Marketing Principles at NPD

Introduction

Marketing activity in many corporations is concentrated about the quest to increase sales of the company and optimize the competitive advantages of the institution. In a relentless international marketing competition climate, companies have to model strategies that fit with consumer behavior and preferences for their merchandise. In the contemporary sense, new and more dynamic marketing programs and models are widely adopted by many organizations depending on the market environments and business operations (Doole & Lowe, 2008. p. 34). Relationship marketing and industrial marketing focus on individuals and institutions respectively while at the online platform, e-marketing is gradually embraced to target both industrial and individual customers. The market economy, according to the capitalist rationalization is about the production of commodities that consumers are willing and capable of buying (Daft, Murphy & Willmott, 2010, p. 97). Marketing is a central practice to the effectiveness of corporate process, because it is an efficient way through which the company’s products arrive in the market and sustain their consumption through a competitive process.

Company Background

The company of choice for this marketing principles analysis is the Coca-Cola Company. The international soft drink giant operates virtually in every country as a conglomerate and as a franchise because of the dynamic business model that was adopted in the early stages of the firm’s development. The Coca-Cola Company was established. Moreover, the company has built an impeccable international brand through simple marketing principles. These are affordability, availability, and acceptability. The ubiquity of the coca-cola products in every part of the world is the result of effective management of the company’s global distribution network.  The company fulfils a belief that they have an obligation to quench the thirst of everyone alive on earth each day.  With an expansive distribution of 1,200 bottling plants cross the world, the company distributes syrup and concentrates which are utilized in the production of a wide variety of its products (Masuch, 2012, p. 59).

The company considers its competitors as not confined to the soft drinks products range but also other domestic and commercial drinks as tea, coffee, fruit drinks, fresh drinks and processed fruit concentrates. This approach has brought about a heightened degree of commitment among the employees of the company with a hope to intensify and cerate avenues for increased consumption of the products of the company. Marketing strategy of a corporation is central to the overall business model and operational systems. The franchise model avails opportunity for the corporation to embed the distribution and marketing schedule.

CHAPTER ONE: Task 1

Question a.

According to the American Marketing Association, marketing is not necessarily a function of commerce, but an educational process. The institution spells the new definition as follows.

“Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for the customers, clients, partners,   and society at large.”

This new definition was adapted after it was observed that the old definition did not capture the best premises for the determinate aspects of the practices of marketing in the contemporary business environment. The previous definition viewed the activity of marketing more in terms of organizational function and processes. The predecessor institution that created the AMA was the National Association of Marketing Teachers. This organization provided the initial definition of marketing as follows.

“Marketing is the performance of business activities that direct the flow of goods and       services form producers to consumers.”

National Association of Marketing Teachers (1935)

The changes in definition are understandable because as times change, business ideas change within the society because legislations also change in response to the demographic and economic factors in the society. Nevertheless, it should be appreciated that the definition of any terminology is largely influenced by the desire always to update meanings of things and experiences in socially and technologically dynamic academic discourses and enterprise of the economy. 

From the perspective of the Coca-Cola Company, marketing goes a bit beyond simply availing goods to the consumers. Marketing at the Coca-Cola Company is about teaching the consumers of the meaning of a good life and how shat good life is to be lived. According to the adverts, and public relations of the company, the company stresses the good life message to all people of the world. 

Question b.

A marketing orientation refers to the broad marketing strategy that defines the dominant media and patterns of promotion. This streamlined approach makes it possible for the company to effectively develop and entrench itself fundamentally in line with other mechanism of promotion. The marketing orientation at the Coca-Cola Company is about the sports marketing through stadia and billboards (Pride & Ferrell, 2006, p. 38). The company also has an orientation of facilitating video marketing through Television adverts, which evoke diverse tastes and sensibilities for each product line.

CHAPTER TWO: Task 2

Question a.

The marketing decisions of the company are influenced by the nature of the soft drink industry which has traditionally been dominated the two antagonist and endowed giants Coca-Cola Company and PEPSI. These companied operate a global duopoly in the soft drinks industry and compete in the marketing and distribution of carbonated soft drinks across the globe. Since the company has an international presence, the cost of advertising and promotion can greatly be reduced because of the fact that the brand is internationally recognized (Canbulut & Hiçü%u015Fenmez, 2010, p. 50).

The marketing decision at Coca-Cola Company is facilitated through the consideration of the scope and the strength of the marketing orientation. Moreover, the financial and economic factors within the niche are pertinent micro economic variables that influence marketing activity. Each franchise and bottling plant facilitates all their marketing activities in the localized region of their market segment and only the headquarters facilitate international marketing activities. The macro economic factors that influence the marketing at Coca- Cola Company are nationalistic financial and international currency exchange rates, which influence the freight and acquisition of the concentrates.

Question b.

Segmentation is the process of subdividing a large target market into manageable subsets of homogenous consumer groups to facilitate effective marketing targeting tailored to the consumption characteristics, consumer desires, and needs through a media that is appropriate to the unit segments. The Cola-Cola Company undertakes extensive segmentation and develops various media and dispensation technologies that meet the needs of such groups. Cola-Cola Company has invested hugely in product differentiation and research to diversify its products tailored to each market segment (Canbulut & Hiçü%u015Fenmez, 2010, p. 49). 

The two key products considered for segmentation strategy is the Dasani water and Minute Maid brands. Despite the fact that the company has a very wide variety of products spanning from juices, tea flavored drinks, alcohol additives and energy drink products, and the two selected products are tailored to the international market. These two products are packaged in various sizes and quantities and are effectively marketed. The best targeting method for the products comprise the use of varied dispensation processes. Dasani water is packed in plastic bottles to facilitate effective distribution and sales on the go. The same apples to the Minute Maid juice which have varied flavors and tastes that target sub-sections of the consumer populations within a niche. In addition, there a ready to drink packs of Minute Maid and there are those that are diluted to taste by the end consumer.

Question c.

Buyer behaviors are part of the consumer culture that prevails in society. However, a number of factors restrict consumption. The key determinant to consumer behavior and culture is levels of income and welfare. Low-income earners can only consume a limited quality and quality of commodities availed in the market because of low purchasing power. Persons in the higher income levels may seek even goods that are not availed locally. Another aspect of consumption is tastes and preferences (Van Gelder, 2003, p. 59). People have different tastes and preferences, which are traceable to their socialization, education, and even to their ethnographic genealogy. In this regard, the staple foods of many communities are determined by the traditions and dominant biological characteristics of the people in such communities. Moreover, buyer behavior is also influenced by seasonal variations, geography of a place and fashions that prevail. In the contemporary worldview, marketing and advertising through a variety of media propagate images and tastes, which essentially create buyer characteristics and behavior. At the Coca-Cola Company, the country creates consumption cultures they desire to maintain the desirable consumption characteristics. 

The Coca-Cola Company has an adequately diversified product line, which adequately serve their various market segments. Apart from the global soft drink brands of Coke, Fanta, Sprite, and Crest, the company has developed a variety of fruit drinks, which target the rapidly growing middle class populations across the globe. Most of the soft drinks are preferred cold and the company invested heavily in the distribution of fridges to distributors and end retailers to deliver the drinks cold to their consumers. Since many consumers buy in bulk for the household, the company invented the six-pack, which facilitates easy carriage of the products from the retailers to the households and various destinations of use like in a sports field or picnic grounds.  In addition, some of the products of the company are consumed in accompaniment with other products. For instance, a lot of soda products are used alongside alcoholic drinks. The Coca-Cola Company has an effective distribution of the products to pubs and households as a strategy to entrench the sales and utility customers drive from the products.

CHAPTER THREE: Task 3

Question a.

New Product Development (NPD) and success depend on several company and industry variables. Most of the new products fail because the marketing team embody blind ego and optimism, poor deployment of energies to the launch and roll out of the product, inadequate research during the product development phase, and the response of rival products to the entry of the new product into the market. The Coca-Cola Company fortunately invests heavily in research and therefore often produces products that usually perform (Sinclair & Wilken, 2009, p. 36).

The Coca-Cola Company develops products that are cheaply manufactured and often utilizing locally available product. Apart from the line of Soda where the concentrates are imported, most of the other products are manufactured from local products of juices and other locally available commodities. The effect of cost leadership obtained in such a process makes the company a giant in the market because they are able to maximize the profitability while producing at the least costs for a huge international market. In addition, the company concentrates in products that are needed and that go with the lifestyles of given groups of consumers. For instance, bottled water is commonly consumed in households, while in a journey, at the work places in huge quantities. The new product priority of the company therefore revolves around maximization of profits.

Question b.

The distribution method employed at Coca-Cola Company often follows the business model of the franchise. The decentralized bottling facilities are stationed near the market segment and therefore delivery and storage of products is coordinated through an easy channel of trucks or small vans. This model is very efficient because consumers are able to access the products through multiple outlets. A group of customers that are always a target and prime consumer group is the football fans and students. These individuals are often concentrated in the sports stadium and the colleges where they study. It is easier to sell all the products to these groups through cash dispensers and automated systems (Sinclair & Wilken, 2009, p. 38).

The company also uses a convenient packaging in aluminum cans to facilitate easy portability of the products. Moreover, the new move to use plastic bottles is another break through owing to the fact that the manufacture of such glass is cheap and they facilitate a much more convenient method of logistical prudence. In addition, the company uses a vendor-managed inventory in the distribution of its products and thus greatly cuts on the cost of distribution (Aila et al, 2011, p. 102).

 Question c.

Pricing strategy is often a component of the profit strategy of the business. At the Coca-Cola Company, pricing of the products are done with specific consideration of tariffs, interests rates operating in the economy and currency exchange rates. This is because the company relies heavily in international operations, which therefore mean a lot of money value alteration (Hunt & Lambe, 2000, p. 39).

The Coca-Cola Company is a monopoly and therefore has the power to affect its own prices in the market. This is afforded by the astute business model of the franchise, which affords extensive political and social acceptability of the company and its products in every market niche. The company experiences a downward sloping demand characteristic for its products, which affirms the condition of the monopoly. Since the company enjoys the privileges of dominating the market, they sometime change process to accommodate the seasonal variations in the consumption of various products. In addition, the company often operates in friendly terms with the governments and the citizens of the world. This is demonstrated by the commitment the company demonstrates in their community service and corporate social responsibility.

Question d.

Integrated marketing communication (IMC) is the process of creating mechanism of marketing to effectively  render brands and the name tags in tandem with given product lines. The Coca-Cola Company name is presumed to convey an “US” appeal and therefore the company tends to promote the brand based on group influences rather than on individualistic rendition. The core message of the company is to quench thirst of the people of the world and to lead a good life (De Mooij, 2009, p. 69). This is a cost effective mechanism because all the brands of the company work in conformity with the single ideal of alleviating thirst and promoting a good life. The company uses the same images and personalities for the marketing of the products in all sorts of media and facilitates that the message conveyed in always uniform.

The IMC appeal of the Coca-Cola Company is based on the emphasis of the company on retaining the overall appeal. The company develops many other products but integrates all of them into the overall scheme of the marketing agenda. All new products bear the brand label of the Coca-Cola Company and are introduced under the banners of the company rather than on a platform of their own as subsidiaries.  This strategy works well for the company because the brand is already a super brand and is well received all over the world.

CHAPTER FOUR: Task 4

Question a.

Marketing mix refer to the fundamental four Ps outlook of the company. These refer to Product, Price, Promotion, and Place. Product is determined as a commodity that can successfully meet consumer needs at a given time. The product in this perspective is a commodity with a designated lifetime and life cycle. By diversifying a product line and embedding brand loyalty in the process marketers are able to enhance the utility of a commodity. The Price customers pay for the commodity is another variable determinate to the systems of consumption of the product.  The demand and price elasticity of the product should be fitted to the other aspects of the product to facilitate sales. Moreover, the promotion of the product needs to be invigorated appropriately to ensure the other aspects of the commodity make sales rapid and profitable (Malhotra & Uslay, 2009, p. 28). In addition, place refers to the market or destination where the commodity is availed for the customers. Coca- Cola Company ensures their products are distributed effectively and availed closer to the consumers in chains of stores. The entire process is supported by the fact that the decentralized manufacturing and bottling process enable the production to be nearer to the consumers as much as possible. 

Question b.

In the scenario of B2B services, the aspects of product and price might be a little sorted because of inter-business contractual agreements and cooperation. Nevertheless, when the interaction is between business and customer, there has to be competition and commitment on the part of the business entity to deliver superb services and products that beat the competition. By increasing the variety of products or the differentiation for a single product line, a business is able to retain a greater market share from other competitors. The Coca-Cola Company has particularly initiated extensive product diversification tailored to specific niches and consumer preferences (Doole & Lowe, 2008, p. 59). In the light if her interaction with other businesses, the company provides mutually beneficial arrangements that, drives market penetration and customer retention throughout the global. Moreover, in considering two distinct market segments of the company it useful to compare the developed world and the developing regions. In this regard, the areas of Asia or Africa and the European region are reviewed. A prototype version of the marketing mix for the Coca- Cola Company can be highlighted in the Four Cs. The four Cs is a customer based version of the four Ps and are addressed on that manner to the company’s strategy.

Question c.

The chosen organization is the Coca-Cola Company, which entered the international market a long time in the history of the firm. During the early years of the company’s founding, the company established business processes that have persisted to date. The international marketing arena is controlled by a multitude of laws, economic and financial variables at the international level and marred with human and culture factors. There are a variety of unique cultures and nationalistic differences between countries and the companies operating at the global level have to harmonize the differences (Zou & Cavusgil, 2002, p. 46).

Marketing principles for the Coca-Cola Company is in tandem with the best practices globally due to the fact that the company occupies the leading position in the world as the most diversely modeled and managed business. Moreover, the marketing at the Coca-Cola Company is the basis for business excellence of the company because the products of the company are merely sugar water with additives for flavor. Pepsi, which is the greatest competitor, sells a diverse number of products, which are equally effectively branded. The products sold by Pepsi are 7up, Pepsi Blue, Pepsi Lemon. Coca-Cola Company’s products however perform more astutely.

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