Analysis of KFC’s Private Domain Operations

Recently, the "Pikachuk" meal toy launched by KFC has become a hit, triggering a buying craze among the nation. We have to admit that as a foreign catering company, KFC has done an excellent job in localized marketing. But what I admire more is KFC’s strategic vision in digital operations, membership and private domains.

As early as 2016, KFC began its digital transformation, launching a membership and online ordering and payment system. It later launched paid memberships and deepened its community operations.

Data shows that KFC has 330 million members, with member sales accounting for 62% of total sales and digital order revenue accounting for 87%.

In fact, this is the hottest way to play private domain traffic at the moment. So how does KFC do private domain?

Below we will still follow our methodology, namely the six steps of IPization - connection - activation - stratification - repeat purchase - fission, and break it down for you.

01 IP-Brand IP Strategy Analysis

If a successful brand wants to be remembered by consumers for a long time, it must have a distinctive IP image. As a cross-century brand, KFC is also well aware of this truth, which is mainly reflected in three aspects:

1. Own IP
2. Co-branded IP
3. Employee IP

1. Own IP

KFC's IP is definitely one of the most popular images in the world. The "grandfather" on its trademark is based on the image of its founder "Harland Sanders".

With the progress of the times, KFC has been constantly changing this classic logo to make this image more in line with current communication laws and easier for consumers to remember.

2. Co-branded IP

In addition to its own IP, KFC is also actively seeking cooperation on joint IPs. As the main means of marketing, each joint venture can bring a new wave of consumer groups and popularity.

For example, this time the collaboration with Pokémon, "Psyduck", has greatly increased KFC's sales. According to statistics, KFC has cooperated with many well-known domestic and foreign brands and IPs such as Minions, Doraemon, Genshin Impact, Honor of Kings, and Pop Mart, and has been able to achieve the effect of 1+1>2, achieving a win-win situation between brands.

3. Employee IP

KFC uses WeChat for Business to establish a connection between users and private domains. Every employee’s WeChat becomes a window for external output. Take the employee I added as an example:

• Nickname : Zhang Bibo (employee’s real name, user perception is more authentic)
• Avatar : KFC's classic grandpa IP image
• Role positioning : Restaurant manager, community welfare officer
• Automatic welcome message : Send the community link as soon as possible and inform the benefits included in the community, so that users can grasp all valuable information in time

02Connection -Omni-channel traffic analysis

KFC attaches great importance to brand exposure and marketing effectiveness. Whether it is traditional offline advertising or the operation of emerging platforms such as Douyin and Xiaohongshu, they are important means for KFC to seek growth and retention.

The following analyzes how KFC achieves channel traffic from three aspects: offline traffic, proprietary private domain platforms, and mainstream new media platforms .

1. Offline traffic

1) Stores KFC’s offline stores are a huge source of traffic. As of now, KFC has more than 8,000 stores in China. Users can enter the private domain by scanning codes to place orders, at in-store checkout counters, table stickers and roll-up banners.

2) Offline delivery

A catering company of KFC's size spends lavishly on advertising and marketing. Advertisements are often placed in subway stations, outdoor billboards, buses and other places to continuously expand exposure and lay a solid foundation for attracting traffic.

2. Own private domain platform

1) KFC’s official account has over one million active followers, and its tweets include event introductions, product recommendations, discounts and benefits, etc.

There is a private domain adding entrance in the menu bar of the official account. The specific path is: official account menu bar – click to join the group – scan the QR code – add employee WeChat – send community link – enter the community.

2) Mini Programs KFC has many mini programs, which mainly undertake functions such as online ordering, interactive games, and membership services . There is an entrance to private domain traffic in the "KFC+" mini program. The specific path is: Homepage - Join the official welfare group - Scan the QR code - Add employee WeChat - Send community link - Enter the community.

3. Mainstream new media platforms

1) Video Account

KFC’s official video account homepage is linked to the official account as an entry point for attracting traffic. The main video content released includes brand promotion, product recommendations, situational dramas , etc. In addition, live broadcasts will also be launched on the video account, mainly focusing on selling goods.

2) Tik Tok

KFC has established a huge account matrix on Douyin, with the total number of fans of several major accounts exceeding 5 million . The main video content includes brand promotion, product recommendations, situational drama, etc.

There are also accounts such as "KFC Food Bureau" and "KFC Official Welfare Club" that start live broadcasts every day, mainly selling KFC meal e-vouchers, instant coffee and other products.

4) Kuaishou

Compared with Douyin, KFC's operation scale on Kuaishou is much smaller. Its main account has only 83,000 followers, and the video content is not as rich as Douyin, but it also broadcasts live every day, mainly selling its own products.

5) Weibo

KFC currently has 4.037 million followers on Weibo, and has posted more than 28,000 Weibo posts . Looking through its Weibo posts in recent days, it has maintained a frequency of 6-10 posts per day. The main content is event promotion and product recommendations.

6) Xiaohongshu

There are more than 660,000 notes related to KFC on Xiaohongshu, and the frequency of users' spontaneous promotion and exposure is very high. The official account currently has 104,000 followers, and the content of the notes mainly focuses on product recommendations, brand promotion, and interactive introductions.

7) The number of fans of KFC on bilibili B station has reached 1.475 million, which is very high among official brand accounts. It can be seen that KFC is also very popular among young people. The video content released is mainly activity introduction and situational drama .

03Promoting Activity-Analysis of Community Operation

As the most effective and common scenario for promoting activity in the private domain, the following will break down KFC’s community, taking a community I added as an example.

1. Basic information of the community

Group nickname : brand name + region + group positioning + group serial number, such as "KFC Mid-Levels Zhonglian Welfare Group 2".

Group positioning : preferential welfare group, limited time flash sale group, interactive communication group.

Community Value :

• Service value: answer users' questions and interact with them
• Brand value: product recommendation, new product announcement, and bringing the brand closer to users
• Content value: Users can get coupons by participating in the interaction

2. Welcome message + group rules

When users join the group, an automatic welcome message will be triggered immediately, which mainly introduces how to claim the group benefits and that they can consult if they have any questions, indicating their service attitude. A jump link is set below to provide detailed introduction to community benefits and group regulations.

3. Community SOP

The content sent in the community has a fixed schedule. Different welfare activities will be set up from Monday to weekend. Take the sop of a certain day as an example:

• 8:00 am: Release package product Amway. This is the time for going to work or school. Most users will be willing to buy the affordable package.
• 11:00 am: Post a lucky number guessing activity, and those who guess correctly can receive coupons
• 16:00: Reveal the answer to the interactive puzzle and remind users to redeem their prizes
• 17:00: Send community welfare content, such as Crazy Thursday Welfare Event on Thursday
• 18:00 pm: Release coupon activity, participate to get coupons

04 Layering-Refined Operation Analysis

KFC has adopted refined operation methods for different user groups, taking mini program classification and paid membership classification as examples.

1. Mini Programs

KFC has many mini-programs, each with different functions, mainly to facilitate users with different needs. For example:

• The mini program "KFC+" mainly displays welfare information and membership functions

• The mini program "KFC Pocket Fried Chicken Shop" is mainly used for social networking and fission
• The mini program "KFC Breakfast" specializes in online ordering services for breakfast
• The mini program "KFC Fresh Coffee Shop" specializes in ordering coffee-related products

• The mini program "KFC Dessert Station" specializes in ordering services for dessert-related products

2. Paid Membership

Compared with paid memberships of other brands, KFC has many types of paid memberships, targeting different groups of people and usage scenarios. Each type of card has different price levels:

• Dashen Card (from 9.9 yuan to 38 yuan, 5 types available): For users who frequently buy KFC, they can enjoy benefits including free delivery, breakfast and afternoon tea package discounts
• Home God Card (from 9.9 yuan to 16 yuan, 2 types available): For users who frequently order takeout, they can enjoy the right of free delivery fee
• Coffee monthly card (from 16 yuan to 18 yuan, 2 types available): For users who order coffee frequently, they can enjoy discounts on some coffee products
• Yum! Brands All-Inclusive Card (188 RMB): For users who frequently eat at Yum! Brands brands, including KFC, Pizza Hut and other 5 brands, some product discounts

05Repurchase -Analysis of multi-channel guidance for repurchase

The most critical part of private domain operation is repurchase. Like most brands, KFC also guides repurchase in various channels. Take the following platforms as examples:

1) Official Account

After following KFC’s official account, coupons will be sent immediately to guide users to enter the mini program to purchase. In addition, many tweets on the official account will guide users to place orders.

2) Mini Programs

In KFC’s mini program, users are often given coupons to attract them to place orders. In addition, users can also obtain more preferential benefits through tasks and other forms.

3) Community

In KFC’s private community, various welfare activities will be sent to guide users to place orders.

4) Weibo

On Weibo, KFC will use various benefits and discounts to guide users to place orders.

5) Xiaohongshu

In Xiaohongshu, KFC attracts users to place orders through grass-roots content.

06 Fission-Fission gameplay analysis

In addition to the common social fission gameplay, KFC has specially created a small program "Pocket Fried Chicken Shop" to promote user fission, propagation and sharing through interesting store opening gameplay and coupons as bait.

The following is a breakdown of the fission gameplay: users open their own fried chicken shop in the mini program and can share the store with friends. The store is equivalent to a real KFC store and users can place orders directly.

For every 100 yuan transaction amount generated by friends in the store, they can get a coupon worth 5-10 yuan. The higher the store popularity and orders, the more preferential rewards and red envelope rewards you can get.

In addition, the mini program also has many celebrity stores, allowing popular idols such as Zhu Yilong, Wang Junkai, Wang Yibo, and Lu Han to own celebrity fried chicken shops.

By leveraging the influence of celebrities, fans can improve the ranking of celebrity fried chicken restaurants by purchasing in-store, adding sugar to their favorite celebrities (to increase popularity), and sharing with friends.

Data shows that the "Pocket Fried Chicken Shop" mini program achieved 900% of its target sales within three months of its launch.

07 Summary

Here are some highlights and areas for improvement in KFC's private domain operations:

• Rich community activities : Since KFC has many products and many activities, it promotes products according to different time nodes and seasons, making the content in the group not monotonous.
• The stratification is sufficiently refined : KFC’s mini-programs and paid memberships are both finely stratified to facilitate use by users with various needs.
• Lack of operation of personal accounts : Employees’ corporate WeChat accounts lack operation and do not have an operated circle of friends, which creates a large sense of distance from users.