Running head: MMGP BACKGROUND INFORMATION 4 PS 1

MMGP Background Information - 4 Ps

BUSI 520 Strategic Marketing Management

Liberty University
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History

Taco Bell has a long and complex story behind its current structure. Taco Bell serves

Mexican-style fast food and is currently owned by YUM! Brands, Inc. Glen Bell in Downey,

California is the founder of Taco Bell. Bell was involved in several chains before starting Taco

Bell in 1962. Bell sold the first franchise two years later, and Taco Bell went public in 1967

operating over 330 franchises. In 1978 PepsiCo acquired Taco Bell. Taco Bell joined KFC and

Pizza Hut for a total of three fast food companies owned by PepsiCo. In 1997 PepsiCo created a

new restaurant entity, which it named TRICON Global Restaurants. Soon after, TRICON

increased efforts to either close or revamp failing Pizza Huts and KFCs. In 2002, the cooperative

changed its name to YUM! Brands, a name that remains to this day.

Taco Bell focuses on Mexican-style food products, including several varieties of tacos,

nachos, salads, burritos, quesadillas, and related items. Taco Bell operates in 22 countries

throughout the world, and as of the end of 2016, had over 6,600 locations. The company had

annual sales of $3,611.36M, has approximately 175,000 employees, and is ranked 4th in fast

food sales. YUM!, Taco Bell and its cooperative of fast food chains depend on a large

percentage of franchise owners in order to expand and develop the business. Mexican-style fast

food is a highly competitive market and Taco Bell asserts that their market share is greater than

50% of the total. The largest source of completion for Taco Bell is based on smaller, regional

market franchise concepts, or higher priced quick-casual chains such as Chipotle or Moes

Southwest Grill. These quick-casual chains typically are not as fast as a traditional fast-food

chain, but they have higher quality ingredients, custom made items, and characteristically sell

alcohol. (Hoovers, 2017, p. 4)

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Describe and discuss the 4 Ps associated with your product/service. Below are the 4Ps described

in your textbook, describe and discuss all 4 of the 4 Ps.

Old 4 Ps: Product, Place, Promotion, Price

New 4 Ps: People Processes Programs Performance

Old 4 Ps: Product, Place, Promotion, Price

Product

Taco Bell maintains a wide variety of Mexican-style food products, including several

assortments of tacos, nachos, salads, burritos, quesadillas, and related side and desert items.

Taco Bell is very creative and consistent with developing new offerings. Taco Bell is dedicated

to expanding their menu choices to motivate increased business to its restaurants. The

introduction of Freeze frozen fruit drinks, along with happy hours, have helped increase business

before and after the traditional rush hours of lunch and dinner. Several healthy choices that are

prepared without frying, are an attempt to the increasing customer trends of more nutritious

eating.

A breakfast menu was added in 2014, along with a variation of current products that have

been reworked, such as the Quesalupas. A recent desert offering was Capn Crunch Delights,

which are icing covered doughnut holes crusted with Capn Crunch cereal. On average, Taco

Bell introduces a new product every five weeks, which in turn becomes about 5% of menu sales.

Taco Bell also includes packaging changes in their offerings (Ringen, 2016, p. 10). The current

promotion is called a Big Box Meal that includes an assortment of items and a drink.
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Price

Pricing is a significant strategical aspect for Taco Bell. The target market are Millennials,

many of which are either just entering, or are new to the workplace. Low cost and perceived

value is important to this demographic. Taco Bell embraced the $1.00 menu item craze and also

offers a happy hour special. Part of the price aspect of marketing are discounts, allowances, and

payment terms. These financial terms typically refer to manufacturing or service firms, although

Taco Bell does offer gift cards and will accept both debit and credit cards for purchases.

Promotion

Taco Bell is incredibly active in promotions; the company was awarded the Advertising

Age Marketer of the year for 2013. Their promotions are focused on Millennials using Twitter,

Vine, Snapchat, and Facebook. The various social media outlets are used to announce the

limited-time offers, specials, and new products (Morrison, 2013, p. 15). Taco Bell has several

community oriented programs. These include scholarships and the use of local contractors if

possible. Taco Bell has also instituted the use of cage-free eggs and nutritious alternatives to

cater to the healthy-eating crowd.

Place

No information is available regarding site locations for Taco Bell, as that is proprietary

information. However, in general the discipline of site selection involves features such as traffic

flow, population density, local demographics, per capita income, location, and visibility. (Killifer,

2013, pp. 25-28). Another critical aspect of place is the availability of logistics opportunities.

One unique aspect of Taco Bell and YUM! is its logistics system. This system is unique

to United States locations only. The three franchise groups share a common supply and

distribution network. Restaurant Supply Chain Solutions (RSCS) provides Taco Bell, KFC, and
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Pizza Hut with the supply and delivery of most of the products and equipment for the trio of

chains. RSCS conjoin the purchasing influence of the three companies. This not only gives

quantity discounts and lower freight costs, but it also provides leverage with dedicated and

collaborative suppliers. In addition, RSCS is responsible for maintaining delivery partners and

ensuring on-time deliveries. (YUM! Brands 10-K, 2017, p. 5).

New 4 Ps: People Processes Programs Performance

People

Taco Bell is a people driven business, both internally and externally. The company uses a

different thought process regarding elimination of jobs. Unlike the majority of fast food

industries moving to cut labor costs and eliminate jobs, Taco Bell embraces technology, but not

job cuts. The consensus of the Taco Bell C-level is As a business thats fueled by the energy

and passion of people serving people, our team members are our front line and biggest brand

ambassadors (Spyrou, 2017, para. 7). This leads the company to build the company from within

and enhance corporate acceptance within the community.

Processes

The Taco Bell team takes the marketing process seriously. They have developed an

advanced system and They work out of a high-tech room called the Fishbowl thats lined with

wall-size mission control-ish screens providing real-time info about the always churning online

conversation about the company (Ringen, 2016, p. 116). This cutting edge social media data

collection system allows Taco Bell to anticipate change and helps them maintain a pro-active

position in the marketplace.

Programs
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Taco Bell utilizes various traditional and social media marketing activities. Traditional

TV and radio ads are used, but the central focus is on social media. Taco Bell supports a

YouTube channel and the series Taco Tales has had almost 2 million views within the last 3

months. Also, the company is currently running a promotion for the chance to win a fully paid

wedding in Las Vegas, NV. The prize includes airfare and rooms for four, a wedding at the Taco

Bell wedding chapel, and custom merchandise. One of finalists actually made a wedding dress

out of Taco Bell burrito wrappers. (Taco Bell, 2017).

Performance

The holistic marketing aspect is overseen by the parent company, YUM! Brands. The

company has developed a corporate responsibility report that includes ethical, social, and

environmental standards and goals for the three brands: Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut. Ethical

standards include a code of conduct and employee practices. The social aspects relate to food

quality and safety, lower calorie offerings, and nutritional improvement. The environmental

attributes consist of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for

new facilities, reductions in energy and water consumption, and an increase in recyclable content

(YUM! Brands CSR, 2015).

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References

Hoovers Inc. (2017, March 26). Taco Bell Corporation. Hoovers Company. Retrieved from

http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?url=https://search-proquestcom

ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/1860788993?accountid=12085.

Killifer, V. (2013, Fall). The art & science of site selection. Restaurant Development + Design.

24-29. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?

url=http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/1561352413?

accountid=12085.

Morrison, M. (2013). Marketer of the year 2013. Advertising Age, 84(30). Retrieved from

http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-

com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/1430276727?accountid=12085.

Ringen, J. (2016). For combining corn, beans, meat, and cheese into genius. Fast Company,

(203), 46-116.

Spyrou, C. (2017). Taco Bell takes a strong stance against machines replacing jobs. Foodbeast.

Retrieved from http://www.foodbeast.com/news/taco-bell-automation-shouldnt-replace-

jobs/

Taco Bell. (2017, March 26). Love and tacos. Retrieved from

https://www.tacobell.com/loveandtacos

YUM! Brands 10-K. (2017). Form 10-K 2016. Retrieved from

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1041061/000104106116000056/yum10k122620

15.htm.

YUM! Brands CSR. (2015). Serving the World. http://www.yumcsr.com/about/serving-the-

world.asp.