Strategic Marketing Management Planning and Control - Coursework Example

 Strategic Marketing Management: Planning and Control   This paper will discuss the concept of positioning and differentiation. I have selected the soft drink industry field for which I will present analysis. I have selected the Coca-Cola Company for this study. To discuss the concept of Positioning and Differentiation for the Coca-Cola Company, I will analyze the marketing strategic marketing management concepts of the coca cola company. I will also analyze and discuss the importance of positioning of the brand in a market and the ways differentiation is executed. First of all I will present the concept of the Positioning, and its effectiveness to the development of the marketing strategy. Positioning engages putting into practice our targeting.  For instance, Apple PC’s has selected to place itself as a manufacturer of user friendly computers.  Thus, Apple has made a lot through its exposure to endorse itself, all the way through its unintimidating icons, as a computer for “non geeks (Juran et al, 1999) Figure 1 Position [source: http://www.consumerpsychologist.com/cb_Introduction.html] Positioning is a perceptual place. It's where your manufactured goods or service fits hooked on the market. Effectual positioning places you first in line in the intellects of possible customers. As individuals, we repeatedly position ourselves. The accountable older sibling, the group clown, a number cruncher, a fantastic geniuses are all instances of positioning. These identifiers assists us illustrate ourselves and differentiate our aptitudes as exclusive and diverse from other people. 1 Positioning is an influential tool that permits you to create an image. And representation is the external image of being who you desire to be, doing what you desire to do, and having what you desire to have. Positioning is itself able to guide to personal execution. Being positioned by someone else limits your options and confines your opportunities (Sheth et al, 1994). The main elements of positioning are: Pricing. Quality. Service. Distribution. Packaging. In this section I will discuss the product positioning and differentiation and outline their importance to the development of marketing strategy and marketing plans. Today's economies are troubled with overload, and not the deficient in. In a super marketplace, there is not simply one product of soft drink but as well one brand- Close-up, offers a dozens of diversities i.e. is Pepsi. Etc. Let us deem capital market, at the present investors be able to come to a decision between thousands of mutual funds. Students can prefer amongst hundred's of premium B-Schools (Emling, 2007). No corporation would be able to come first if it’s product and offerings would be similar to each other manufactured goods and offerings. Nowadays, the majority of corporations is unproductive in market front for the cause that of the undifferentiated policies. Corporations have to sturdy, significant and applicable position and differentiation strategies. Every corporation and its offerings have to correspond to a characteristic big thought in the mind of the purposeful audience and every corporation have to dream up latest features, services and assurances, particular rewards for faithful users, and latest conveniences and new enjoyments (Settings, 2007). Product Differentiation: The mission of positioning is to carry a middle design regarding a company or a contribution to the target market. Differentiation goes further than positioning to turn a compound web of dissimilarity characterizing that body i.e. one brand is supposed to be differentiated from one more brand obtainable in the market of the identical nature. Differentiation is capable to be defined as "The procedure of adding a set of significant and valued divergence to differentiate the corporation's offerings from the competitor's present (Pendergrast, 2000). Product Differentiation, Product development and Product positioning are the essential points in the marketing strategy of a concrete & are familiarly interlinked. The main appeal and the main advantage of differentiation is that it takes the corporation away from a whole price-route fight. In other words, it aids the corporation to struggle on non-price face with all reimbursement associated with it. So, differentiation is a vital preference for a corporation and it shapes an indispensable division of its marketing strategy (Jerry Acuff, 2004). The Coca Cola Corporation is competent to attain differentiation by means of the product development or delivery technique or promotional features. In fact, correct from the plant place to the following sales services that corporation presents, something be able to be employed to differentiate a present and create it "Different".2 In the course of differentiation in coke product, service or packaging, corporation moves to a position in which it is capable to maintain a premium in the marketplace. However the differentiation is able to be attained in a number of conducts, the majority scope for exploiting differentiation residue with the product. The product shapes a center fraction in the differentiation strategy in the middle of the other P's of the Marketing Mix. Product Differentiation is of very important in product management for the coke and has forthcoming in forging flourishing marketing strategies.3 In this part I will present the introduction of the Coke management policies and the historical background. The world's soft drinks market is absolutely conquered by just two players: Coke and Pepsi. The story of Coke: Coke was first prepared by pharmacist John Styth Pemberton in 1886. Originally, the beverage was launched in Atlanta, Georgia, and was sold for five cents. In 1886, sales of Coke averaged nine drinks per day. In 1891 Atlanta entrepreneur Asa G Candler acquired complete ownership of the Coke business and in 1919; The Coca-Cola Company was sold to a group of investors for 25 million.4 In the past 112 years, Coke has surrounded itself into American culture. In 1994, the American utilization was around 773 million servings of Coke, diet Coke Sprite, Fanta and other products of The Coca-Cola Company. The company's beverage products consist of bottled and canned beverages produced by autonomous and company owned bottling and canning operations. The Coca Cola Company is openly one of the superlative stories in U.S. history.  The practice in which the corporation has pressed on and endured the test of time makes an intuition yet their harshest detractor.  The Coca Cola Corporation has a trepidation stimulating history and a still additional assuring future.  Their industry policy, all along with an enormously faithful customer base, has conducted The Coca Cola Company to the position of boss of the market (Emling, 2007). The business in which The Coca Cola corporation resists is the Food and Beverage business, however additional purposely, the soft drink business.  This business is one the mainly dynamic in the world and repulsive almost 61 billion dollars a year.  Soft drinks are primarily accepted in America and are dependable for close to 30% of beverage expenditure nationwide.  This manufacturing has grown-up all the time for over 100 years and carry on to break new barriers (Desireless, 2007). Independent bottlers and exclusive and continuous territories: From setting up, Coke used networks of independent bottlers to bottle and markets their products. Independent bottling began with the Coca- Cola Company was emulated by other companies, as well as PepsiCo. Under the Coke franchise agreements, the bottlers agreed to devote in a plant and equipment in such a circumstance as will be adequate to meet satisfactorily the demands of the business in the region therein referred to, and to enlarge such investment in said business as the demand for Coke in bottles in the said territory may have need of. The bottlers also agreed to purchase syrup from the Coca-Cola Company and not to sell substitutes or imitations. The parent bottling franchiser agreed to furnish sufficient syrup for bottling purposes to convene the bottlers' requirements in the territory. The bottlers were given rights over exclusive territories in perpetuity. The most plausible enlightenment for evolution of independent bottlers is the assessment of CSDs comparative to shipping costs and making use of returnable (and breakable) containers, soft drink bottling required local manufacturing and a substantial local delivery system. Independent bottling arose primarily because it was not potential to produce a successful organization for operating a perpendicularly included company with hundreds of geographically estranged manufacturing and local delivery operations, given the primordial transportation and communications systems of the time and the lack of sophisticated financial and management controls. Although Coca- Cola and Pepsi-Cola are premier marketing companies, the essential competitive advantage which permitted them to try to win so effectively probably lay in their ability to operate through a very cumbersome distribution system (Pendergrast, 2000). At present, Coke operates through a system of franchise bottlers. It has 53 bottling units partitioned amongst 26 companies. Each of these bottlers earlier was doing business with Parle's Ramesh Chouhan, before he sold off his soft drink brands to Coke (Jerry Acuff, 2004). As per conformity signed between Coke and these bottlers, the former supplies them with the soft drink deliberate, which they bottle and then share out in their particular territories. Under the new-fangled plan and policy of the coke, the coke bottlers will come to an end to remain independent entities; as an alternative, depending on geographical position, they will be amalgamated into either of the mega bottling companies. Considering the huge potential of growth of the all over global market, Coke wants to expand the market by 40 per cent per annum, as against existing growth levels of 20 per cent. As a move towards that direction, Coke is offering bottlers an equity stake in the two new bottling companies and also a seat in the extraordinary suggested committee to assist the mega bottling companies on its strategy in the whole world (Emling, 2007). Below I have presented the Coca-Cola Mission Statement and Objective that is developed after the huge marketing study and brand positioning research.5 1.)       To invigorate the World in mind, body and character. 2.)       To stimulate Moments of Optimism, in the course of our brands and our procedures. 3.)       To produce worth and formulate a Difference, all over the place they engage. In this section I will discuss the coca cola marketing strategy that is developed after the detailed and inclusive course of positioning of brands and differentiation of product. By detaining the rhythm and vivacity of the 'Coca-Cola' brand and by referring to the refreshing nature of the soft drink, a strapping message is derived to the customer regarding how the manufactured good is being positioned in the market. Characteristics of the product apposite to sports hold up are decked out. By positioning 'Coca-Cola' as an icon and most important brand name that sensitively and physically boosts customers, associations with foremost sporting actions are defiant (Geocites, 2007). Brand Positioning: 'Coca-Cola's' brand disposition proceeds the positioning of its product. The development of positioning of a brand is a complex administrative task that has to be completed over time by means of all the fundamentals of the marketing mix. Positioning is in the aptitude of the consumer and is able to be explained as how the goods are determined by that consumer. When researching the positioning of a product, customers are in general asked how they would give details of that manufactured good if he was an individual. The cause of this is to boost a nature assertion. This is capable to produce convinced that customers have an obvious apparition of the brand standards that framework the brand personality, immediately like the principles and attitude that make up a person. A number of people scrutinize 'Coca-Cola' as a division of their every day life. This similarity among the brand and the customer guides to an elevated degree of faithfulness and makes the purchasing preference easier. Brand positioning expresses 'what' will be conversed in the company's encouragement, while the nature statement directs 'how' a message should be transported or put crossways. In this section I will present the Coke marketing Plan for Growth: In 2007, Coke reaffirmed the obligation to be the world’s foremost supplier of acknowledged beverage resolutions, to bring consistent and money-making increase and to have the maximum brilliance products and procedures. We attain these aims by striving for perfect implementation next to a crystal obvious policy for achievement, and by doing so with a solid commitment to excellence.6 Their six strategic priorities provide them with the support for this success.7 1. First marketing strategy is to speed up carbonated soft-drink intensification, led by coca-cola 2. Then the selectively extend to the coca cola’s family of beverage brands to impel money-making growth 3. Another aim is to fabricate system profitability and capability in cooperation with other bottling associates 4. Give out consumers with imagination and steadiness to produce enlargement athwart all channels 5. Direct funds to highest-potential regions all the way through the marketplaces 6. Drive proficiency and cost-effectiveness everywhere Conclusion In this paper I have discussed the coke positioning and differentiation to establish the marketing strategy. Coke has a long history of success and achievements. I have evaluated that coke has gain all this by having good and effective positioning and differentiation marketing strategy. It leads the coke to have lots of competitive edged. So I have finalized that effective research and study is really important for the better positioning and differentiation marketing strategy that will leads to the enhanced marketing strategy, and good marketing strategy is the key to success. References 1. Desireless. 2007. Coke Coca Cola Original I'd like to Teach the World to Sing. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mOEU87SBTU 2. Emling, S. 2007. “Coke cultivates European tastes”; Available at: http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/coke/stories/2007/10/12/COKE_EUROPE1012.html 3. Juran, J. M., 1999. “Juran on Planning for Quality”; Free Press, New York. 4. Jerry Acuff, W. W. 2004. “The Relationship Edge in Business: Connecting with Customers and Colleagues”; John Wiley and Sons. 5. Make Every Drop Count. 2007. Available at: http://www.makeeverydropcount.com/more-resources/our-commitment.jsp 6. The Coca-Cola Company. 2008. “The Coca-Cola Company Annual Review”; Retrieved from: Annual Review: http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/investors/annualandotherreports/2006/our_company.html 7. The Cola Wars, from Over a Century of Cola Slogans, Commercials, Blunders, and Coups. Available at: http://www.geocities.com/colacentury/ 8. Pendergrast, M. 2000. “For God, Country and Coca-Cola: The Definitive History of the Great American Soft Drink and the Company That Makes It”; Basic Books. 9. Retrieved on November 30 2008. Retrieved from: The Coca-Cola Company, Our Company: http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/ourcompany/mission_vision_values.html 10. Retrieved on November 30 2008. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porter_generic_strategies 11. Settings, S. 2007. Coca-Cola / Prints. Retrieved from: Stealth Settings: http://www.stealthsettings.com/coca-cola-prints.html 12. Sheth, Jagdish. 1992. “Toward a Theory of Relationship Marketing”; presented to Conference on Relationship Management, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. Read More