Coca-Cola's Internal and External Analysis and Marketing Strategies

Coca-Cola
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Coca-Cola
INTRODUCTION
Coca-Cola is one of the largest companies globally dealing with non-alcoholic beverages. It has its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, where it was founded on January 29, 1892. Over the years, it has become a beverage powerhouse with product lines such as Cola, Sprite, Fanta, Stoney, and Krest. It has managed to create an efficient distribution network that extends to over 200 countries. However, it faces numerous challenges such as packaging and transportation of the products, consequently creating income risks. Its main competitors are PepsiCo, Britvic, Red bull, and Monster Beverage which also have a clear line of products. This essay is an analysis of Coca-Cola's internal and external together with its marketing strategies.
INTERNAL (MICRO) ANALYSIS
Strengths
Even a company as big as coca-cola need regular internal (macro) analysis to weigh their strengths and weaknesses. Its apparent strength is its strong brand identity that has been cultivated for years. Apart from the products, its brand has managed to solidify itself even to the tinny detail. The shape of the bottle alone is unmistakable and is a constant reminder of the brand.
Its unique brand is known worldwide, and it has helped the company establish its products as best-selling in this era. It maintains the broadest range of soft drinks in the beverage industry consisting of 3.900 different products. Consequently, it serves about 1.9 billion of the total 60 billion servings of various beverages taken across the globe per day.
Along with its broad reach, it has managed to create excellent customer loyalty and brand association. It has an emotional and sentimental connection to its customers cultivated over the years. The customers are in love with the taste while others can't seem to find a substitute brand. Its strong distribution network allows the company to meet the ever-growing demand of its reliable suppliers.
As a brand, Coca-Cola is ranked as the top three global brands on Interbrand's annual ranking. Its estimated brand value of about $79.96 billion allows the company to dictate the market, making it difficult for its competitors CITATION Man20 \l 1033 (Glossary, 2020). Its pricing is also standardized, and any alterations depend on its competitors' pricing strategy, mainly Pepsi.
Weaknesses
Its apparent weakness is that it has a strong competitor in Pepsi, which prevents it from completely dominating the market. Both companies have competed since their creation and have managed to keep each other alert. Pepsi seems to be diversifying its products heavily in attempts to gain an edge against Coca-Cola. It has introduced new snack items such as Kurkure and Lays, becoming popular among people CITATION Pan17 \l 1033 (Panagiotopoulou, 2017). At the moment, Coca-Cola has not diversified products apart from their line of soft drinks.
Health concerns are a threat to the credibility and relevance of soft drinks. Carbonated drinks have more sugar which results in numerous health issues such as obesity and diabetes. Consequently, active groups are rallying against companies such as Coca-Cola. Another public opinion concern is its criticism of water management. Many groups have raised issues with the company's heavy water usage, even in water scarcity areas. These two areas are weaknesses that can be exploited and crippled by increasing dissatisfaction with public opinion.
Opportunities.
Being a massive brand, Coca-Cola already has a strong foundation if it decides to expand its products. There are numerous opportunities that the company can exploit to generate more revenue and remain competitive against Pepsi.
The company is mainly dependent on the supply chain and logistics; therefore, it is always at the mercy of constant fuel and transportation prices. With its resources, there are opportunities to become more creative and seek advanced distribution systems. Technology can be crucial in this aspect, consequently saving the company millions in the process.
Threats.
Lawsuits and problems with governing bodies are some of the main threats. Its worldwide accessibility could also act as its biggest downfall as some of its policies might interfere with the domestic laws of certain nations. Their products might fail to meet the standard put in place by a ruling government. Another area is the water and packaging controversies it has faced. For instance, in 2017, the company faced criticism over its use of single-use plastic bottles that are unfavorable for recycling CITATION Ahm16 \l 1033 (Ahmed, 2016).
A shortage of skilled workforce would put a dent in the operations of such a massive company. This can be triggered by indirect completion from other beverage companies such as Café Coffee Day, Starbucks, Costa Coffee. Despite being huge competitors, their efforts to infiltrate the space can impact Coca-Cola's operations.
EXTERNAL (MACRO) ANALYSIS
Political factors
Coca-Cola has its products supplied and distributed all across the world. Therefore, they are required to follow specific regulations in each respective country to maintain their distribution networks. For instance, in Muslim nations, the products must bear a distinctive Halal stamp to avoid being banned in the countries CITATION Kha20 \l 1033 (Anik, 2020). Therefore, individual countries have the power and leverage to influence the operations and even income of a company like Coca-Cola.
Economic Factors.
There is a change happening in the world where people are looking for healthier alternatives to foods and drinks. Therefore, junk food and beverage companies are forced to adapt to the market or go out of business entirely. However, this shift will take decades to happen fully; there is an economic risk if people collectively decide to adopt healthier living. Another economic issue is the increasing cost of inflation which forces the companies to increase the prices or maintain them CITATION KIE16 \l 1033 (FRUE, 2016). Both alternatives are less favorable for a company that seeks to maximize its profits.
Social Factors.
Social perspectives are crucial in marketing as they predict the behaviors of the consumers. These characteristics are different from country to country because of the different cultures and religious beliefs that heavily influence a population's way of life. Therefore, Coca-Cola has to ensure that it adapts to the preferences required by a particular society. For instance, Muslims fast for 30 days during Ramadan, which is their holy period. The period required the Muslims to be moderately nourished and purely consume water based on their location. Therefore, a company such as Coca-Cola refrains from carrying out promotional efforts for their products that will go against the social beliefs of the region. Another example is the increasing criticism from the fitness community against products that promote obesity. They are very influential and can sway public opinion in ways that will affect the company's repu...