Competition

Identifying Competitors

As the product selected is Coke which is a Cola Brand, so we will take only cola soft drinks into consideration for competition. Pepsi and Coke are fighting for the top position from ages. Pepsi is the biggest competitor of Coke. Along with Pepsi, all the Cola brands like  RC Cola, are also competitors of Coke. Other soft-drinks, juices, fruit drinks are competitors of Coke as they satisfy the same need as Coke satisfies but they are the weak competitors. Coke claims that its biggest competitor is water and it wants to replace it.

 

Analysing Competitors

As Pepsi is the biggest competitor of Coke, we will take only this product into consideration.

Strategies

Pepsi and Coke belong to the same strategic group as they want to cover huge part of the market through good quality and low price. They have the same target audience and adopt same strategies to attract customers.

Objectives

Coke has identified Pepsi as its main competitor and strategies. After comes the objective of the competitor. Pepsi’s main objective is to capture maximum market share and become the topmost soft drink.

Strengths and Weakness

Pepsi’s strength is that it is a more youthful brand. It portrays itself as a brand for youth while on the other side Coca-cola doesn’t have image of that of a youthful brand. It is connected to a family brand.

Selecting Competitors

Strong vs Weak – Brands like Pepsi, Thumbs up are the strong competitors of Coke. On the other side, RC cola and other substitutes will be the weak competitors

Close vs Distant – Pepsi will be a close competitor while Lime, juices will be distant competitor.

Customer Buying Decision

Behind the visible act of making a purchase lays a decision process that must be investigated. The purchase decision process is the stages a buyer passes through in making choices about which products and services to buy.

Buying Decision Process:

STAGE 1

Coca-Cola is a soft drink product which can be seen as a product to reduce the need of thirst. Coca-Cola satisfies in the first place a useful need, it takes away the thirst of a consumer. But coca-cola can also be seen as to satisfy a pleasure need.

STAGE 2

The choice of drinking cola when one is thirsty depends on a consumer's cultural environment, his or her learning experiences and his or her history. For example, in western countries it is normal to drink coca-cola when you are thirsty, while in developing countries people will satisfy this need with water. Based on what is learned and what the cultural conditions are, people will or will not drink coca-cola.

The need recognised is thirst which could also be reduced by drinking water or another soft drink. Consumers have a variety of brands of beverages to choose from. As coca-cola is a popular brand, they don’t search much about the information of the product as well as its competitors. Coca-cola is more like a want than a need so generally people skip this step.

STAGE 3

As Coca-Cola has so many strong competitors in the market, this step is very important for the process. It not only competes with other soft drinks but all other beverages and water which satisfy the need of thirst. Though competition is very high in this market but most people will choose coca-cola as their favourite because it satisfies their stimulus.

STAGE 4

As Coca-Cola is the best-selling soft-drink in the market, people don’t take much time to buy it. When there’s a can of generic cola behind a counter right next to a can of Coke, chances are a customer is going to go for the Coke. Coke’s customers are very loyal to the brand and buy coke most of the time to satisfy their want.

STAGE 5

Coca-Cola is known around the world and to many cultures which makes the company very much productive. People don’t think before purchasing Coke for the next time. Coke’s customer are very loyal to this product and as they develop a particular taste, they don’t like to buy any other soft-drink. They are very satisfied with the product.

Customer Value

Customer Value is the difference between what a customer gets from a product, and what he or she has to give in order to get it.

Customer Value Added is the level of satisfaction of a firm's or product's customers, as compared with that of the customers of its competitors.

When there’s a can of generic cola behind a counter right next to a can of Coca Cola, chances are a customer is going to go for the Coca Cola. It won’t matter that the generic brand is cheaper – customers aren't just buying a low-cost beverage, they’re buying quality taste and the “refresh yourself” philosophy that seems to underlie those fizzy bubbles.

People will value products and services beyond the lowest cost if you sell your company the right way. 

Coca-Cola delivers on the simple but enduring promise, “Always Coca-Cola”—always thirst-quenching, always good with food, always a part of your life.”

For Coca- Cola, commercial leadership translates brand strategies into customer value. For Coca-Cola’s customers, the name is synonym to soft-drinks.

When there’s a can of generic cola behind a counter right next to a can of Coke, chances are a customer is going to go for the Coke. It won’t matter that the generic brand is 67 cents cheaper – customers aren’t just buying a low-cost beverage, they’re buying quality taste and the “refresh yourself” philosophy that seems to underlie those fizzy bubbles. Customers will see beyond the price if they feel an emotional attachment to a product or services.

The following reasons add value to the customers of Coca-Cola:

·         Brand Strategies

·         Quality

·         Being local in nature

·         Reachable and availability

·         Low price

·         Brand Value

Marketing Mix

Coca cola is the brand with largest brand euity. No doubts it has gone through the ups and downs of business to reach that position. The marketing mix of coca cola has been changing over time :

Product :

The coca cola company has the widest range of products. it is the number one brand in sparkling beverages , juices and retailed packed water.it has its market presence around 200 countries. In India coca cola is one of the most selling products amongst other beverages.

Price

Due to availability of wide range of products the pricing is done according to the market and geographic segmentation. Coke has a different pricing strategy as compared to other coca cola products . its pricing strategy is based on the competitors pricing , Pepsi is the direct competitor to coke. Beverage market is said to be an oligopoly market(few sellers and large buyers ), hence they form into cartel contract to ensure a mutual balance in pricing between the sellers.

Place :

Coca cola is the world’s most favorite brand and is available all over the world. The distribution system of coca cola follows the FMCG distribution pattern. The effective distribution network of coke has almost eroded the small and middle level players in the market. In India they have captured even the rural market by extensive distribution and have the market shares of various brands.

Promotion : coca cola adopts various advertising and promotional strategies to create and increased demands in the market by associating with lifestyle and and behavior by mainly targeting value based advertising . You are most likely to see a coke ad individualized for a particular festival or in general with a positive message. Coca cola uses CSR as its marketing tool to gain emotional benefits in consumers mind . the current programs through CSR include “Support my school “campaign with NDTV. It has many brand ambassadors like Shahrukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Amir Khan etc . it allows price discounts and allowances to distributers and retailers in order to push more products into the market. It employs both push strategy through promotions and pull strategy though advertisements and campaigns .

Coca-Cola is using all elements of promotion in its various Ad campaigns like Happier tomorrow, Aamir Khan “Thanda matlab Coca – Cola” campaign, Open Happiness etc. Different mediums used by Coca – Cola for Integrated Marketing Communication are:

 

Advertisement- Coca-Cola uses the concept of aggressive advertising to promote its products They mainly does national advertising through traditional media such as: TV, newspapers, magazines, billboards, bus stops, and etc. The company is also using the new methods such as websites and blogs to supply more information about the company and its products. Big names of Indian film industry became the brand ambassadors of the company. Coca – Cola’s slogans and TV commercials have always been memorable like “Thanda matlab Coca-Cola”, “Coca-Cola piyo sir uthake”, “Jo chahe ho jaaye Coca-Cola enjoy” and “brrrrrr”.

Public Relations- the company has its own website where consumers can view press releases, executive speeches, and statements which address law-suits, rumours, stories, and new products etc. Coca – cola also undertake CSR like “Support my School” campaign with Sachin Tendulkar. Coca – cola also sponsors various cricket tournaments and music events.

Sales promotion- Coca – cola generally uses under the crown sales promotion. In "My Coke Reward" was a very successful sales promotion campaign. It also uses merchandising goods, free goods or free tours for sales promotion.

Personal Selling- Cola-Cola has highly trained sales team, the company primary used personal selling for business to business sales. The company sells its products to retail stores using intermediaries, it can also be called Interpersonal communication, direct- face to face communication. Coca- Cola also sells its products to restaurants, part of the restaurants sell only Coca-Cola Coke.

 Direct Selling – Coca-Cola uses direct marketing in many ways. It partners with various restaurants, movie theatres etc. to carry its product. Eg. Mc Donalds. Coke also uses mobile graphics and test to appeal to markets on a personal level

Last, Coca-Cola uses viral marketing. The brand became a giant because of individuals telling their friends, family, or co-workers about how great Coke products were. Today, the company can still use viral marketing to their advantage. For instance, when Coke produces a new product, and someone on their lunch break purchases that new product, and enjoys it, they will tell others in the office about how great the new product is. This will cause others to purchase the product, and in-turn increase sales.

Marketing Concepts

Target Market : Coca cola takes every customer as target and potential who is thirsty .All age groups are being targeted but the most potential being the age group of 14-30, which covers about 50% of the age segment .

These individuals tend to be young, unmarried, and often are students. Coca-Cola's website offers bright and playful colors, and also their online store offers many items geared toward young adults. Many commercials also focus on young adults, however it can be argued that certain commercials aired can be focused to a certain psycho graphic segment, as well.

STP

When a company only produces a few products, the ability to diverse a wide-range of customers is a bit limited. Before 1960, the Coca-Cola Company produced only one beverage which only targeted the soft drink market. Today, the Coca-Cola company offers over 100+ different products based on consumer preference.

Coca-Cola segments their products with success because with the company's name and history, it's an easy access to sell to customers. Coca-Cola targets all markets and different segmentation such as age, gender, ethnic, income, and the family life cycle. 

Coca-Cola takes the following steps in segmenting a market.

 They identifies the market segment

chooses the segment that fits the company

implement a target market and many more

Coca Cola Company is the world’s leading manufacturer, marketer, and distributor of soft beverages. Coca Cola uses "Multi-segment" targeting strategy which means that the company has more than single, well- defined, market segment.  It develops a marketing mix for each of the segments. Coca Cola has more than 400 different products line, total of 3,500 product mix.

Segmentation:

Coca Cola products are purchased by different classes, but mainly by middle to high level class. In addition, many people today make their purchases decisions based on the company’s ethics and, or social responsibility. Coca Cola gains the trust of its consumers by contributing to the environment in varies ways.

Geographic segmentation

Coca Cola has drinks that targets different age groups, ethnic groups, sexes, lifestyles, etc. It has large demand for its taste and the trend towards healthier lifestyle influenced Coca Cola to produce healthier products such as Coca Cola Zero, Diet Coca Cola, and etc. 

Climate- Coca Cola’s consumption in the summer is 60% than 40% in the winter; therefore, the company's sales are higher in the summer. It also focuses in hot area in India.

Demographic segmentation

-Age- 15-25 years old and 40 plus.

-Gender- targets both genders

-Income- segments different income level. for example, by packaging: for low level income the company is selling returnable glass bottle; for high level income, the company is selling coke in tins.

Psychographics segmentation

People who are brand conscious will not drink beverages of less known brands. They will try to show their status by drinking Coca-Cola.

The level of education is another factor that the company is paying attention to. In a high percentage education, the company can use advertisements to convey the company massage. Because Coca Cola is a recognized world brand, people will drink it without hesitate. 

Positioning:

Once a business has decided which segments of the market it will compete in, developed a clear picture of its target market and defined its product, the positioning strategy can be developed. Positioning is the process of creating, the image the product holds in the mind of consumers, relative to competing products. Positioning helps customers understand what is unique about the products when compared with the competition. Coca Cola plan to further create positions that will give their products the greatest advantage in their target markets. Coca Cola has been positioned based on the process of positioning by direct comparison and have positioned their products to benefit their target market. Most people create an image of a product by comparing it to another product, thus evident through the famous battles between Coca-Cola and Pepsi products.

Introduction - Coca Cola

The Coca-Cola Company is the world’s largest multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer, retailer and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. The company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia. The Coca-Cola formula and brand was bought in 1889 by Asa Candler who incorporated The Coca-Cola Company in 1892.

The Coca-Cola Company offers more than 500 brands in over 200 countries, besides its namesake Coca-Cola beverage.

Coca Cola was the leading soft drink brand in India until 1977 when it left rather than reveal its formula to the government and reduce its equity stake as required under the FERA which governed the operations of foreign companies in India.

The Coca-Cola Company re-entered India through its wholly owned subsidiary, Coca-Cola India Private Limited and re-launched Coca-Cola in 1993 after the opening up of the Indian economy to foreign investments in 1991. Since then its operations have grown rapidly through a model that supports bottling operations, both company owned as well as locally owned and includes over 7,000 Indian distributors and more than 1.3 million retailers.

The Coca-Cola Company’s brands in India include Coca-Cola, Fanta Orange, Fanta Apple, Limca, Sprite, Thums Up, Burn, Kinley, Maaza, Maaza Milky Delite, Minute Maid Pulpy Orange, Minute Maid Nimbu Fresh and Nestea Iced tea, the Georgia Gold range of teas and coffees and Vitingo (a beverage fortified with micro-nutrients).

Coca Cola, being the leader in the market is also awarded as the best marketed product. It enjoys the largest market share in the global market.

By using various marketing strategies over the years, coca cola has become the 2^nd most recognised work after “OK” in the world