Marketing Manager

Introduction

The Coca-Cola product has some utilities which are necessary in ensuring that purchases and exchanges occur between the company and its customers. Utility can be explained as the value or satisfaction that the customer gets after acquiring a Coca-Cola product. There are four forms of utility which aid in the creation of customer satisfaction. They include time, place, form and possession.

Form as a type of utility is the Coca-Cola brand that is offered to its customers. The company research crew is required to carry out the research into the customers with an intention of identifying what kind of brand the customers need. The research team creates a form utility by transforming the needs of customers in a beverage product having an added value. From this market research, the Coca-Cola Company is able to develop the beverage brand being in line with the customer needs (Sandhusen, 2000). Form utility is vital to the company since it lowers the production cost, improves productivity and the competitive advantage.

Another form of utility is the place utility where the beverage product from the Coca-Cola Company is within the reach of potential customers. Place also refers to how convenient the nature of the distribution channel and sales operation is. Improving place utility is crucial to the Coca-Cola Company since customers will find it convenient to buy beverage products from the company. The company also engages into the provision of customers’ services via the company’s website where they get to interact with customers and answer their questions.

Time utility is another important form of utility in the Coca-Cola Company. It ensures that the beverage products are available to the customers any time they need them. Time utility is enhanced in the Coca-Cola Company by ensuring that there is an effective and efficient supply chain that will ensure that the beverage products from the company are being delivered on time. The Coca-Cola Company has also included the late delivery where some of its beverage stores are being run the whole day (Sandhusen, 2000).
The Coca-Cola beverage Company also uses the possession utility where the company’s customers assume their ownership of the beverage products. This enables them to attain benefits even in their own businesses. The company usually offers refrigerators to wholesalers and retailers to store the company’s beverage products. This refrigerator helps to improve the performance of the product as well as adding a stronger benefit. The possession utility helps to advance the value of possession as it offers the Coca-Cola Company’s customers some better financing options where the retailers can lease some of the company’s assets or be given for free instead of purchasing them (Sandhusen, 2000).

In order to enhance the operations of the Coca-Cola Company, the management must concentrate more on marketing since it will ensure that the company’s products perform as expected in the market. A sales plan needs to be created to enable the targeting of marketing and sales efforts as well as choosing the most appropriate sales channels for the beverage products from the Coca-Cola Company.

In addition, a sales goal needs to be specific as well as measurable. The beverage products are classified based on their quality and nature. These products are then broken down into parts that are manageable. Another important factor that the Coca-Cola Company considers is the sales activities. There needs to be a sales plan in the company that will include some activities involving sending of selling sheets to different stores and selling the Coca-Cola Company beverage products.

The Coca-Cola Company constantly engages into the activities that are aimed towards building the markets. The website is nowadays being used by the company since it has reached the market readily. Other ways of product promotion used by the Coca-Cola Company include selling through institutions such as schools and local communities. The company also sponsors sporting activities as a way of promoting the beverage brands (Isdell & Beasley, 2011).

Such multi-national company like the Coca-Cola Company must endeavor to expand its operations to new markets. Expanding to the new markets requires that the Coca-Cola Company strengthens its business resources and infrastructure .While expanding to the new market, the company needs to identify the correct buyers. Buyers include wholesalers, retailers and end users of the product. If the company faces challenges in reaching the end consumers of the beverage product, a distributor or a company’s representative can be hired (Hays, 2004).

There is a product life cycle which is an important concept in marketing. These are the stages that the beverage product goes through from the time they have been manufactured until they are being released into the market. The main stages include the introduction where the Coca-Cola Company’s beverage product has been researched and developed. During the introduction stage, a new product is launched in the market. It records the poor sales. Distributors are always unwilling to take the unproven beverage products from the Coca-Cola Company. A new product requires numerous promotions to make potential customers aware of the product. An example is one of the most recent products like the Minute Maid (Sandhusen, 2000).

The next stage is growth, where these new brand sales are increasing at a faster rate before the maturity stage where the sales come nearer their highest. This stage aims at encouraging customers to adopt the new product. The Coca-Cola Company may either use the penetration pricing or skimming. As a result, the product gains its acceptance; and as the market grows the huge profits the company is making attracts other competitors. When the sales near their highest, the rate of growth starts to slow down. This is attributed to the entrants of new competitors and saturation in the market. The final stage is declined where sales begin to fall.

For the new beverage products that the Coca-Cola Company is manufacturing as successful in the market, there is a need for the continuous advertising aimed at promoting the awareness of the new beverage brand among customers. The Coca-Cola Company needs to engage in the intensive distribution and at the same time to increase the number of distribution outlets (Sandhusen, 2000). When it proves hard for the beverage company to sell its products in the market, the adoption of price leadership is the next option. In case of such new product like the Minute Maid by the Coca-Cola Company, the high promotional spending needs to be emphasized. The company needs also to improve the product either by improving its flavor or improving the packaging style of the beverage brand.

Marketing techniques can be used in the Coca-Cola Company to improve its sales that are declining. Advertising can be used to remind buyers of the existence of this product. At the same time, it tries to capture new customers. Another technique which is used by the Coca-Cola Company is the price reduction to attract more buyers. Adding the value to the beverage drinks is another way of improving the sales of this beverage drink. Another possible option of increasing the sales is by trying to sell the beverage product abroad to foreign nations (Isdell & Beasley, 2011).

The Coca-Cola Company is currently selling its new Minute Maid beverage products not only in America, but also for other nations around the world in a bid to increase its sales. Brightening the packaging helps in attracting more buyers as it is considered trendy and stylish by most of people. It is worth noting that the duration of the product life cycle varies. Some strategic decisions made can change the life cycle (Sandhusen, 2000).

The marketing mix is referred to as various kinds of choices that the Coca-Cola Company will have to make when introducing a new beverage brand in the market. The marketing mix comprises of the 4Ps which include Product, Price, Place and Promotion. The product that the Coca-Cola Company is delivering in the market should have the ability to satisfy the needs of customers. The beverage drink should have the flavor that customers have been yearning. The cost of the drink needs to be friendly to customers. Just like the other Coca-Cola Company’s drinks, they need to be differentiated to serve all customers. The Coca-Cola Company brands should have a competitive advantage over the drinks from other companies.

Place is another marketing mix that requires the emphasis. The buyers of beverage brands from the company need to know where they can acquire these products. All the beverage brands that are manufactured by the company need to be readily available every time the customers need them. Online sources can be used to give the information where customers can get some feedbacks regarding the beverage brands produced by the Coca-Cola Company. Attending trade fairs is important to the beverage company as it is able to promote something new as well as to develop its existing products (Sandhusen, 2000).

Price is another consideration that the Coca-Cola Company will have to make regarding the beverage drinks. Customers need to feel that they get the value for the beverage that they are purchasing. The company will attempt to find out what will be the effects of decrease or increase of beverage brand prices. Customers are sometimes sensitive to the changes in price. When the drink prices are lowered, they may lead to earning a market share; whereas, in some cases, an increase in price may increase the profit margins or result into poor sales. Pricing in the Coca-Cola Company should compare with that of the competitors’ in other beverage manufacturing companies (“The Coca-Cola Company”, 2008).

Promotion considers when, how and where the Coca-Cola Company’s message about its product can reach the potential customers. Advertising can be done via radio, television or billboards in order to reach the audience. Another factor to consider while promoting the Coca-Cola Company’s beverage drink is the best time to promote this drink. Beverage drinks have a season, especially during holidays; people will tend to consume more beverages since they are merry making. Another factor that also needs to be considered is choosing the promotional activity. How the competitors conduct their promotion also influences on the purchasing behavior of customers.

The marketing mix can be useful to the Coca-Cola Company as it will enable the company to decide on how to take a new challenge in the market. The marketing mix can also be used to test the company’s existing marketing strategies or whether to try a new beverage product. It may continue with the already existing brands too. To ensure that the market mix is being successful in such manufacturing company like the Coca-Cola Company, the market mix needs to be tested. The experts in the Coca-Cola Company need to ask questions and also keep making changes to the mix until they have become satisfied. The mix needs to be reviewed regularly as the market continues to grow and expand (Isdell & Beasley, 2011).

Environmental factors affect the performance of the Coca-Cola Company. The purchase of the beverage drink depends on some environmental factors. The technological environment advancement will result into the development of more machinery, hence, it will trigger more output in terms of manufacturing. When the production increases, the Coca-Cola Company is able to keep up with an increasing demand in the market. Machinery enables the manufacturing companies to produce more beverage drinks; hence, it is able to cope with the increasing demand of the product in the market. Some innovations made such as self-freezing and beverage dispensers are some of the development that have occurred in the beverage industries such as the Coca-Cola Company.

Demography affects the sale and distribution of beverages by the Coca-Cola Company. Ethnic considerations and age affects the consumers’ preference for the soft drinks and beverages produced by the Coca-Cola Company. With age, health is given much more emphasis whereas teens will tend to use most of beverages being offered in the market since they appear different and funny.
The economic environment is also influential for the Coca-Cola Company. During the hard economic times, people tend to cut on spending and even on eating. During such hard times, people are reluctant to spend their hard earned money. They will even forego some of the meals. This translates to the consumption of beverages. Since the people’s disposable income is less during such hard times they shift to other options for them to remain hydrated. Thus, they shift to the less expensive tap water. The Coca-Cola Company can turn such a situation into the opportunity by investing more in the cheaper bottled water in order to remain prepared with the uncertain future (Isdell & Beasley, 2011).

The Coca-Cola Company as a firm is surrounded by a distinct environment having people with different attitudes, opinions, lifestyles, beliefs and values. The social environment changes over some time; hence, the company has to constantly develop a product that will be readily accepted by the people in the region. Social factors, like obesity, will influence on the Coca-Cola Company to produce beverages promoting the healthy lifestyle to the population. The Coca-Cola Company has since taken up the challenge for promoting the healthy lifestyle through its three principles: Think, Drink and Move (“The Coca-Cola Company”, 2008).
Through this program, the Coca-Cola Company sponsors and supports some education programs that encourage people to eat healthy diets, remain physically fit and have the healthy lifestyle. The nutritional information is also found on the company’s website and on recyclable bottles (“The Coca-Cola Company”, 2008).

The United States is a leader in the consumption of the Coca-Cola Company’s brands of beverages followed by Mexico. The high sale of Coca-Cola is attributed to the presence of undrinkable water and, as a result, the locals have turned to safe drinks being bottled. Coca-Cola, due to its high sugar content, is used by the poor and under-fed laborers as a quick source of energy. Another reason for the high sales of the Coca-Cola Company’s products is due to the hot climate in Mexico. Thus, it serves as refreshment. There is also the abundant water and sugarcane which are the readily available resources in Mexico. The Coca-Cola Company has many brands ranging from Fanta, Sprite, Diet Coke, PowerAde, Minute Maid, Georgia, Del Valle and the Vitamin Water. The Coca-Cola Company has its consumers in more than two hundred countries all over the world. It is estimated that the Coca-Cola Company has almost two billion servings per day (“The Coca-Cola Company”, 2008).

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