The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is the biggest beverage manufacturer in the world and specializes in a variety of non-alcoholic beverages. The company is headquartered in Georgia, but thanks to its many locations, it has a presence all over the world. It is well-known for its flagship product, Coca-Cola, sometimes known as coke, which was first released in 1886. Since its inception, it has acquired a number of additional beverage businesses, turning into a manufacturer of both food and non-food goods. As a result, the corporation has over 300 brands and is active in over 200 nations worldwide. The soft drink Coca-Cola is the most well-known and well-known brand worldwide. As such, the brand is the bestselling product in the soft drink industry. Coke is a reflection of the company's mission statement whose aim is to refresh the world physically, mentally and spiritually as well as create a spark of optimism and happy moments through their brands. Therefore, through Coke, the company has managed to remain true to its mission.
Product Positioning Strategy
The Coca-Cola Company uses strategic positioning as a tool to remain competitive in the beverage industry. The strategy involves the association of coke with happy and joyous moments and occasions with family and friends. As such, coke has managed to capture the emotions of its consumers through its presentation. Coke is also portrayed as a thirst-quenching product bringing about refreshment. This strategy has helped the product differentiate itself from its competitors because it brings out the element of fun in the consumer's life. As such, each moment a consumer hears of coke he or she thinks of entertainment with friends and family (Hassan & Craft, 2012). Consequently, the brand enjoys a high level of customer loyalty as opposed to its competitors.
The other positioning strategy used by Coca-Cola
The other positioning strategy used by Coca-Cola is the portrayal of quality consistency thus enhancing brand loyalty. Coke is associated with high quality, and the consumers are therefore guaranteed of the best by using the beverage. Coke consumers do not have to second guess the product because they know the company produces the best. Through these strategies, it is hard for competitors to imitate the product because it is well differentiated. Competitors are therefore not in a position to snatch the market share of the product both locally and globally. As well, the strategies give the coke a high degree of brand loyalty, which is a unique strength in the market (Hassan & Craft, 2012). Brand loyalty ensures that consumers would not be willing to purchase other brands even at lower prices. As such, it offers a competitive advantage to the company.
Market Share
The Coca-Cola Company enjoys more than 40% of the market in the soft drinks industry. Coke has been able to maintain its market share through utilization of leadership and differentiation. Coca-Cola has been able to maintain its customer's preferences by thinking global while acting locally. As such, consumers can access coke at any place and at affordable prices. This has been made possible due to the various distribution procedures used by the company. Coke is the only soda brand that is readily available even in small retailing shops thus sealing all the loopholes for competitors. Reaching customers in remote areas enables the company to expand to new markets thus establishing new customers. As such, its market presence is enhanced through crucial span (Michael & Nedunchezhian, 2012). Apart from that, coke has also utilized associations to carve out a niche for itself. The associations with certain foods such as burgers and French fries have created a coke mentality in the consumer's mind. As such, product's consumers are likely to dine at restaurants that stock coke as opposed to other beverages. Therefore, this product has maintained a wide range of fans who are not willing to shift to other products in the market. Product extension has helped coke to maintain its market share through targeting of calorie-conscious consumers. For instance, the introduction of coca cola alternatives such as diet coke and coke zero ensures that consumers who are wary of the high calories in coke have a chance to enjoy the beverage in a healthier form (Michael & Nedunchezhian, 2012).
Competition
The major competitor of Coca-Cola is PepsiCo, Inc. commonly known as PEP. The company enjoys less than 25% market share in the soft drink industry. The main PEP product that competes with Coca cola is Pepsi. Pepsi has created competition for coke due to the imitation of marketing and advertising strategies. When coke ventured into sponsoring sports, Pepsi was not left behind as it has garnered popularity for sponsoring football as well as cricket. As well, like Coke, Pepsi is also venturing into food associations, and its major association is pizza. Consequently, this product has created a stiff competition for coke. Some of the disadvantages facing Pepsi include its association with music and the young generation. As such, the mentality created is that only the young people enjoy Pepsi. Coke, on the other hand, does not focus on any target group. As such, it is associated with culture and togetherness thus appropriate for any group of people (Stobart, 2016). Apart from that, coke has also differentiated itself from Pepsi by being readily available in retail shops in both chilled and non-chilled form. Since most people prefer, the chilled drinks, Pepsi consumers are likely to take a chilled coke instead of a non-chilled Pepsi. As such, Coca-Cola provides refrigerators to retailers who stock coke to ensure the product is available in customers preference.
Customer Requirements
The consumption of soft drinks is based on impulse rather than predetermination. As such, most consumers are likely to take soda after they have seen it or after they feel thirsty. Therefore, coke has been the best company in the presentation of its product. For instance, the product is packaged differently to fit different consumer needs. Therefore, the drink is available in recyclable bottles for customers who wish to take their drink instantly. As well, there are also take-away plastic and can bottles for consumers who wish to carry their drink at home or consume on the way. Apart from that, coke is the most readily available type of soft drink thus appearing even in stores in remote areas. As such, soft drink consumers are guaranteed to find coke in most parts of the globe. To make things better, the drink is affordable to most people because the packaging's are different (Stobart, 2016). For instance, the consumers who cannot afford the two-liter bottle of coca cola have the choice of enjoying the lowest package in a 300 milliliters bottle. Therefore, consumers have a variety of choices when it comes to coke. Coca-Cola has also gone a step further to introduce healthier forms of the drink with low fat and calorie count thus incorporating health needs for its customers.
References
Hassan, S. S., & Craft, S. (2012). Examining world market segmentation and brand positioning strategies. Journal of Consumer marketing, 29(5), 344-356.
Michael, T., & Nedunchezhian, V. R. (2012). Impact of Media on Consumers’ Brand Preference-A Study on Carbonated Beverage Market with Reference to Coca-Cola. European Journal of Social Sciences, 29(2), 233-243.
Stobart, P. (Ed.). (2016). Brand power. Springer.
