KFC’s Entry Into The Chinese Market: Challenges And Solutions

Introduction

KFC entered the markets of China in late 1980s but had to experience a number of issues due to its tagline i.e. “Finger-lickin’ good“ which has deteriorated the sales of the company and had also ruined the sustainability in the Chinese markets due to its improper meaning after the translation

Need for KFC to lunch in Chinese

Chinese markets are highly opportunistic for KFC as the large number of population and high demand for fast food  is one of the major reasons for KFC to approach the Chinese markets.

Steps for ensuring the visit of customers after the ‘translation

• There must be change of tagline.
• Making the people aware of the initiative taken up by the company in order to correct the translation error through television advertisements and campaigns.

Steps for achieving successful branding in Chinese market

• Develop a new brand tagline and have extensive promotion of the same
• Building a brand message to influence people
• Associating a celebrity with the brand
• Putting people and their values first
• Capturing feedback

Solution to the problem

• To have focus on target culture and understand the translation profession
• Develop a better understanding of the expected behavior, beliefs, attitudes, values and ideas, material objects and culture of China
• Good design of the product portfolio so that it can match the Chinese eating habits
• Public communication and advertising should be designed to fetch the attention of target market in order to meet the interest of the consumers

Future Recommendations

• The digital properties, marketing collateral, technical documentation and product packaging should be translated into the local language of China
• Follow localized trends
• More use of advertisements and campaigns
• Have a fresh start through new branding strategies

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Brooks, C., 2013. Lost in Translation: 8 International Marketing Fails. Accessed on: 12th January, 2018. Accessed from: 

Duane, S., 2011. Language Barrier: Finger Lickin’ Good. Accessed on: 12th January, 2018. Accessed from: 

Henderson, I., 2014. KFC, China and Localization: Why Translation is Only the Tip of the Iceberg. Accessed on: 12th January, 2018. Accessed from: 

Pym, A., 2016. Translation Solutions for Many Languages: Histories of a flawed dream. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Zhou, L. and Zhang, Q., 2012. Cultural adaptation pattern analysis of McDonald’s and KFC in the Chinese