Proposal
Marketing is an essential organizational function that determines the effectiveness of the established business model. Many firms pursue competitive strategies to deliver their finished products to the targeted customers conveniently and efficiently. The Coca-Cola Company remains one of the leading multinational corporations (MNCs) due to the sustainability of its strategic practices. It operates in almost every country or region across the globe whereby it produces, bottles and transports high-quality products to its increasing number of customers.
The implementation of a superior marketing strategy is one of the driving forces that make this organization successful and competitive. This paper proposed a study aimed at analyzing Coca-Cola’s marketing mix for its carbonated drinks and the effectiveness of its implementation. It will go further to suggest specific areas and processes that this corporation can improve to revolutionize the existing model.
Selected Organisation
Background
The Coca-Cola Company is a leading multinational corporation that produces and markets carbonated and non-alcoholic beverages. It uses a franchised business model whereby bottlers in different countries acquire syrup concentrate from the parent organization. It began in the year 1889 in Atlanta, United States. This company employs over 62,000 employees and records annual revenues of around 6.43 billion US dollars (Maamoun, 2020). Some of Coca-Cola’s main products include Coke, Sprite, Diet Coke, and Fanta. It also refines and markets bottled water under the Dasani, Abbey Well, and Ades brand names. Some of its products have been developed in such a way that they meet the needs of individuals with health issues, such as Caffeine Free Coke. The company uses a powerful business model to ensure that the targeted customers receive their favorite beverages in a timely and convenient manner. The marketing and logistical processes work synergistically to ensure that positive results are realized.
Arguments
The marketing mix (4P) is a powerful model that makes it possible for companies to deliver their finished products to their customers efficiently. This framework portrays the unique action plans that all participants should complete if more sales are to be recorded. Corporations that implement the best marketing mixes and make them part of their business strategies achieve their aims much faster (Çelik, 2017). The proposed study will be an opportunity to monitor the major practices Coca-Cola undertakes to maximize the experiences of its customers in different parts of the world. The study will also present new findings explaining why Coca-Cola has remained competitive and successful in the global carbonated drinks industry.
This organization will satisfy the specified exam requirements because it has managed to develop a powerful marketing strategy that follows all aspects of the 4P framework. The analysis will become an opportunity to apply the concepts studied in class and examine how they relate to business practice. A detailed study of this company will outline some of the best practices that other firms can consider if they want to achieve their business aims. Such attributes will present a strong case for the 4P as a powerful model for taking marketing to the next level and maximizing organizational performance. The completed analysis will guide different stakeholders to examine the strengths of this company and recommend additional processes that can improve Coca-Cola’s current strategy and make it more profitable.
Analysis of Coca-Cola’s Marketing Mix
Product
The first stage of the marketing mix is that of product. At Coca-Cola, all leaders understand that the best strategy to ensure that the targeted customer continues to do business with companies is to deliver quality. This organization considers the power of a wide product portfolio to achieve its business aims. The company monitors the unique demands of different customers to address them using the available beverages. Some of the leading products include Coca-Cola, Sprite, Diet Coke, Minute Maid, Ciel, Fresca, Dasani, Del Valle, Mello Yello, Honest Tea, and Coke Zero (Maamoun, 2020). Many people in different parts of the world are aware of these brand names and the benefits they deliver.
This organization goes further to consider the importance of sizes and packaging to meet the expectations and income levels of different customers. For instance, people can purchase these products in glass and plastic bottles. Consumers make informed decisions depending on the use and appropriateness of these materials. Similarly, some of the core products are available in different quantities for the buyer to make his or her choice. The common ones include 1.5 liters, 2 litre, 1 liter, 0.5 litre, and 0.2 litre bottles (Maamoun, 2020).
These are also branded cans that deliver similar quantities to the consumer. To attract more customers, Coca-Cola considers the importance of unique or attractive containers that echo its core attributes and values. The company ensures that all containers or packages have a visible Coca-Cola logo that supports its branding strategy (Kanesan, Ismail, and Krishnan, 2018). The customer will not take long before realizing that any given product is manufactured and marketed by this organization. With this form of product strategy, Coca-Cola has managed to increase its market share in different regions across the globe, such as Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and North America.
Price
The success of Coca-Cola is attributable to its leaders’ ability to blend the concepts of price and product. Using the idea of product lifecycle theory, this company’s leaders monitor how different items perform in the market to know when to discontinue or improve the marketing strategy or efforts aimed at supporting it. A price discrimination model remains a critical attribute of this company’s marketing mix. Maamoun (2020) indicates that the organization charges different prices for the same products depending on the targeted segments. Since it operates in an oligopolistic market, different marketers at Coca-Cola understand that there are many customers and few producers of beverages. This scenario remains the case since Pepsi is the only close competitor.
In countries whereby consumers remain price-sensitive, this company ensures that it markets its key prices affordably and more cheaply (Kanesan, Ismail, and Krishnan, 2018). This model has resulted in price parity in every environment, region, or segment. Wholesalers and distributors in different regions across the globe receive discounts to continue supporting this country’s business or marketing model. In established or developed economies, Coca-Cola offers its products at a higher price to record positive gains and profits. These attributes echo the concepts studied in class whereby organizations make timely pricing decisions to ensure that positive gains and objectives are recorded in this oligopolistic global market.
Place
Coca-Cola remains a profitable organization that has operated in the carbonated industry for over a century. Its presence in over 200 countries is a strength that has contributed to the formulation of a powerful distribution network. This organization has developed numerous channels that ensure that all customers receive their favorite drinks promptly. This model forms an integral aspect of the place strategy. The company ensures that franchisees receive the secret formula concentrate for bottling purposes (Allen, 2015). The parent company in the United States dictates the required bottle sizes and shapes before they can be introduced in the market.
The company has designed superior channels whereby the headquarter produces concentrates and delivers them to different bottlers across the globe. There are numerous logistical agents and distributors aimed at ensuring that all retailers and wholesalers receive the products and avail themselves to shoppers. The distribution channel is designed in such a way that all outlets receive their supplies on-demand or on regular basis depending on the level of consumption. Weather patterns influence such processes since the consumption of carbonated beverages increases during the summer months and reduce in colder periods (Çelik, 2017). Throughout the marketing purpose, research is conducted to determine whether there are emerging regions or areas to increase distribution or supply. These strategies are essential since they ensure that positive gains are recorded continuously.
In countries with huge populations, Coca-Cola ensures that all urban and rural centers receive adequate supplies promptly. The organization has gone further to collaborate with supermarkets, restaurants, and hypermarkets since the present a new opportunity for maximizing sales (Çelik, 2017). Through such a framework, it has become possible for Coca-Cola to acquire additional information to inform its future marketing processes. The demand for various products is a major determinant of the specific regions that different distributors and markets can target (Kanesan, Ismail, and Krishnan, 2018). This strategy explains why the place aspect of Coca-Cola’s marketing mix remains outstanding and capable of delivering positive results.
The established reverse supply chain is a powerful initiative that ensures that bottles and cans are collected for effective recycling. These practices make it possible for this organization to save and minimize its operational expenses. The presence of recycling plants and the provision of adequate information regarding the concept of reuse have continued to make Coca-Cola more profitable.
Promotion
Coca-Cola has been setting the trend and pace for advertising and branding. It adopts n aggressive strategy to create powerful and eye-catching adverts that resonate with the needs and expectations of global consumers. Campaigns are characterized by messages that can be relayed to all people across the globe (Kanesan, Ismail, and Krishnan, 2018). Most of the ads present a blend of all cultural values and attributes that revolved around the core beverages. For instance, Sprite and Fanta are promoted as carbonated drinks that have the potential to meet the needs of every thirsty person (Maamoun, 2020). Coca-Cola replicates this model across the globe to inform more people about the available products and how they can benefit from them.
The Coca-Cola Company utilizes powerful promotional methods that rely on existing media platforms. For instance, this corporation relies on social media and the Internet to inform more people about some of the products. Some of the common platforms that support Coca-Cola’s marketing mix include Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube (Kayabaş, Boyraz, and Derdiyok, 2017). Online ads are usually common that inform more people about the superiority of this company’s products. Sponsorships, television channels, and print media play a critical role in supporting this company’s aims. The use of sponsorship and sporting events is an evidence-based approach that informs more people about the existing products. For instance, it has been part of several events in different parts of the world, including BET Networks, American Idol, Olympic Games, and the famous FIFA Football World Cup.
Within the past three decades, this organization has been designing admirable advertisements and translating them into major global languages. Some of the common ones include English, Spanish, French, Chinese, and Russian (Kanesan, Ismail, and Krishnan, 2018).
Additionally, it considers the cultural aspects of the people in different regions across the world to offer adverts that resonate with their needs and expectations. Most of these ads are capable of remaining the targeted consumers about the importance of enjoying happy moments and strengthening their feelings with the leading beverages, such as Coke. The campaign ensures that adverts are available or televised across all channels in different countries. This kind of strategy has become a key determinant of Coca-Cola’s positive performance.
Distributors and business partners have been receiving incentives and rewards for launching campaigns and adverts that have the potential to take this company’s products to the next level. All leaders consider the number of new customers and sales recorded due to the efforts of different companies or stakeholders (Maamoun, 2020). Such professionals ensure that different retailers are supplied with refrigerators that appear to merge the concepts of branding and customer experience. The targeted buyers are capable of enjoying the intended drink whether cold or warm depending on the weather conditions and personal desires.
Similarly, supermarkets receive rewards for providing shelves and spaces whereby more customers can sample the existing products and eventually make desirable purchasing decisions (Çelik, 2017). Coca-Cola promotes the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to promote environmental concerns and empower more people to achieve their aims in different parts of the world. These strategies have managed to make Coca-Cola a leading and profitable player in the global carbonated drinks industry.
Recommendations
The above discussion has identified Coca-Cola as a profitable company whose success is attributable to various attributes, such as the implementation of a powerful marketing mix. The company ensures that its high-quality products are priced appropriately depending on the demands and income levels of the customers (Maamoun, 2020). Similarly, promotional strategies are informed by customers’ demands in the identified markets and regions. These aspects make it easier for all elements to work effectively to transform logistical operations and eventually deliver the intended results (Çelik, 2017). Decisions are made continuously to correct errors and solve challenges that might emerge. What stands out is that Coca-Cola has the potential to remain profitable and successful in its sector.
However, the leaders at this organization need t consider specific areas that need to improve to deliver additional gains within the 4P marketing framework. The first one is to accept the fact that most of its core products have stagnated in different markets. The recorded sales remain constant since there are no additional incentives put in place to deliver additional results. Coca-Cola, therefore, needs to think outside the box to ensure that most of its favorite products are available in more countries, such as Diet Coke and Caffeine-Free Coca-Cola (Kayabaş, Boyraz, and Derdiyok, 2017). This increment in product portfolio will attract additional customers and eventually increase sales.
The second proposal that can make a difference for Coca-Cola touches the concept of place. The corporation can target the increasing number of customers in underserved rural areas (Kanesan, Ismail, and Krishnan, 2018). A consideration of this model will maximize the number of beverages marketed to more potential buyers in different rural areas. This company can consider emerging markets in Africa, Latin America, and Asia since they present a huge potential for business success. The experiences and expectations of the targeted customers should inform the best practices that have the potential to deliver positive results.
Finally, Coca-Cola can consider the importance of establishing unique outlets that are branded effectively. Such centers will become new places whereby consumers can get the best experience that is by this company’s core values. They will be in a position to ask questions and get additional information regarding the ingredients, mineral components, and health benefits of different beverages (Kanesan, Ismail, and Krishnan, 2018). These outlets can also be expanded to offer additional servings depending on the unique cultural behaviors and eating habits of the selected destination.
Conclusion
The above discussion has supported the argument that Coca-Cola is a successful company that uses a powerful marketing mix to deliver high-quality products to more customers using coordinated distribution and promotional strategies. Such approaches have resulted in a superior business model that meets the demands of all stakeholders while at the same time maximizing sales. The presented recommendations will guide the leaders at this organization to introduce their unique outlets to add value to their customers’ experiences, target additional regions in the developing world and widen the distribution of some of the core products. Such initiatives will increase Coca-Cola’s competitiveness and eventually make it more profitable in its industry.
Reference List
Allen, F. (2015) Secret formula: the inside story of how Coca-Cola became the best-known brand in the world. New York: Open Road Media.
Çelik, U. (2017) International marketing of Coca Cola Company: the essence and objectives of international marketing. Munich: GRIN Verlag.
Kanesan, S., Ismail, N.A. and Krishnan, K. (2018) ‘Identifying market segments and targets for marketing strategy plan of Coca-Cola Company in Malaysia’. International Journal of Business and management Invention, 7(4), pp. 77-80. Web.
Kayabaş, T.D., Boyraz, G. and Derdiyok, R. (2017) ‘Examining Coca-Cola and Pepsi Brands under the basis of globalisation and multinational companies’, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 7(12), pp. 351-358. Web.
Maamoun, A. (2020) Coca-Cola brews a hot acquisition: Costa Coffee. New York: Sage Publications.