Role of Marketing in a Consumer Society - Essay Example

? [ROLE OF MARKETING IN A CONSUMER SOCIETY] By Insert Presented to Location Due Coca Cola Company is one of is one of the leading enterprises in the manufacture and distribution of the food and non-alcoholic beverages. The company has its roots in USA and it has its headquarters in Atlanta, the company has grown over the years and it has expanded into the larger global markets (Doole 2008). The company has major operations in over 200 countries where its subsidiaries are located and offering employment to estimated 35000 people globally. Coca Cola Company owns over 300 brands including carbonated drinks, non-carbonated drinks, fruit drinks, sports drinks and bottled water. It is estimated that this company has a daily turnover of 2billion on all of its brands thus providing enough prove that Coca Cola Company is among the biggest companies holding biggest market share in the global markets where 80% of the turnover and profitability comes from international markets outside USA. To sustain this dominance and to facilitate its expansions into the new market segments at the same time launching new products the company has to develop market plan in where it outlines various guidelines and strategies that the company should fully implement, more notable is that the Company has become a success story because of its various marketing strategies that suits the various consumer market segment across the globe (Doole 2008). These marketing strategies have enhanced the continued expansions of the company into the new global potential markets through acquisition of other brands countering its major competitors, launching of new brands and development of new markets in the unexploited markets as well as facilitating brand awareness to the existing and potential consumers thus enhancing consumer satisfaction, trust and loyalty on these brands. The Company approach on laying emphasis on consumer marketing campaigns has seen the Company’s brand varieties such as Diet coke, Rc cola, Sprite and Fanta performing well in all the market segments globally. The key factor that is notable to significantly contribute to the Coca Cola Company’s global market sustainability is the brand consumer marketing approach of adopting global marketing strategies. The need for adopting global marketing strategies came as a result of the company implementing the consideration of expanding into the global markets where they needed to address the various consumer needs, market segments and diverse consumer cultures (Doole 2008). Marketing strategies for making marketing decisions varies in different regions in the world therefore it has become important for Coca Cola Company to conduct consumer marketing based on the domestic market segment cultures and the needs of the society. Coca Cola Company has faced stiff competition and increased rivalry in the domestic markets and the international markets, its major rival is Pepsi which is also manufacturing and distributing substitute products to those of Coca Cola Company. There are also other challenges that the company needs to address in order to consolidate its position as a leader in the global and domestic markets. These among others include lower sales of brands in the new markets; communication marketing mechanisms are inadequate; brand recognition and awareness in some market segments was very low and finally is the negative perception of consumers towards Coca Cola brands in regard to health issues. With this situation the Company needed to come up with unique marketing strategies and techniques to ensure that they edge out its competitors through the expansion of its markets and the consolidation of the customer base. To ensure that they identify suitable and appropriate marketing strategies for this consideration, the company sought to understand the consumer theories that may apply in the various societies in regard to marketing. They also found out how various marketing and advertisement models work in the consumer societies in different market segments. The model used by the company to explain how marketing works in a consumer society market segment is the sequential model of marketing (Doole 2008). This model provides the general overview on the stages that a successful marketing in a company has to goes through, the identified marketing stages of marketing on consumers include cognitive, affective and conative (Foxall 2008). Cognitive stage is the first stage in consumer marketing whereby the customers are informed about the brand and full details and description is disseminated this is an important stage because brand awareness and its knowledge in a market segment is enhanced hence potential and existing customer’s attention catches the available brands. The second stage is the affective stage where the customer’s attention is fully on the brands therefore there is the need to transform the attention into interest to purchase a specific brand; in this stage various promotional instruments are applied to execute the transformation process. The final stage that this model theory provides is the conative stage where the major marketing activity is to convert the interests and desires into actions and it is at this stage of marketing that a company achieves its marketing objectives (Foxall 2008). Sequential model of marketing shows how persuasive approach is considered to being the backbone of all the marketing stages of a company. The sequential model of marketing provided several options and theories that companies can adopt to realize its marketing objectives, the theories include. Elaborate Likelihood model The most important thing in this model is the marketing information and messages about a brand or a product, this model ensure that the information collected about a brand is used to change the attitudes and the motivation of the respective customers. Customer low motivations are corrected by employing other methods of marketing ensuring that the final change is a change for higher motivations (Foxall 2008). This theoretical model is suitable for companies that are introducing their brands into the market for the first time and the brand are not yet released into the market. Eclectic Model of Marketing Advertisements This theoretical model of marketing emphasize on only four concepts of marketing. The integrated main concepts include sales promotion referred to as do model, secondly is the persuasion approach known as go model, thirdly is the salience on which further details of the models is provided and if everything is agreed upon, there will be execution of the fourth concept also know as play or involvement model which ensures that actual purchase of the brand takes place (Foxall 2008). FCB Grid Model of Marketing This model carriers information on the communication marketing objectives, there is combination of high and low involvement of the brands as well as the specialization of the brain. High involvement brands are characterized with making of important and vital marketing decisions while the low involvement of brands is characterized with moderation. In the decision making think, feeling and preference taste is taken into account. Think is just a rational approach where decisions made do not base on any fact and the whole thing lacks objectivity and logic. Feelings on the other hand is also important in marketing because of its emotional approach in decision making process and finally are decision made on the basis of the preferred taste preference or sound where sensory nerves plays an important role in making decisions on specific brands (Foxall 2008). The above factors associated with this theory of consumer marketing provides that strong marketing theories has the features of awareness, knowledge, to like, preference, affection and finally to purchase the brand. On the other hand weak marketing and advertising theories have the features of customer trials, reinforcement of the brands, nudge and advertisements that have remained static for a long time without delivering significant effect on the brand (Foxall 2008). To ensure success of these theories on marketing Coca Cola Company analyzed the efficiency and the effectiveness of the marketing appeals (Foxall 2008). Marketing appeals comes in the form of emotional or rational where the rational appeals results into cognitive stimulus characterized with high involvement in which the customer have direct appeal to the brand and not the way the marketing and advertising has been presented (Fulgoni 2011). Emotional appeals are a common feature in marketing promotions of brands where they are of low involvement. Concentration is laid on the advertisement itself because of its specific designation in which it draws appeals within the society. Coca Cola Company will associate its brands to prominent people with influence in the society such as musicians and other celebrities. Features of common emotional appeals include fantasy, music happiness and animations. The described above models and theories of marketing and advertising are useful for Coca Cola Company in the identification of a suitable global marketing strategy in the various market segments across the globe where Coca Cola brands have been launched (Fulgoni 2011). In order for Coca Cola Company to come up with suitable and appropriate global marketing strategies they had to define their marketing objectives, this ensured that all of the identified strategies are in line and consistent with the company marketing objectives. The Coca Cola marketing objectives comprises of the following. The first and the key marketing objective is the market share objective is to increase its market share in the global market in the soft drink industry and the company plans to achieve this by increasing its expansions on the new markets and at the same time consolidating its existing markets as well as monitoring the activities of the competitors to ensure that they always have a competitive advantage over its competitors. Secondly is the brand promotional activity. Coca Cola Company aims at increasing the awareness of its major brands in all of its existing markets as well as the newly acquired markets. Brand awareness is very crucial because it ensures the continuous sustainability of sales translating into higher profits and more important it enhances customer satisfaction loyalty and trust. The company aims at enhancing survival and sustainability of its business activities in the current market taking into account the level of competitions posed by its competitors, rivalry and the entrance of the new firms and companies into the soft drink industry this will be achieved by the adoption of integrating sustainability marketing strategies into the Company organizational structure (Fulgoni 2011) The fourth marketing objective is that Coca Cola Company aims at increasing its profitability by 20% return on capital at the end of every financial year the company will achieve this by the continued expansion into the new markets, consolidating the customer base thus ensuring sustainability of sales and the revenues from them. It is important to note that the company has to improve on the customer satisfaction so as to maintain their trust and loyalty hence ensuring maintenance and sustainability of the profits. Finally is that the Company aims at enhancing the general growth of the company in all of its subsidiaries worldwide. This will be achieved through enhance increased profitability, market share consolidation and further boosting company expansions into new markets through market development and acquisitions (Doole 2008). The company aims to increase its growth by 10% annually. Selection of the target market Upon the identification of the marketing objectives the company will now have a frame work to adopt in carrying out marketing activities in the consumer society. It is evident that that the success of this company highly depends on its relationship, attitudes and the perceptions of its customers towards the company. This has given Coca Cola Company the reason to invest heavily in carrying out marketing in the entire consumer society across it markets. The company chooses target markets that have the greatest potential profitability (Doole 2008). The company chooses its target market through differentiated marketing method because its products server diversified groups and satisfy arrange of different markets this allows for greater brand diversifications. Global marketing strategies To formulate and to establish global marketing strategies Coca Cola Company had to have a well defined marketing mix which is comprises of four factors that are the core pillars of its global marketing strategies. Marketing mix is designed to satisfy a particular target market hence changes in the market trends leads to the development of new strategies. The following are the key global strategies and techniques arising from the identified marketing mix that have been adopted by Coca Cola Company. Positioning strategy Coca Cola Company developed this strategy after identifying its target market and defining its products. This strategy involves the creation of a perfect image of the company products in the consumer mind in relation to other competing products. This has enhance the company competitive advantage over its competitors and this has attributed to the customers knowing the uniqueness of the company products in comparison with others and this has further enhance competitive advantage of Coca Cola products in its target market (Fulgoni 2011). Product and branding strategies Coca Cola offer a wide range of products that are designed to meet the needs of the society. Through its research and development programs they have been able to design and launch new and innovative products that are able to fully meet the needs of its market segment. Coca Cola Company has heavily invested in developing and promoting its brand name and this has led to it being recognized worldwide as a leading food and beverage company. ‘Coca-Cola’ trademark is recognized by over 90% of the population also the red and the white colours are also major trademark colours. Coca Cola company has adopted the individual brand strategy where products are given their own brand names such as Fanta, Coca Cola, Sprite among others operating under the same name Coca Cola (Fulgoni 2011). Packaging Strategies This strategy has not been embraced by most businesses but it is still a determining factor. This is important in the regards to transportation, storage in the business premise and the comfortability of the consumer hence promoting the product (Fulgoni 2011). Packaging gives the company opportunity to come up with promotional strategies where in this case Coca Cola packaged it products with incentives and endorsements thus increasing its volumes of sales and revenue. Pricing Strategy This is an important factor in the determination of demand and supply of Coca Cola products, it also influence the decision of the customer to purchase these products. This is the most sensitive part because customers tend to go for similar cheap products. Pricing is an important factor in determining the sales and profits therefore Coca Cola Company has set up pricing policies that are attractive to the customers and generates significant profits. This has been achieved by developing forecasts demand of consumer at different level of prices and thereafter identifying an appropriate price. Other pricing strategies adopted by Coca Cola in the aim to achieve marketing objectives as well as taking into account external factors such as economic conditions and competitions is the penetration pricing resulting into increased customer loyalty and its product penetrating into various market segments (Besanko 2009) Promotional strategies Effective communication with the target market is becoming an important factor for the success of the business. The role of promotion is to persuade new customers to use the products. Coca Cola Company has adopted promotional strategies such as personal selling, sales promotion, public relation and advertising in their marketing plan. Advertisements have been done through media such as televisions, print media, billboards and radio and Coca Cola has been able to promote its range of products through this by allocating substantial budget for this purpose. Though it has proved to be expensive advertising has become effective way of promotion thus reminding the both potential and existing customers on the presence of Coca Cola brands and products. Other promotional strategies that Coca Cola Company has adopted are contests, free samples, coupons, event sponsorship and celebrity endorsements. All of these strategies have enhanced the communication with their target market (Doole 2008). Distribution strategies Distribution is the chain comprising of channels that product pass before reaching out the target market. Coca Cola Company has adopted the following distribution strategies: intensive meaning that the brands and the products are made available and accessible at any place; exclusive whereby its distribution channels have been organized such that they offer quality and effective services; selective in that the channels are specialized for specific tasks and finally is direct distributions meaning that they also offer distribution services to the major whole sellers and retailers. All of these strategies have enhanced effective distribution and movement of brands and products to the various existing and potential market segments (Doole 2008). Marketing has become a major tool of success to many businesses in the world. Coca Cola Company has fully engaged in marketing activities of its company brand and products in the various consumer societies in different market segment resulting into enormous profitability to the company and creating awareness and enhancing availability and accessibility of quality brands and products to the consumer society. Reference David Besanko, D. D, 2009, Economics of Strategy: Organizational Marketing, New York: John Wiley & Sons. Fulgoni, G, 2011, The Journal of Advertising Research 50th Anniversary Edition, comScore Voices , 9-13. G. R. Foxall, R. E, 2008, Consumer Psychology for Marketing. Andover: Cengage Learning EMEA. Isobel Doole, R. L, 2008, International Marketing Strategy: Analysis, Development and Implementation, Andover: Cengage Learning EMEA. Read More