The Coca Cola Company - Report Example

Table of Contents Part One 2 Introduction 2 Introduction to the Coca Cola Company 2 Marketing Audit of Coca Cola Company 3 PEST Analysis- External Audit 3 Political 4 Economic 4 Social 4 Technological 4 STP Analysis- Customers Audit 5 Segmentation 5 Targeting 6 Positioning 6 Porter’s Five Forces Model- Competitive Analysis 6 SWOT Analysis- Summary of analysis 8 Recommendations for Market Response of Coca Cola 10 Segmentation 10 Marketing Mix 10 Competitive Strategy 11 Metrics for Performance Evaluation 12 Part Two 13 Conclusion 17 Bibliography 18 Part One Introduction With the advent of the information age and globalization, the business environment has become much challenging and dynamic, where the companies are striving hard for their survival (Wilkie & Moore, 2003). The research in marketing domain has been the major focus in twenty first century, where it is defined as, “the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large” (Varadarajan, 2010, p. 120). However, it is not a onetime process or activity to be planned and executed, rather there is need to modify it with time to time, as the business environment is always changing. For that purpose, the managers conduct a marketing audit over the internal and external environment, and also the competitive environment, on the basis of which they develop marketing strategies and modify their marketing plan. The purpose of this report is to develop a marketing plan for the board of directors of a real-life organization that is The Coca Cola Company for this report. Introduction to the Coca Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is among the largest producers, suppliers and marketers of non-alcoholic drink distillates and syrups all over the world. It is well-known for its sparkling carbonated soft drink, being sold in stores, canteens and restaurants across more than two hundred countries. It is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, where it was found. The Coca-Cola Company is producing more than three thousand drinks and owns four of the top-famous five soft drinks brands (Coke, Sprite, Diet Coke, and Fanta). While the brand ‘Coke’ is regarded as the top famous and consumable product in all over the world. Pepsi is the major direct competitor to Coca Cola. The Coca Cola Company is well-known regarding its ethical and safety deliberations (Ford, Stephens, & Cooper, 2007). Originally, it was such a carbonated drink, which was intended to be a patent medicine invented in early 19th century, then Coca Cola was given to a prudent businessman, Asa Griggs Candler, who developed aggressive marketing strategies as well as fervent marketing promotions. Such marketing tactics directed the brand ‘Coke’ to be the most wonderful and extensively loved brand across the world in the 20th century. It has become a global company where it has employed the local approach, as company says, “One of our great strengths is our ability to conduct business on a worldwide scale while maintaining a local approach” (The Coca Cola Company, 2014). Marketing Audit of Coca Cola Company Marketing Audit can serve as the means through which the company analyzes how it relating to the environment in which it operates (McDonald & Wilson, 2011). For conducting the marketing audit of the company, following tools have been used for a comprehensive analysis. PEST Analysis- External Audit PEST Analysis is used for analyzing the external environment of the company where the company is operating, as it is the abbreviation of Political, Economic, Social, and Technological factors (Koumparoulis, 2013). These factors are of greater importance when the company is operating in multi-nations, as these factors have numerous impact on the company’s marketing activities that is a way to promote their products in these nations. It is important to check that either the political, economic, social and technological conditions are favorable for marketing activities or not (Henry, 2008). Following factors explained the situation for the Coca Cola Company. Political The political factors have high impact on the Coca Cola products as it belongs to food category, where different nations have different regulations. The Coca Cola bottling plants consumed up a large amount of water (Ford, et al., 2007). The laws and regulations for environment safety and protection can obstruct the production process. The changes in Governmental policies, like sales laws and food regulations, can pose a threat, as in the UK, there is an expectation of ban on junk food (GOV.UK, 2014). Economic The economic condition determines the growth potential in a specific market or country. With increasing interest rates and inflation rates, it is expected that there would be higher costs incurred by the company, as increasing inflation will increase the wage rates, and cost of input will also increase. The Carbonated drink is expected to be valued much in the soft drinks market, while a decline in share is also expected as consumers are substituting other drinks due to health concerns. Social The social factors impacting on the company’s operations encompass the consumer behaviors, tastes, preferences, and cultural aspects. The increase in diet-consciousness and health concerns have impacted the company’s operations, as there are campaigns for combating child obesity, and restrictions are being applied to the coke’s advertising. Consumers are more concerned for ethical and fair policies being used in sourcing and manufacturing of products, which can impact negatively. Technological The technological advancements can provide more opportunities by using latest technology. The company has the opportunity to develop new ways for bottling, where the production and distribution of product is quicker and easier, and enhancing the capacity. As the company is introducing a light weight bottle to lower the use of waste plastic. With the development in advertising techniques and the use of media is also more enhanced, which can be used to advertise the product much better. STP Analysis- Customers Audit STP analysis is employed for analyzing the targeted customers, where the segmentation, target market and positioning of the product is discussed (Lynn, 2011). It is highly significant to develop marketing strategies and perform marketing activities right according to the market segment or targeted customers whom it is aimed to satisfy (Kotler & Armstrong, 2014). STP analysis explains how the company views its customers and the development of marketing activities according to the customers. Segmentation It is defined by Weinstein (2004), as “process of portioning market into groups of potential customers with similar needs and characteristics, who are likely to exhibit similar purchase behavior” (Weinstein, 2004, p. 4). It is important to see the bases of segmentation on which basis the company has segmented its customers, like demographic, geographic, psychographic, type of product etc. Following are the bases of segmentation for the Coca Cola; Geographic segmentation: on the regional basis, as it operates in more than 220 countries, and marketing activities are made according to each regional segment. Demographic segmentation: on the basis of age and income, as the coke is offered to low-income and age of 15 Read More