test kitchens), met McDonald’s USA president, and had their pictures taken with Ronald at a nearby Ronald McDonald House. McDonald’s knows that these mom blog- gers have loyal followings and talk a lot about McDonald’s in their blogs. So it’s turning the bloggers into believers by giving them a behind-the-scenes view. McDonald’s doesn’t try to tell the bloggers what to say in their posts about the visit. It simply asks them to write one honest recap of their trip. However, the resulting posts (each acknowledging the blogger’s connection with McDonald’s) were mostly very positive. Thanks to this and other such efforts, mom bloggers around the country are now more informed about and connected with McDonald’s. “I know they have smoothies and they have yogurt and they have other things that my kids would want,” says one prominent blogger. “I really couldn’t tell you what Burger King’s doing right now,” she adds. “I have no idea.”

Based on the scenario above, critically discuss the approach taken by “Royal Dutch Gazelle” or “McDonalds” and recommend what more can be initiated. Evaluate and suggest other positioning that can be proposed to influence customers of Royal Dutch Gazelle or McDonald

Answer 1

The approach taken by Royal Dutch Gazelle is off product customization where the company has made bicycles specific to tasks of city commute, holiday leisure trips and cross country cycling. Additionally the company has made use of technology by integrating e-bicycle into their portfolio. All these are designed to address different customer base who may have different requirements. Additional e it would encourage customers to have more than bike and keep and array of bikes with them for various activities as listed above. This process of customization and brand development helps the cycling company insulting more than one type of bike to their loyal customers as well as sell at least one type of bike two customers who may not undertake more than one type of cycling activity.

McDonald's on the other hand has taken the approach of engaging customer through building trust among customers regarding their products. While McDonald's also is undertaking customization in order to increase their customer base they are also interested in penetrating segments of market and acquiring customers who may not be drawn to there conventional products. Use of influencers who have a following among McDonald's target customers is a method of indirect advertising as well as communicated to the customer the health conscious approach of the company adding an ethics angle to the marketing of the company.

Additional steps that Royal Dutch Gazelle could initiate are inviting potential customers and cycling enthusiasts to undertake trials without buying bikes to develop interests among people for the products of company and also engage cycling athletes of national and international repute for advertising purposes. Company could offer easy payment options to returning customers as well as those who are interested in more than one product from the portfolio of the company. Additionally supply of spares, assured term of warranty on parts, free initial service up to a time period or additional steps that the company can take to increase customer base.

McDonald's can diversify their product range and offer targeted products based on age groups to address the different nutritional needs of customers. Delivery services and subscription plans can also be initiated by McDonald's with discounts for customers who engage in long term subscription plans for healthy drinks. McDonald's can tie up with health and fitness companies who are both brick and mortar based as well as online platforms where partnering health management companies can recommend product from portfolio of McDonald's for subscribers.

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