Coca-Coca Company Marketing

Market Segmentation of Coca-Cola Products

            Coca-Cola has been serving its products using mass strategy. However, the company uses some factors to segment its products and target customers. Coca-Cola segments its market based on geographical location of the customers such as region and country (Pride & Ferrell 2010). Some of the factors that the company considers when segmenting the market is taste and quality. For instance, more developed countries are provided with relatively high quality products. The company’s segmentation is also based on the climatic conditions that exist in a given region. For instance, the company has been target countries which experience hot climatic conditions. Coke has also segmented its products in terms of demographics such as age. The company has been target children with products with tastes such as vanilla, lime and cherry. It has also been generally targeting younger people with its products (Pride & Ferrell 2010). Coke has also segmented its market based on family type. In order to meet the family and groups needs it has introduced economy pack. It has also segmented its products based on the level of income by offering them products in different packaging.

Domestic and International Market

            Marketing in a domestic market differs from marketing in domestic markets. Factors that affect the domestic market differ from those factors which affect the international markets. There are several factors that affect the consumers purchasing behaviors. One of the factors is economic factors. The developing countries where the company operates have people with low purchasing power and spending habits. This implies that the company has to adopt low pricing strategies. The company has to consider issues such as the level of income and unemployment rates among others.

            Coca-Coca has continued to hold on to its position in soft drink market because it has been able to reinvent its branding over the years. It has been able to ensure that its products are able to meet the needs of the customers. Coca-Cola has been strategically positioning their products by using different marketing strategies. One of the most crucial strategies used by Coke is marketing communication through advertising (Vrontis & Sharp 2003).  The company’s advertising techniques and styles have been able to capture its audience and increase its sales in different markets around the world. It also has an established brand and trusted which has been developed over the years. Coca-Cola has also been very innovative and has been able to successful deliver new products to their customers.

Marketing Mix for Lime Coke

            Lime Coke also known as Coca-Cola with Lime is a variation of the original Coca-Cola by adding lime flavor. The product can also be sold to different market segments such as young female students and the business executives working for large corporations in the United Kingdom. There are different factors that need to be considered when producing products that meet the needs of these two groups of people. They have different tastes and different levels of income. This implies that marketing strategies will vary from one another.

Product

            The company needs to provide the right packaging for the different customer segments. The containers or bottles that are used need to be designed in such a way that they are portable and able to appeal to the college girls. The containers used to package the drinks also need to be unique and able to encourage the consumers to re-fill or reuse it (Curd 2010). Products that are meant of young female college students also need to be provided with the right flavor that meets their needs. The products should have the impression that the company cares about its customers. Coca-Cola also needs to design products that meet the needs and expectation of the business executives. They need to provide the products in the right packaging. The packaging needs to be eco-friendly and containers or cans used to package the products should be able to reusable or recyclable. Products also need to be provided in different sizes such as 300ml, 500ml and 1litre to meet the needs of different categories of customers.

Place/Distribution

            Supply chain management is very critical for Coca-Cola to ensure that its products are at the right place to meet the needs of the consumers. They have to ensure efficiency in the distribution of products. The company has to ensure that the products are being sold n places where soft drinks are easily accessible by the target markets. For instance, Coca-Cola needs to establish distribution centers near colleges and universities in order to reach young female college students. The company can also distribute its Lime Coke range of products through large restaurants in order to meet reach out to business executives in the UK. The products can also be distributed through supermarkets where people go to purchase different products.

Pricing

Coca-Cola has a large market share for its soft drink product ranges. Pricing is very critical for determining its success. It has been facing competitive pressure from other companies such as Pepsi. The company needs to adopt differentiated pricing strategy. The market segments such as market for young female college students should be charged relatively lower prices. This is due to the fact that they have low income and low purchasing power. This market segment is sensitive to price changes. Therefore, the company needs to adopt price penetration strategy in order to penetrate this market segment faster. This type of pricing strategy will enable the company have a dominant market share in this segment of the market (Curd 2010).

However, in the high end market such as the segment for business executives should be charged relatively high prices. This segment has relatively higher income and is not sensitive to changes in prices. They should also be provided with differentiated products which reflect high quality. This category of customers considers the value of the products and considers the quality of their product when making purchase decisions.  

Promotion

            When launching a new production in a market such as United Kingdom, promotional tools are very important for the organization. Some of these tools include advertising, personal selling, public relations, direct marketing and sales promotion. The most effective promotion tool which needs to be used by the company is advertising. The company needs to secure airtime on domestic and international TV Channels in the UK to run their advertising campaigns. These advertisements need to target specific market segments. The company should also ensure there is good relationship between the company and the public by building a good corporate image and ensuring that all issues that may give the company a bad image (Curd 2010). Coca-Cola should also engage in promotions by giving discounts to the customers.

People, Physical Evidence and Process Management

            People are very important aspect of the company’s marketing mix. The company has to develop a habit of developing its products with people in mind. In other words, all marketing activities should be directed toward meeting the needs and expectations of the people inside and outside the organization. This applies to both the employees and the customers that the company serves with its products. The company has to ensure those employees who have contact with the customers are properly trained and are the right kind of people for the job (The Chartered Institute of Marketing 2009).

            Process is also very critical since it is very crucial for customer satisfaction. Coca Cola has to ensure that processes lead to customer satisfaction. There should be proper communication channels that allow immediate and faster response to the customer queries. The communication should be faster.

            Physical evidence is also very crucial when satisfying the needs and expectation of the customers. It is very crucial in helping the customers to identify what they are buying. The company should be able to find ways of obtaining feedback from the customers and documenting the information for referencing. New customers can use such information to develop confidence in the company’s products and make purchase decisions (The Chartered Institute of Marketing 2009). This will increase the sales of the company.

Bibliography

Curd, M 2010, “Marketing Plan: Coca-Cola in 2015,” viewed on August 19, 2013 <http://www.nice-cuppa-tea.co.uk/marketingplan.pdf>

Pride, WM & Ferrell, OC 2010, “Marketing Express,” South-Western Cengage Learning, Mason.

The Chartered Institute of Marketing 2009, “Marketing and the 7Ps: A Brief Summary of Marketing and How It Works,” Viewed on August 19, 2013 <http://www.cim.co.uk/files/7ps.pdf>

Vrontis, D & Sharp, I 2003, “The Strategic Positioning of Coca-Cola in the Global Marketing Operations,” The Marketing Review, vol.2, pp.289-309, viewed on August 19, 2013 <http://80.251.40.59/politics.ankara.edu.tr/ozer/Dersler/Introduction_to_marketing/Articles/The_Strategic_Positioning_of_Coca_Cola_in_Their_Marketing_Operation.pdf>

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