For this assignment I have been asked to produce a new marketing strategy for an existing product. The product that I have decided to study and research is Coca Cola this is because Coca Cola is my favourite drink and I would like to know what other peopl
IntroductionFor this assignment I have been asked to produce a new marketing strategy for an existing product. The product that I have decided to study and research is Coca Cola this is because Coca Cola is my favourite drink and I would like to know what other people think about it. I have been asked to obtain primary and secondary data relating to Coca Cola. Firstly I have been asked to carry out a questionnaire and analyse my result using graphs. Then I have been asked to investigate the secondary data, places where I would look to find this data is the Internet and magazines.I have been asked find out what are the external influences affecting Coca Cola. I have also been asked to carry out a PEST and SWOT analysis of the market. I will state how important are these external influences to my strategy.I will find out how the marketing mix been used to create the marketing mix and write a justification of my marketing mix. I have been asked to evaluate the different type of marketing models used in this assignment. I will assess the reliability and validity of the models. Lastly I will present one aspect of my strategy to an audience.Dr. John S Pemberton in Atlanta, Georgia invented Coca Cola on 8th May 1886. The name ‘Coca-Cola’ was suggested by Dr Pemberton’s bookkeeper, Frank Robinson. He penned the name Coca-Cola in the flowing script that is famous today. ‘Coca-Cola’ was first sold at the soda fountain in Jacob’s Pharmacy in Atlanta. During the first year, sales of Coca-Cola averaged nine drinks a day, adding up to total sales for that year of $50. Today, products ofThe Coca-Cola Company are consumed at the rate of more than one billion drinks per day in around 200 countries.The secret formula used to make Coca-Cola is made by using a unique combination of natural flavourings. The formula for ‘Coca-Cola’ is a closely guarded secret and it is stored in a bank vault in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.Coca Cola first arrived in Great Britain in the 1990. Coca Cola was first sold in Great Britain. In the last few years the number of brands of Coca Cola has increased. Some of Coca Cola’s existing product range are the followings:➢ Coca Cola➢ Diet Coke➢ Cherry coke➢ Fanta➢ Sprit➢ Lilt➢ Five alive➢ Doctor pepper➢ OasisTask 1 AA collection of necessary Primary and Secondary researchMarketing research means a research estimate of market size and location and consumer attitudes, it also means research into all of an organisation’s marketing activities, such as pricing, advertising, selling and distribution policies. All organisations must do what the market wants in order to be successful. Marketing research provides information that helps organisations to recognise and respond to market opportunities and to develop suitable products to meet market needs. It enables organisations to find out which goods and services people want, the price they are prepared to pay, where they prefer to buy the product and how products should be promoted. Ultimately, by carrying out marketing research, the organisation can identify key factors, which relate to customer satisfaction at three levels. These are: the essential (or core) benefits associated with a product, I.e. what the customer seeks to obtain by buying it, the product specification, including branding, packaging and quality and the additional benefits associated with after-sales service, advertising, customer advice, financing and delivery.There are two type of researches that I will be covering in this task these are Primary research and secondary research.Primary researchPrimary research is known as field research. Date collected through primary research is fresh and original information. Primary research is about getting peoples point of views. Primary research is manly collected by the followings:➢ Experiment- e.g. tasting a new product in a supermarket to see how it tastes.➢ Observation- audit, recording e.g. meters recording TV viewing, watching e.g. measuring the flow of traffic passing the advertising poster.➢ Surveys- questionnaire this could be done face-to-face, postal, telephone. Consumer panel and interviews such as personal and group interviews.In order to collect my primary research I will do a questionnaire. I will give my questionnaire to 100 people in order to get good results to analysis. After completing my questionnaire by asking 100 people I will analysis my results using graphs. The use of the questionnaire is to find out the characteristics of the product in terms of who buys the product, where, how often, how much they spend or the cost they pay for the product. By doing a questionnaire I will find out what age group, gender, social group and ethnic group likes drinking Coca Cola.Secondary researchSecondary research is known as desk research. Secondary research is research that already published. Secondary research is the gathering and analysis of already available information. This type of research is the cheapest form because the data already exists. It is also easier and quicker to find. The problem with secondary research is that information already available is partly out of date, however some times information might not be out of day.I will collect my secondary research by many different ways. I will look at the followings in order to find useful information on Secondary research:➢ Internet➢ AVCE Business book➢ Magazines➢ New papers➢ Leaflets➢ CD-ROM➢ Keynote➢ Coca Cola student handbookWhich data is better?Primary data is better as it normally more accurate, and as it has been carried out just for your purpose it will have more specific information. Also the information that is collected is of a neutral viewpoint.Random or quota sampling which one is better for me to use?Random sampling- this is when every one in the country has an equal chance of being picked. People are picked at random often by computer to complete a survey. The advantage of this is that very one has an equal chance of being picked, but there is there a chance that some of the people that are picked do not use your product or service.Quota sampling- this is where the people picked to do a survey are chosen because they meet certain characteristics, such as age, gender, ethnicity, where they etc.My method of research- the method that I will use is random sampling in the local area. This is so that I can see what a wide range of people think and want in the local area. This is so that I get data that is relevant to me. I will use primary research, in the form of questionnaires. This is because the primary research will be accurate, and more relevant, as it is being carried out for a specific purpose. The reason that I am using a questionnaire is that it allows to gather very detailed information. There some limitations to my research methods, the major one being that it will take a long amount of time.My plans for my new strategy:The flavour that I have decided to launch is banana and I would like to launch a fizzy drink. However before coming to this conclusion I will have to do marketing researches to see if consumers are willing to buy the product I will launch. If consumers state that they want a different flavour I will have to change my decision and make it the flavour they want, so that I can make a profit.Before researching my primary research I will have to consider some important points, these are:Initial considerations:▪ The type of information required▪ The type/ nature of respondents who are to be surveyed▪ The method(s) by which the survey is to be administeredLimited factors including;▪ Overall research objectives▪ Type of data analysis used▪ Budget restrictions▪ Time constraintsFormat▪ Face to face▪ Postal▪ TelephoneLayout▪ Paper quality▪ Size▪ Spacing▪ Typeface▪ Responding methodQuestions content▪ Are the questions necessary?▪ Will the respondent understand the questions?▪ Will the questions elicit the required date?Question phrasing▪ Clear simple and unambiguous words▪ Questions length▪ Biased, leading and double- barrelled questions▪ Negative questions▪ Question containing estimateSequencing▪ Use the initial question to gain interest▪ Move from the general to the specificEnsure that there is a logical flowResponse format▪ Open-ended▪ Closed-ended: multiple-choice, check lists, scaled responsesPre-test and revise▪ Need to be prepared to revise several times▪ Use a sub-sample of the intended respondent groupReliability and validity▪ Reliability = consistencyValidity = degree to which the questionnaire measure what it is suppose to be measuringQuestionnaire1. How old are you?15 '' 20…. 21 '' 30…. 31 '' 40….2. What is your gender?Female…. Male….3. Do you drink Coca Cola?Yes…. No….If yes go on to question 44. Where do you buy Coca Cola from?Cash and Curry…. Supermarket…. Local shop…. Any others please state fromwhere…………………………..5. What size Coca Cola do your prefer to buy?Can…. Small bottle…. Large bottle….6. How often do you drink Coca Cola?Once in a month…. Once a week…. Twice a week…. Nearly everyday….7. How do you find the taste of Coca Cola?Delicious…. Very nice…. Not bad…. Could be better….8. Are you looking forward for a new product of Coca Cola to be introduce?Yes…. No….9. Do you think it would be a good idea to launch a new flavour of Coca Cola?Defiantly…. My favourite flavour already exists I believe there is no need….Not really….Answer question 8 if you think it would be a good idea to launch a new flavour of Coca Cola10. What flavour would you prefer Coca Cola to do new?Strawberry…. Banana…. Raspberry…. Blackcurrant…. Pineapple….Coconut….11. Do you prefer this new flavour to be a soft drink or a fizzy drink?Soft drink…. Fizzy drink….12. Does the price of Coca Cola affect you buying it?Yes…. No….I feel that I have asked effective questions that most of the public will be able to answer. I will be able to gain the required information for my new strategy from it. If people do not agree with my chosen idea than I am ready to change it in order to make good profit.Analysis of questionnaireI gave my questionnaire to 100 people and I got very useful results. Here is an analysis of my results using graphs and explanations:1. How old are you?By looking at the bar chart I can see that out of 100 people that I gave my questionnaire to 49 were at the age group of 15 to 20 this was because most of the people I asked were students. 31 people were at the age group of 21 to 30 these included teachers and friends. Lastly 20 people were at the age group of 31 to 40 these were family friends.2. What is your gender?By looking at this bar chart I can see that out of 100 people that I gave my questionnaire to 52 people were males and 48 people were females.3. Do you drink Coca Cola?By looking at this chart I can see that out of 100 people that I gave my questionnaire to 72 people drink Coca Cola and 28 people do not drink Coca Cola. Having more people drinking Coca Cola is an advantage for me as I can get a lot of information from each person that drinks Coca Cola.The questionnaire that I gave out to 100 people had changed at this stage this was because 28 people stated that they did not drink Coca Cola and they could no longer carry on with the questionnaire. After this point all the analysis will be on 72 people not 100.4. Where do you buy Coca Cola from?By looking at this pie chart I can see that the place that most people I gave my questionnaire to, buy Coca Cola from local shops. 39 people buy Coca Cola from local shops, 15 people buy Coca Cola from supermarkets and 5 people buy Coca Cola from Cash and Curry. 13 stated others, which was pub and restaurant.5. What size Coca Cola do your prefer to buy?By looking at this chart I can see that out of 72 people 34 people prefers to buy Coca Cola in a can, 28 people prefer to buy Coca Cola in a small bottle and 10 people prefer to buy Coca Cola in a large bottle. I believe that the reason why most people prefer to buy Coca Cola in a can is because most of these people are students and young people. These people have stated that the reason why they buy Coca Cola as a can is because they eat it with a small meal. Reasons for people buying small bottles of Coca Cola is because they can drink some of it and close it until they want to drink it again. Reasons for people buying Coca Cola in large bottles is mainly for people that buy for their family and friends.6. How often do you drink Coca Cola?By looking at this chart I can see that out of 72 people 4 person drinks Coca Cola once a month, 13 people drink Coca Cola once a week, 28 people drink Coca Cola twice a week and 27 people drink Coca Cola nearly every day.7. How do you find the taste of Coca Cola?By looking at this chart I can see that out of 72 people 44 people find the taste of Coca Cola delicious, 23 people find the taste very nice, 3 people believe that the taste is not bad and 2 people state that the taste of Coca Cola could be better.8. Are you looking forward for a new product of Coca Cola to be introduced?By looking at this chart I can see that out of 72 people only 1 person was not looking forwards for a new product of Coca Cola to be introduced and 71 people are looking forwards for a new product to me introduced.9. Do you think it would be a good idea to launch a new flavour of Coca Cola?By looking at this bar chart I can see that out of 72 people 62 people defiantly believe that it would be a good idea to launch a new flavour of Coca Cola, 9 people stated that there favourite flavour already exists and that there is no need and only 1 person said not really10. What flavour would you prefer Coca Cola to do new?By looking at the graph I can see that out of 72 people 41 people wanted Coca Cola to do a blackcurrant flavour drink, 6 people wanted strawberry, 7 people wanted banana, 3 people wanted raspberry, 13 people wanted pineapple and 2 people wanted coconut. I can see that the flavour that the majority people wants Coca Cola to do new is blackcurrant.11. Do you prefer this new flavour to be a soft drink or a fizzy drink?By looking at this graph I can see that out of the 72 people 39 people wanted the new flavour to be a soft drink and 33 people wanted the drink to be a fizzy drink.12. Does the price of Coca Cola affect you buying it?By looking at this graph I can see that 45 people stated that the price of Coca Cola affect them from buying it and 27 people sated that the price of Coca Cola does not affect them from buying.Task 1 BAn explanation on how I collected by Primary and Secondary research and how I know my information is correctI found my Primary research by doing my questionnaire. I gave my questionnaire to 100 people, the information that I collected was very useful, I analysed my results by using graphs and explanations of each question I asked. My primary research is reliable information this is because I collected it by myself. An advantage for having a primary research is that the information I collected was not out of date.I found my secondary research by the following methods:|Sources |Why? |Advantage |Disadvantage |Judgement ||Internet |Internet has the most |Coca Cola’s website has |Some information might not |I believe that the || |useful information, |useful information this |be reliable because you |internet was useful it had|| |Coca Cola has its own |includes its history, |don’t necessarily know who |useful information about || |website with useful |range of drinks, what |wrote it. Some information |the history of Coca Cola. || |information. |countries sell Coca |was out of date. |However I couldn’t find || | |Cola. It’s quick, easy | |information about the || | |to use and cheap. | |market share and sales. ||Business AVCE Book |To get general |The book is more |The book has out of date |I believe that the book || |information. The book |reliable because before |information that is not |was only useful to give me|| |contains some |it gets published the |really useful. The book is |an idea of what general || |information about what |information inside the |irrelevant to Coca Cola it |marketing is about. || |secondary research is |book has to be checked |self. The book is also | || |and what sources I |by several people. |expensive. | || |could use. |General information | | || | |given of marketing. | | || | | | | ||Business Magazines |To find relent |Magazines get refreshed |Information was not |Overall I believe that || |information on Coca |nearly every week; it is|reliable and irrelevant to |business magazines are || |Cola e.g. financial |up to date and cheap. |the product. |good because they are up || |matters and | | |to date however I couldn’t|| |advertising. | | |find specific
information || | | | |about Coca Cola. ||Coca Cola student |I believe that this |All the information is |Some information is out of |I believe that this ||handbook |book will contain |on Coca Cola, and there |order. |handbook is very useful as|| |useful and relevant |is a wide range of | |it contains many || |information on Coca |information. | |information on Coca such || |Cola. | | |as packaging, brand, || | | | |history, manufacturing || | | | |etc. ||News papers |In contains information|The information where up|The newspaper didn’t |I believe that the || |about market ...
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information || | | | |about Coca Cola. ||Coca Cola student |I believe that this |All the information is |Some information is out of |I believe that this ||handbook |book will contain |on Coca Cola, and there |order. |handbook is very useful as|| |useful and relevant |is a wide range of | |it contains many || |information on Coca |information. | |information on Coca such || |Cola. | | |as packaging, brand, || | | | |history, manufacturing || | | | |etc. ||News papers |In contains information|The information where up|The newspaper didn’t |I believe that the || |about market industry |to date and newspaper |contain specific |newspaper was not useful || |and data has a greater |was cheap. |information on Coca Cola. |it was irrelevant to Coca || |chance to be in date | | |Cola. || |and useful. | | | ||Coca Cola leaflet |Coca Cola has its own |Information is accurate,|The leaflet didn’t contain |I believe that the || |leaflets, which are |up to date and is free. |a lot of information on |information in the leaflet|| |usually used for | |specific areas. |wasn’t enough and wasn’t || |advertising. | | |that useful. ||Keynote |To gain information on |Keynote is easy to use |The book was for the 2003 |It had plenty information || |various consumers, |and is reliable. |year as some information |such as market size but || |industrial and service | |was out of date, time |this wasn’t useful enough || |sector with in the UK. | |consuming and expensive. |for me as it was for the || | | | |year 2003. ||CD-ROM |To find out information|It has facts and |I couldn’t find any |It contained useful || |on confectionery. |statistics on |necessary information |information but I couldn’t|| | |confectionery market, |specifically on Coca Cola; |find any information on || | |gives accurate |it was also out of date. |Coca Cola. || | |information, which is | | || | |reliable, cheap and easy| | || | |to use | | |Task 1 CAn explanation on how marketing and market research have affected my choice of strategyBefore I started doing my market research I was planning to launch a new flavour of Coca Cola, which was banana, I also decided to do this banana flavour as a fizzy drink. I decided to choice Coca Cola and launch a new flavour of Coca Cola because Coca Cola has a high market share and customers are very familiar with the brand, which is a great advantage for me. Coca Cola is very successful in sales all around the world with its wide range of brands. One of the main reasons that made me chose to do my marketing research on Coca Cola was that people are already aware of it and buy Coca Cola therefore I am sure that people would consider buying my new launched product.After doing my marketing research I have come to a conclusion that my predictions was partly incorrect this was because the majority of the people I gave my questionnaire to preferred blackcurrant flavour rather than banana flavour which I had decided to launch in as a new flavour. I had given the people who completed my questionnaire a range of flavours, which were Strawberry, Banana, Raspberry, Blackcurrant, Pineapple and Coconut. Out of these ranges the majority chose blackcurrant this was where I was incorrect. However I had decided to do my new flavour a fizzy drink and I came to a conclusion were I found out that the majority wanted the new flavour to be fizzy.My target group is teenagers and young aged people, this is because older aged people do not prefer to drink Coca Cola as it could affect their health.In order to attract customers it wouldn’t be a good idea for me to launch a new flavour of Coca Cola as a banana flavour drink because the majority wanted blackcurrant flavour. It is always important to provide customers what they want to buy therefore my new strategy flavour that I will launch will be blackcurrant fizzy flavour.Task 2The external influences affecting Coca Cola A PEST and SWOT analysis and how important these external influences are to Coca ColaExternal influencesExternal influences are organisations or individuals outside the company who are interested in the company. The followings are external influences that affect Coca Cola:➢ Competitors➢ Customers➢ Suppliers➢ Local community➢ Government➢ Retailers➢ ShareholdersCompetitors:Coca Cola’s main competitor is Pepsi. Competition has a bad influence on Coca Cola this is because some customers might want to buy from Pepsi this will influence the Coca Cola company in a bad way, Coca Cola will make less profit. Before making my new strategy I will research Pepsi for example the price of it in order to make sure that consumers will prefer to buy my new strategy instead of Pepsi.Customers:The most important external influence on Coca Cola is customers this is because customers are the key to success without them Coca Cola cannot succeed. It is important that my new strategy is wanted and recognised by consumers so that profit could be made, and to do this I will have to advertise it by using different methods. If customers buy my new strategy than good profit will be made and my new strategy will be high in the market, however if my product is not wanted and brought by customers than it will not make any profit and can no longer succeed.Suppliers:Suppliers also have a big influence on Coca Cola. Suppliers must offer goods at high quality, if the suppliers supply goods at low quality the customers would not want to buy, and also if the suppliers don’t delivery goods on time than customers will be unsatisfied. My new strategy needs to impress the local community, it also needs to delivery goods on time to satisfy customers. My suppliers must be able to do what I have suggested so that Coca Cola does not lose customers, makes a profit and a high growth in the market.Local community:In order to have a good reputation and be top in the market Coca Cola needs to impress the local community. This can be done by helping to keep the environment clean and by providing the community with good value for their money. If Coca Cola makes an action that will affect the local community in a bad way than the reputation will go down and people would stop buying drinks of Coca Cola.Government:All organisations and working individuals have to pay a tax to the government and so does Coca Cola Company. If Coca Cola makes a lot of profit than the company will have to pay more tax to the government but if the company does makes low profit than less tax is given to the government. It is important that I consider the pricing for my new strategy by thinking about the tax.Retailers:Retailers play a big role in making profit for Coca Cola. Coca Cola supplies its products to retailing stores that sell food and drink, this is sold cheaper than it is sold to customers because retailers buy as bulks. The role of the retailing stores is to sell the drinks to consumers this could easily be done by promotion and advertising. It is important that Coca Cola supplies its products to stores that make profit for the company.Shareholders:Shareholders are very important for Coca Cola. Shareholders of Coca Cola Company influences Coca Cola because they help run the company financially they invest money in the company and receive a amount of the profit made. Shareholders do not necessarily work for Coca Cola but when a decision is to be made all shareholders are informed.PESTThe PEST analysis examines changes in a marketplace caused by Political, Economical, Social and Technological factors.P Political change, from one party to another in control- for example the rise in private healthcare and privatisations under Conservative governments.Political Analysis for Coca-Cola:The government plays a role within the operation of manufacturing products in terms of regulations. The parliament is responsible for creating new laws, which all businesses must follow. If companies within the UK do not meet the standards of laws there would be potential fines set by the government.The following are some of the factors that could cause Coca-Cola Company potential fines, if they do not follow them:➢ Changes in laws and regulations, including changes in accounting standards, taxation requirements, (including tax rate changes, new tax laws and revised tax law interpretations) and environmental laws.➢ Changes in the non-alcoholic business environment. These include, without limitation, competitive product and pricing pressures and their ability to gain or maintain share of sales in the global market as a result of action by competitors.➢ Political conditions, especially in international markets, including civil unrest, government changes and restrictions on the ability to transfer capital across borders.➢ Their ability to penetrate developing and emerging markets, which also depends on economic and political conditions, and how well they are able to develop or form strategic business relationship or connection with local bottlers and make necessary infrastructure increments to production facilities, distribution networks, sales equipment and technology.The government legislation and law affects my new strategy because the parliament is responsible for creating new laws, which all businesses must follow. These can affect the ways in which Coca Cola’s market operate and so can affect other businesses. These changes then become law through a finance bill, which becomes an Act of Parliament (a new law). Here are some examples of the laws the government created to protect consumers against exploitation by producers.➢ The Sale Of Goods Act 1997➢ Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994➢ Trade description act.Taxation is lived on selling prices and is calculated at each stage of production. Taxes affects my new strategy because when Coca Cola makes some profit from selling its products some of the profit made is given to the government. If the government raises income taxes, for example, people have less money to spend, which affects sales for Coca Cola when the VAT is increasing, then Coca Cola will have to raise the price of their product so that they don't loose any money.E Economic change, for example a recession creating increased activity at the lower ends of product price ranges. Rate of interest rises depressing business and causing redundancies and lower spending levels.Economic analysis for Coca Cola:Economic will affect my new strategy in different ways, for example if people have high incomes than it is more likely that my strategy will be brought but if people have low incomes than this could be a disadvantage for me as my new strategy might not been brought.➢ Recession: Recession will affect my strategy because consumers will not spend more money on the product because demand will go down.➢ Income: Income will affect my new strategy because people who ever have lower income they tend to look for bargains, which are cheaper. But people who are upper class tend to buy quality products and expensive ones. The questionnaire I designed was for all kinds of people with whichever income.➢ Interest rates: If interest rates increase it will affect my new strategy. This is because it will raise the interest rates when Coca Cola wants to borrow money from the bank. Coca Cola Company might have to increase the price of their products so that they don't loose money. But this could affect Coca Cola, as there will be a probability for less profit to be made.➢ Employment & Unemployment: The relationship between unemployment and demand for Coca Cola is essential to note when considering a marketing strategy for Coca Cola. If the unemployment rate is high, people have less disposable income. Seeing that Coca Cola is not a luxury good, it might not be greatly affected. The only affect it could have on my product is the fact that customers could switch to cheaper brands. If the unemployment rate is low, it means more people are in employment, resulting to greater expenditure levels. If unemployment rate rises, I will have to base my marketing strategy on other features like flavours, taste and etc may be these points could help motivate my consumers to purchase my product.S Social change involves changing attitudes and lifestyles. The increasing number of women going out to work, for example, led to the need for time-saving products for the home.Many citizens are practicing healthier lifestyles. This has affected the non-alcoholic beverage industry in that many are switching to bottled water and diet colas instead of beer and other alcoholic beverages. The need for bottled water and other more convenient and healthy products are in important in the average day-to-day life.Consumers from the ages of 37 to 55 are also increasingly concerned with nutrition. Since many people are reaching an older age in life they are becoming more concerned with healthier lifestyles. This will continue to affect the non-alcoholic beverage industry by increasing the demand overall and in the healthier beverages.Social Analysis for Coca-Cola:Social is the life style and habits of consumers. These days people are living longer because of the improvement of medication and doctors, therefore people will carry on buying goods and products. However as most people focus more on a healthier diet it could affect the sales of my new strategy this is because my new strategy is a fizzy drink and this could decrease the sales. Other than that culture will not affect my new strategy this is because Coca Cola is sold in most of the countries around the world. Coca Cola is also sold in Muslim countries, which does not affect the sales to decease, it is against their religion to drink alcohol and as my new strategy does not contain any alcohol I believe that my new strategy will be sold in these countries.T Technological change - creates opportunities for new products and product improvements and of course new marketing techniques- the Internet, e-commerce.Technology technological changes can improve and affect sales figures on Coca Cola.Technology is getting more and more advanced every day. This creates opportunities for new products and product improvement.Technological Analysis for Coca-Cola:The affects of Technology on Coca Cola:➢ The effectiveness of company's advertising, marketing and promotional programs. The new technology of Internet, television, radio, newspapers, magazines, posters etc, which use special effects for advertising through media. Technology helps to make my new strategy look attractive through every way to nearly everyone around the world, it helps in selling the product.➢ Introduction of cans and plastic bottles have increased sales for Coca-Cola as these are easier to carry and you can bin them once they are used.➢ As the technology is getting advanced there has been introduction of new machineries all the time. Due to introduction of this machineries the production of the Coca-Cola Company has increased tremendously then it was a few years ago.SWOTSWOT stands for Strengths Weakness Opportunities Threats.SWOT analysis is a technique much used in many general management as well as marketing scenarios. SWOT consists of examining the current activities of the organisation- its Strengths and Weakness- and then using this and external research data to set out the Opportunities and Threats that exist.SWOT Analysis for Coca-Cola:Strengths:Coca-Cola has been a complex part of America for over a century. The product's image is loaded with over-romanticizing, and this is an image many people have taken deeply to heart. The Coca-Cola image is displayed on T-shirts, hats, and etc. This extremely recognizable branding is one of Coca-Cola's greatest strengths. "Enjoyed more than 685 million times a day around the world Coca-Cola stands as a simple, yet powerful symbol of quality and enjoyment" Coca Cola is also known very well in many countries around the world and has great sales in all the countries.Additionally, Coca-Cola's bottling system is one of their greatest strengths. It allows them to conduct business on a global scale while at the same time maintain a local approach.The bottling companies are locally owned and operated by independent business people who are authorized to sell products of the Coca-Cola Company. This is because Coca Cola does not have outright ownership of its bottling network, its main source of revenue is the sale of concentrate to its bottlers. Coca Cola always works forwards to produce new type of packaging that could attract customers.Another very important strength of Coca Cola is that Coca Cola has many different brands, some of Coca Cola’s brands are as followings:➢ Original diet Coke➢ Lemon Coke/diet➢ Cherry Coke➢ Vanilla Coke/diet➢ Fanta➢ Lilt➢ Dr Pepper➢ Sprite➢ Schweppes➢ Malvern➢ Rose’s➢ Burn➢ Oasis➢ Kia-Ora➢ Five Alive➢ Disney Winnie the Pooh Roo JuiceThere is a different flavour for every one either fizzy or soft drink. This is a very important strength to Coca Cola as it has many different type of customers such as babies and elderly people who drink soft drinks and teenagers who drink a lot of fizzy drinks.Weaknesses:Although Coca Cola is one of the leading products in the market it has some weaknesses. Coca-Cola on the other side has effects on the teeth’s, which is an issue for health care. It also contains sugar by which continuous drinking of Coca-Cola may cause health problems. Being addicted to Coca-Cola also is a health problem, because drinking of Coca-Cola daily has an effect on your body after few years.Opportunities:Brand recognition is the significant factor affecting Coca Cola competitive position. Coca-Cola's brand name is known well throughout 94% of the world today. The primary concern over the past few years has been to get this name brand to be even better known. Packaging changes have also affected sales and industry positioning, but in general, the public has tended not to be affected by new products.Coca-Cola's bottling system also allows the company to take advantage of infinite growth opportunities around the world. This strategy gives Coca Cola the opportunity to service a large geographic, diverse, area.Threats:Currently, the threat of new viable competitors in the carbonated soft drink industry is not very substantial. The threat of substitutes, however, is a very real threat. The soft drink industry is very strong, but consumers are not necessarily married to it. Possible substitutes that continuously put pressure on both Pepsi and Coke include tea, coffee, juices, milk, and hot chocolate.Task 3Marketing MixThere are marketing tools that every organisation has at its disposal to influence customers and compete affectively in the marketplace. The marketing mix refers to the combination of elements within a firms marketing strategy, which are designed to meet or influence the demand of consumers in order to generate sales. A good marketing programme will have a number of strands, which together make up the marketing mix. There are very important reasons for spending so much on marketing. The main reason is to make the company competitive so that it will do better than its rivals. Good marketing must persuade customers to remember the name of the company so that, instead of only going once they will remember the name come another time and spread the word to others. The marketing mix of any organisation is made up of four components, these are:➢ Product➢ Price➢ Place➢ PromotionAs my new strategy will be new in the market it will have to go through these four components correctly.PRODUCTProduct is the range of products (goods and service) that an organisation offers to the marketplace. Before a new product can be put in to the market decisions have to be made about qualities, timing, products variations, associated services, quality, style and packaging. The range itself will change over a period of time because markets for products and services are dynamic (constantly changing). If the product or service offered does not perform in the required way customers will not want to buy a second time, and the word will get around to prospective customers so that they will not buy even once. The product must be of a quality that not only allows it to be sold in a shop but it also must be seen as some thing that the customers feel they should have.Product themes:A successful way of combining a product mix is the development of product themes. This has become increasingly popular in the leisure industry, where theme parks present all of their entertainments under a single co-ordinated.Complementary or competitive products:Some products are complementary to one another and others are competitive. Complementary products sell together. Complementary products are products that are different but they are sold under one roof such as retailers that sell sports equipment also sell trainers and clothes. In this situation customers are persuaded to buy some of the other items. In fact customers expect this range and decide to shop at a place that has different type of products under one roof. Competitive products are products that compete with each other for the consumer’s attention. Pricing at lower prices can do competition.Updating the product range:An organisation will constantly prune and update its product range and mix to stay in the market. The extent of the mix is another important issue. If there are too few products there is the danger that one going out of date will seriously harm total sales. If there are too many products the range becomes different to organise and will fragment production too much. It is important to find the middle but it is very risky to only have one product in one market. This could mean the failure of the organisation.Product substations:This can mean one of the following two:➢ The replacement of one product or product model by another within the organisations range.➢ The decision by consumers to change from one brand to another.My new strategy:➢ Flavour- by carrying out a questionnaire and analysing it I came to a conclusion that the flavour of my new strategy will be blackcurrant and it will be a fizzy drink.➢ Size- again here by carrying out my questionnaire I found out that most of the people like to buy Coca Cola as a can, so I decided to start my new strategy as a can drink, however if my strategy is successful I will use this flavour to do all the other size of Coca Cola such as different sizes of bottles.➢ Name- deciding the name is my own idea because I did not ask this question in my questionnaire. I have decided to call my new strategy flavour ‘Blackcurrant Coke’.➢ Logo- I will keep the original logo of Coca Cola this is because it will easily be recognised and this will help to attract consumers, as Coca Cola is a well-known company around the world.➢ Packaging- packaging is very important, as it is the first thing that catches people’s eyes. I will try to make my new strategy attractive as I can, I will include pictures of blackcurrant so it will show customers immediately what flavour it is.PRICINGPricing is a key element in the marketing mix. In my questionnaire I included a questions about pricing I asked people if pricing of Coca Cola affects them from buying and the majority said it does affect. Pricing of a product affects the amount of product being sold. If customers consider that the price is too high than sales will be stifled. If customers consider the price is too low than sales will also stifled. Before pricing my new strategy I will have to research how much profit I would make by selling only one can of drink, and work my way up by calculating how much profit I would make after paying my expenses. There are three main factors that will influence my pricing decisions for my new strategy, these are:➢ The level and strength of consumer demand➢ The level of competition among producers to supply the market➢ To try to break into a new market➢ To try to increase its market share➢ To try to increase its profits➢ To make sure all its costs are covered and a particular profit is earnedThe particular business objective being sought will affect which of the pricing strategies is used. The price the business chooses to charge may not be related to the cost of manufacturing the product. Sometimes they might charge what they think the customer will be prepared to pay and this may be well above what it has cost them to manufacture the product.There are different types of pricing methods, some are the followings:Cost-plus prices:This is fixing a price to a product by adding a certain percentage onto the cost of the product. For example, if a can of Coke costs the producers 25p to make, then I will add 50% to that product so that I can make some profit.Penetration pricing:This is selling products at very low prices to encourage people to buy it. Once an organisation got people interested in the product, they will then continue to buy it and the organisation can put the prices up. This strategy 'pulls' customers into shops.Skimming Pricing:This is where products are deliberately sold at high prices to give the customer the illusion that it is also a high quality product. However, this is not always true. Producers are deliberately making smaller quantities of the product to gain high profit margins.Competition-based Pricing:This is where an organisation sets their prices, depending on what the competition are charging. They tend to set their prices similar to their competitors.Price Discrimination:The same product being sold at different prices to different segments of the market, e.g. Mobile Phone companies have 'peak' (expensive) and 'off-peak' (cheap) times, and they charge more or less depending on when you use your phone.Non-Price Competition:Competing with the competition using other strategies apart from price (i.e. packaging, sales promotion etc).Premium Pricing:This is were an organisation uses a high price where there is uniqueness about the product or service. This approach is used where a substantial competitive advantage exists. Such high prices are charge for certain luxuries such as first class flights and holidays.Economy Pricing:The cost of marketing and manufacture are kept at a minimum. Supermarkets often have economy brands for soups, spaghetti, etc.Psychological Pricing:This approach is used when the marketer wants the consumer to respond on an emotional, rather than rational basis. For example 'price point perspective' 99 pence not one pound.Optional Product Pricing:Companies will attempt to increase the amount a customer spends once they have started to buy. Optional 'extras' increase the overall price of the product or service. For example airlines will charge for optional extras such as guaranteeing a window seat or reserving a row of seats next to each other.Captive Product Pricing:Where products have complements, companies will charge a premium price where the consumer is captured. For example a razor manufacturer will charge a low price and recoup its margin (and more)For my organisations I am going to be using Cost-plus pricing. I have chosen this one because I feel that it is realistically possible for my business. I hope to achieve an approximate profit margin of £500 for the first 3 months. I also hope to use Non-Price Competition as well, as I feel that in my organisation I am going to be able to achieve this from the beginning. I can package my products differently, and I hope to offer excellent customer service by employing friendly staff.I have decided to sell my Blackcurrant fizzy drink for 45p this is because most of the Coca Cola can drinks and other can drinks are 50p and as my product will be sold cheaper I believe it would be an advantage to me. If people are willing to pay 50p for other flavours of can Coca Cola than 45p for my new strategy will be perfect. In additional I will have special offers such as can of Cokes in one packet for cheaper.PLACEIt is very important for an organisation to analysis and researches the best way to make consumers meet with its product(s). It is also important to deliver products to consumers at the right time, it is no good to deliver things after demand this could also be a poor reputation to the organisation.The producer of a manufactured item or a service can sell to the customers in two very different ways, these are:➢ Indirect sales- selling by indirect methods means using an intermediary (middle person) such as a retailing or agent. In other words the goods are sent through national and even international distribution channels before they reach the consumer.➢ Direct sales- this involves the producer of the goods or service selling direct to the consumer.Place or distribution policy:The reason for the alternative heading is that there are different problems here, these are:➢ The manufacture of a product has to physically move it to where it is convenient for the customer i.e. to shops around the country.➢ The provider of a service usually requires the customer to come to him or her i.e. the retailer, the leisure centre or cinema manager. So a place is required.➢ The charity fundraiser has both needs- to have a physical presence in a high street e.g. Oxfam shops and a site address to where donation can be sent.Distribution policy:➢ The number of outlets- an organisation needs to decide whether it should be local, selective or aim to saturate the market.➢ The area to be covered- an organisation must also decide whether to stay local, or go national or even international. The logistics may depend on the newness of the firm, or its size, the location of its customers or the extent of the ambition of the management.➢ Transport- the organisation must finally decide how to move its products. The standard alternatives are road, rail, sea or air, but there are choices within these. The organisation must decide whether it should own its own transport methods, or lease them, or simply call a carrier firm to deliver the products.Place or site policy- the physical environment:Here are some considerations for choosing the best site:➢ The physical environment- can the organisation be reached by customers and staffs?➢ The right part of the town- is it fashionable, safe for customers to use etc?➢ The right neighbours- is the retailing stores around friendly?➢ The competition- is there any competitors? Does the organisation want to be far from its competitors.By analysing my questionnaire I found out that most people buy Coca Cola from local shops and from supermarkets. Coca Cola tries to saturate the market by selling through every conceivable outlet. I will make sure that nearly all local shops and supermarkets have my new strategy in stock because most customers will get attracted in these retailing outlets. However it is very important that other type of outlets are aware and stock my new strategy. I will make sure that my new strategy is available in every outlet. This will help me because it will make customers aware of my new strategy.Because Coca cola is sold all around the world I will make sure that my new strategy is sold in different countries around the world this will be if my new strategy is successful in the UK.Coca Cola has its own vans that belong to the company which they use to do their delivery.The physical way of moving my new strategy will mainly be by vans, this is because vans can carry plenty of my new strategy and is one of the cheapest was of moving my new strategy. However vans could be a bit slow as there could be traffic and the outlet, which gives orders, could be far, this will be a disadvantage for me. In order to make my deliveries on time I will send my delivery vans the same day as I receive demand for my new strategy.PROMOTIONPromotion consists of number of techniques, which create awareness of the products and persuade the potential customer to make the buying decision. It involves all communication with actual and potential consumers. The techniques include advertising, branding, packaging, public/publicity relations sales promotions and merchandising. Promotion has an enormous affect on a specific product. If a product does plenty of promotion than the product is likely to be very successful.Promotions have a mix of their own because there is a wide range of choices of promotional methods available, these are:➢ Personal selling: personal presentation of the organisation and its products to customers or prospective customers.➢ Advertising: a paid form of non-personal presentation, using various media such as the press, television, radio, cinema, posters and the Internet. Advertising agencies sometimes refers to these methods as above the line adverting.➢ Sales promotions: inducements or incentives outside of the normal terms of trade to encourage sales within a specific time period (below the line).➢ Public relations: attempts to gain favourable, unpaid publicity, usually in the media and to limit any potentially unfavourable comments or activities.Above the line: this is where promotion aims at mass markets through independent media such as television, radio, newspapers, posters etc.Below the line: this is where promotion refers to the use of media over which producing firms have more control, this allows them to target their products more closely at particular consumers, for example exhibitions, packaging, in store sales promotions, free gifts and special offers.The promotions and advertisements of Coca Cola Company are all over the world. Coca Cola choices the best ways to make consumers meet with its products.Advertising:Advertising has its critics and its supports. Its critics would say that it is expensive and pushes up the price of the product being advertised, it can offend people and persuade consumers to buy products, which they cannot afford. Its supporters on the other hand claim that it increases demand, stimulates competition and lower prices. Both points of views are true.It is important to identify the right advertising method. Before using any methods I must ask my self some questions. I need to identify how I am going to put my message across to my target group, how I would attract and influence my chosen target group. As technology is growing rapidly, there are wider ranges of methods of advertising that I could choose from. Selection is critical and must be based on the following:➢ Is the cover to be local, regional or national?➢ Does the overall cost rule out any medium?➢ Which social group(s) does the medium reach?➢ How many people are reached and at what cost per person?➢ How often can the message by put over? (Hourly, daily, weekly etc)➢ Can the message be detailed/how long life will it have?➢ What is the image/status/prestige of the medium?➢ How important are sound, movement, colour and size?➢ Will the results be miserable e.g. replies to one advertisement?To begin with I will advertise my new strategy on radio because this method is cheap and many people listen to the radio either at home, in their cars. My target group who are manly teenagers and young aged people listen to radio this method of advertising will help me to make my target group meet my new strategy. My message will be put through every thirty minutes. By doing my secondary research I found out that the Coca Cola Company’s website is a very useful way of promoting my new strategy. As this website belongs to Coca Cola it would be very cheap for me to advertise my new strategy on the website. I believe that the Internet will help to bring awareness of my product as the Internet is used by millions of people are the world. My new strategy will be on the website declines, I will make sure that my new strategy attractive as I can to attract people. Attractively designed posters are a good way of advertising my new strategy I will use this type of advertising in outlets that sell my new strategy. This type of advertising will be cheap and I believe that it would have a good affect on sales if my posters are designed attractively. My posters will be on windows of outlets for more than a month to aware customers that there is a new product of Coca Cola. Advertising on television is the most affect way of making consumers aware of my new strategy however this method is very expensive. If my new strategy is successful and makes good profit I will start advertising on television.Branding:Branding is a method of identifying one product service from another by creating a name, term, design or symbol (logo), which is unique to that product or service. It creates an image which differentiates the product in the consumers mind from the products of competitors.Advantages of branding:The establishment of brand name will save on future advertising costs. The product has become known. To customers a brand name represents a known quality product, the nest one bought being the same as the previous ones. To manufacturers branding allows a range of product to be offered, to different market segments. It also allows brand loyalty to be established, i.e. some consumers always specify and buy the same name. They have a perception of the product, which satisfies their needs.Packaging:There are two important reasons for packaging products, these are:➢ Packing- this is for protection, it saves the product from damage/decay. Packing protects against breakage, pilferage, bacteria, chemical change (such as shrinkage, discolouration, rust), explosions and so on, all of which can create the marketing problems of lost reputation, lost orders and customer complaints.➢ Packaging- this is for promotion, it attracts the consumer’s eyes. Packaging enhances appearance using colour, shape and size. It carries the brand’s name, product photograph and information re product use. It may allow the product to be seen whilst keeping it clean, offer ease of use advantages and continue to have, marketing value even after the product has been used for example biscuit tins. A change to a product pack can even increase sales and product life cycle.I will try to make my new strategy as attractive as possible to attract customers. I will include Coca Cola’s logo this is to aware customers that it is a brand of Coca Cola. I decided to make the colour of the can drinks black with fizzy bobbles to inform consumers that it is a fizzy drink. I will include blackcurrant pictures again to inform consumers that the drink is blackcurrant flavour.Sales promotion methods:A sales promotion may be defined as an attempt to create interest in and stimulate sales of a product or service by a non-standard activity in a limited period of time, or with a controlled amount or products. In many ways a sales promotion is a link between advertising and direct selling. It gives the advertiser an extra benefit to draw to the consumer’s attention, persuading them to go to the outlets, and allows the manufacturer’s sales person to revitalise the interest of the retailer by having something new to discuss or offer. Sales promotions are located in a area of an outlet where it is very possible that consumers will see, point of sales is a excellent example of sales promotion because as people wait to be served they look around and will get attracted by the sales promotion.There are two types of promotion, these are:➢ Trade promotions- manufactures promotion to retailers and wholesalers➢ Consumer promotion- manufacturers and/or retailers promoting to the final consumersTrade promotions:The object of trade promotion is to get the retailer to stock a product, or more of a product, or to stay loyal to the manufacturer. Types of trade promotions include:➢ Quality discounts- if more than a stated number of items per period are ordered by the buyer, a discount or prize will be given➢ Tailor-made promotions linked to one store, i.e. the manufacturer puts on a special display free of charge in the shop.Consumer promotion:The objective of a consumer promotion is for the seller to raise the long-term level of sales by offering some added value to the purchase of a product in the short term. A few examples are:➢ Money off this or the nest purchase, or two for the price of one➢ Coupons or samples delivered through the door➢ Competitions, with attention-gaining prizes➢ Free gifts➢ Loyalty incentives that reward regular customers.In order to sell my new strategy to outlets I will do quality discounts, I will reduce the price of my new strategy if my customers buys a lot. If my sales fall I will start to do sales promotions in order to keep sales up. I will do promotions such as by one get one-half price. I will try my best to make consumers buy my new strategy by doing different type of promotion at the needed times.Publicity:Publicity is gained by being newsworthy. As such it is never quite under the control of the marketing team. It depends upon what others say about the product or organisation.The significant different between advertising and publicity are:➢ Advertising is a known cost for an agreed amount of contract with the market. Publicity tends to be non-controllable, often unplanned.➢ Publicity has far greater impact in that it appears to come from a third person, and is thus more believable. If the press favourable review may curtail sales!➢ Publicity catches readers off guard, whereas when they read an advert they know they are being sold to.➢ Advertising allows the reputation of the message several times, whereas publicity has the limited life of anew story.➢ Both advertising and publicity can dramatise the product to create interest.Public relations (PR):Public relations aims to safeguard and promote the image of the whole organisation, as well as its individual products. In the political world it has become known as spin. It is an extension of the publicity approach in that it tries to c-ordinate the effort.It may consist of press releases about the organisation’s achievements, whether they are new product concepts, technological breakthroughs or environmental concerns. Other approaches may involve appearance on radio and TV in relevant programmes or in the news.Sponsorship:Sponsorship is where an organization pays to be associated with a particular event, cause or image. Companies will sponsor sports events such as the Olympics or Formula One. The attributes of the event are then associated with the sponsoring organization.For more than 65 years, Coca-Cola has been a sponsor of the Olympics.Trade Fairs and Exhibition:Such approaches are very good for making new contacts and renewing old ones. Companies will seldom sell much at such events. The purpose is to increase awareness and to encourage trial.Direct Mail:Direct mail is very highly focussed upon targeting consumers based upon a database. As with all marketing, the potential consumer is 'defined' based upon a series of attributes and similarities. Creative agencies work with marketers to design a highly focussed communication in the form of a mailing. The mail is sent out to the potential consumers and responses are carefully monitored.Personal SellingPersonal Selling is an effective way to manage personal customer relationships. Sales people selling to the customer on a one to one basis. The sales person acts on behalf of the organization. They tend to be well trained in the approaches and techniques of personal selling. However sales people are very expensive and should only be used where there is a genuine return on investment. For example salesmen are often used to sell cars or home improvements where the margin is high. Advantages being that questions can be answered straight away, problems can be sorted out at a personal level. The sales man remains with the customers’ case through to the completion of the sale.The procedure of personal selling • Determine what is to be sold • Plan a programme • Prepare a sales call (making appointments etc.) • Record the interviewMarketing principlesThere are many priorities within an organisation, but if it is truly marketing orientated, many of the following principles will be high on its agenda. The marketing principles are the followings:➢ Customer satisfaction➢ Customer perception➢ Customer needs and expectations➢ Generating income or profit➢ Satisfactory growth➢ Coordinating marketing activities➢ Awareness of change➢ Awareness of legal constrains➢ Analysis of the competitionCustomer satisfaction:Marketing research must establish whether customer’s expectations are satisfied by current product or service. Coca Cola has plenty of customers at different age groups. Customers find Coca Cola drinks good quality with reasonable pricing. The packaging also satisfies customers as it is attractively designed.Customer perception:Coca Cola is a product that is known all around the world its brand and image is very famous. Customers receive good value for their money this is clearly seen as people do not stop buying, from many different type of outlets such as supermarkets and other outlets.Customer needs and expectations:Anticipating the future and forecasting tomorrow’s customer needs and expectations is the task of marketing research. It is important that Coca Cola researches their customer’s needs and expectations so that they can have customer satisfaction and increase sales. Coca Cola would loss a lot of profit if it does not meet customers needs and expectations.General income or profit:This principle clearly sates that the need of the organisation is either to be profitable, to generate income for growth and to satisfy internal and external customers in different ways. Or to generate as much income a possible these types of organisations are charities. Coca Cola needs a good amount of profit in order to keep running the business. I believe that my new strategy will generate good income for the firm.Satisfactory growth:This can be achieved by entering new markets or creating new products or both. Growth can also occur by expanding in existing markets or linking with another organisation. In order to achieve satisfactory growth Coca Cola creates new products, my new strategy will help to achieve this affectively.Coordinating marketing activities:Having a clear plan of action is essential for an organisation. Coca Cola has a clear plan of the actions it is willing to take. This is done with the ideas of all the functional areas.Awareness of changes:Coca Cola is aware of things that are happening to affect its market in all ways. The PEST analysis helps to examine changes in a market place. Coca Cola is aware of all these factories as they have a large affect on the organisation. If Coca Cola are not aware of these factories than it could it could affect its organisation negatively. Coca Cola could loss so much such as profit, reputation, could even have problems with the government.Awareness of legal constraints:All organisations must be aware and understand the laws of the country they are operating in. Coca Cola is aware of the laws of the countries they operate in. as I am introducing a new product I must be aware of all the laws so that I do not end up being against the law.Analysis of the competitors:It is important that Coca Cola know who its competitors are and what benefits they are offering is essential for an organisation.Product Life CycleProduct life cycle is some stages that a new product should go through in order to be successful. A new product must do as much as it can in order to stay in the market for longer. A product life cycle has five stages that it should go through to be successful, these are:➢ Development➢ The launch➢ Growth➢ Maturity➢ DeclineDevelopment:No product or service can be decided in one day and be made the second day. Each new product idea has to be researched, designed and tested to be able to stay in the product life cycle. Introducing a new product to the market can take weeks, months and even years. All of this requires funding, so it is important to calculate the extent of such costs when making the decision to develop a product. Costs include the followings:➢ Market research, to establish whether the intended customers like the idea in this form.➢ Technology research, to bring the product from the drawing board, through Research and Development, to test markets condition.➢ Test market (a limited trail run), where many aspects of the new product are tried out, but in particular the acceptability of the product itself and the price.➢ Executive time, to co-ordinate the research work and make decisions on go ahead or discontinue.In the development stage there will be no profit at all, money from the organisation will start to be spent on expenses, the sales line will not be seen in the development stage.The launch:This is where the new product is introduced to its market. This is a test for the new product, if the product is successful and bought by consumers than the product will be able to move forwards to other stages. But if the product is not successful than the product will most probably not make it through the life cycle. Test markets often do well because consumers are curious people, they will try things once. The diagram above shows a slow sales uptake and a deeper line in the profit line because it is costly to launch a new product. The costs of a product to be launched are:➢ The product must be made available both to the trade and to the public, the costs of distribution are high.➢ No one is aware of the product, it must be promoted and sold to the trade and the public. Promotion costs are expensive.Growth:If the product is successful it can make its way to the growth stage. Promotions still are to be done in order to be more successful. Sales force activity will take the product into all the required outlets and sales to the final consumers will be influenced by the ‘newness’ factor. Competitors are attracted into the market with very similar offerings. The additional costs of promotion and sales force effort in keeping the sales curve rising may be large, especially in warding off competitors’ attract. Nothing will last forever and changes influence the new products market position. At thus stage the sales curve will begin to level off as the new product excitement is lost and the competition reacts to the success of the product. There will be a movement of the profit line it will increase a little bit from the launch to the growth.Maturity:This stage is more of a plateau than a curve and its length varies depending on the product. Once the product reaches at this stage it is important to find ways to keep it there as long as profitably possible. Those products that survive the earlier stages tend to spend longest in this phase.At this stage the sales are at the highest level and the profit is at a good stage, the organisation should have enough profit to keep and to pay expenses. Once distribution has been achieved, the organisation will battle to maintain customer loyalty. Through this light it is essential to watch the profitability level. Producers attempt to differentiate products and brands are key to this. Price wars and intense competition occur. At this point the market reaches saturation. It is also important to have a good image so that customers believe that the organisation has good quality products.Decline:This is the stage that all organisations try not to come to but eventually the product or service will reach to its end. Sales will fall as newer technically improved or move fashionable ideas appear in the market place. Profit will no longer be made. Profits can be improved by reducing marketing spend and cost cutting.The following table shows How to Measure the Stage of the Product Life Cycle|Stage |No. of Competitors |Market Growth (%) |Profits |Market Size |Investment ||Product Introduction |Few |Highest |0 |Small |High ||Development |Growing Fast |High |Low |Small |High ||Maturation |Stable |Low |High |Largest |Stable ||Decline |Reducing |Negative |High & Low |Declining |Stopped |What stage is Coca Cola and what are the advantages of any organisation following the product life cycleCoca Cola is at the maturity stage because it keeps making profit and this helps to repeat business. Launching a new product of Coca Cola will be a great advantage for me as Coca Cola is a well-known organisation and the name ‘Coca Cola’ in consumers eyes means an organisation that has quality products. The product life cycle is an advantage for me because by following the first stages I can see if my product is successful and if it would be successful in the future. There is no point of me wasting money and time on my new strategy if it is not going to be successful. An advantages to all products and organisations that use and follow the product life cycle is that they can clearly see where they are (what stage?) and what they can do in order to stay in the maturity stage of they make it there. The product life cycle helps me to plan my marketing strategy. Another advantage of product life cycle is that it shows the sales of product at each stage.Problems with product life cycle➢ In reality very few products follow the product life cycle, they believe that the process it long.➢ The length of each stage varies enormously, this depends on the product. If the product is aimed to be successful it would want to stay in the development and the launch stage for a long period of time to be very successful. The length of a product being in the maturity stage also depends on the product, if it is successful and meets customer’s needs and expectations than it will stay longer.➢ Eventually all products have to go through the decline stage, no product can be in the product life cycle forever.➢ The decisions of marketers can change the stage, for example from maturity to decline by price-cutting.➢ Not all products go through each stage. Some go from introduction to decline.➢ It can be difficult to tell which stage the product is in.The Boston MatrixThe Boston Matrix is a portfolio planning model developed by Bruce Henderson of the Boston Consulting Group in the early 1970’s. The Boston Matrix provides a framework for allocating resources among different business units and allows one to compare many business units at a glance. It is based on the observation that a company’s business units can be classified into four categories based on combinations of market growth and market share relative to the largest competitor, hence the name “growth-share”. Market growth serves as a proxy for industry attractiveness, and relative market share serves as a proxy for competitive advantages. Placing products on the Boston Matrix results in four categories in a portfolio in a company, these are:DogsThe term "Dogs" refers to businesses or products that have low relative share in unattractive, low-growth markets. Low market share may suggest falling appeal, or never come up to expectation in the first place. Or may generate enough cash to break-even. They do not generate cash for the company, they tend to absorb it. Spice girls are now in the dog category. At one time the spice girls were making an incredible amount of product and was well known, where as today they are over. They do not make any new songs to get into a higher category.Cash CowsCash Cows are low-growth businesses or products with a relatively high market share. These are mature, successful businesses with relatively little need for investment. They need to be managed for continued profit, so that they continue to generate the strong cash flows that the company needs for its Stars. Hence products are at the Cash Cow category they are making a good amount of profit but do not do a lot of promotion, which makes it have a low market share.Question MarksQuestion Marks are businesses or products with low market share but which operate in higher growth markets. This suggests that they have potential, but may require substantial investment in order to grow market share at the expense of more powerful competitors. Question Marks have the worse cash characteristic of all because of the low growth. Question Marks could be a new product in a promising market, or perhaps a product that is having difficulty in getting established.StarsStars are high growth and high market share businesses or products competing in markets where they are relatively strong compared with the competition. Sales are good, with the potential for market leadership. Often they need heavy investment to sustain their growth. The market itself is expanding. For a product that is in the Starts category to stay in its place needs to do things to stay as a start, launching new products is an excellent way of this, advertising and other promotions could have a large affect too.Advantages of Boston Matrix:➢ Although the Boston Matrix is the oldest of all the matrices, it is still the best known and the most common portfolio matrix to be taught around the world.➢ Comparisons can be made using the matrix to assess the relative growth rate of businesses against the industry average and to check the portfolio for financial balance.➢ The Boston Matrix is simple and elegant. As a graphic device, it is fun to use and drives decision-making.➢ The principles of portfolio planning are correct and segment level within business units.➢ The Boston Matrix complements further portfolio analysis.➢ It remains a useful and quick guide to resource allocation by market or product for a company or competitors.➢ The matrix is a simplifier of a host of business factors by selecting two as the main focus '' growth and market share and shows simply and vividly how to apply them to develop strategies.Disadvantages of Boston Matrix:Various limitations and criticisms have been made of the Boston Matrix especially as it was the first of a number of matrices developed to assist in strategic planning. Many people have published comprehensive summaries of these limitations. Numerous factors must be taken into consideration with the growth-share matrix, which depends on the relationship between cash flow and the two variables of relative market share and market growth.Market Share may not be correlated with Cash Flow begging the fact that the Boston Matrix calls for the desirability of high market shares. The relationship between cash flow and market share may be weak due to a number of factors including:➢ Experience effects may be very small.➢ Competitors may have access to lower cost materials unrelated to their relative share position.➢ Low market share producers may be on steeper experience curves due to superior production technology.➢ Differences in experience on costs may have little impact on costs being reduced as other companies may easily and quickly adopt innovations in production technology.➢ Strategic factors other than relative market share may affect profit margins.➢ The growth-share matrix is based on the assumption that high rates of growth use large cash resources and that maturity of the life cycle brings about the expected profit returns. This may be incorrect due to various reasons: o Capital intensity may be low and the business/product could be grown without major cash outlay o High entry barriers may exist so margins may be sustainable and big enough to produce a positive cash flow and a growth at the same time. o Industry overcapacity and price competition may depress prices in maturity. o Legal restrictions may reduce profitability o Seasonal or cyclical patterns could cause imbalances in profitability and cash flowDisadvantages of Market Share:➢ High market share is only one measure of the strength of a business/product. Other factors may be more importantDisadvantages of Market Growth:➢ Market growth is not the only factor or necessarily the most important factor when assessing the attractiveness of a market.➢ A fast growing market is not necessarily an attractive one. Growth markets attract new entrants and if capacity exceeds demand then the market may become a low margin one and therefore unattractive. A high growth market may lack size and stability.There should be some kind of balance within a company's portfolio. Dogs should be avoided completely; Cash Cows, Problem Children and Stars need to be kept in a kind of equilibrium. The funds generated by a company's Cash Cows are used to turn problem children into Stars, which may eventually become Cash Cows. Some of the Problem Children will become Dogs, and this means that a larger contribution from the successful products will be needed to compensate for the failures.What category is Coca Cola in the Boston Matrix?Coca Cola is in the Stars category of the Boston Matrix because it has a big percent of the market share and it is constantly making profit for the company. This is also because of the feedback I have received from my research. Coca Cola has been making a large amount of profit and has a high percent of the market due to the period of time that it has been in its industry, Coca Cola has been operating since 1886. This is also due to Coca Cola launching new products constantly. In China Coca Cola has over 50 percent of the market.In accordance with the Boston Matrix, I would recommend the following strategies for my organisation’s products in each category:Dog Strategy: Either invest to earn market share or consider disinvesting.Star Strategy: Invest profits for future growth.Question Mark Strategy: Either invest heavily in order to push the products to star status, or divest in order to avoid it becoming a Dog.Cash Cow Strategy: Use profits to finance new products and growth elsewhere.Ansoff MatrixThe Ansoff Matrix is a tool that helps businesses decide their product and market growth strategy. It was first published in the Harvard Business Review in 1957 in an article called ‘Strategies for Diversification’. It tends to be used by marketers who have plans for growth. Ansoff’s product/market growth matrix suggests that a business’ attempts to grow depend on whether it markets new or existing products in new or existing markets. The Ansoff matrix offers four strategic ways of doing this; this is shown in the Ansoff matrix diagram below:The x-axis of the matrix refers to the products of the company and they are classified as being either present/existing or new. The y-axis refers to the markets being assessed and they are classified as present or new, where present refers to existing.The output from the Ansoff Matrix is a series of suggested growth strategies that set the direction for the business strategy. These are described below:Market penetration:Market penetration is the name given to a growth strategy where an organisation focuses on selling existing products into existing markets. Market penetration aims to achieve four main objectives, these are:➢ Maintain or increase the market share of current products '' this can be achieved by a combination of competitive pricing strategies, advertising, sales promotion and perhaps more resources dedicated to personal selling.➢ Secure dominance of growth markets.➢ Restructure a mature market by driving out competitors - this would require a much more aggressive promotional campaign, supported by a pricing strategy designed to make the market unattractive for competitors.➢ Increase usage by existing customers '' for example by introducing loyalty schemesMarket development:Market development is the name given to a growth strategy where an organisation aims to sell its existing products into new markets. There are many possible ways of aiming this strategy. Some ways could be the followings:➢ New geographical markets, for example exporting the product to a new country➢ New product dimensions or packaging➢ New distribution channels➢ Different pricing policies to attract different customers or create new market segments.Product development:Product development is the name given to a growth strategy where a business aims to introduce new products into existing markets. This strategy may require the development of new competencies and requires the business to develop modified products, which can appeal to existing markets. This is the most common one used by companies when they want to increase sales and increase market share. Product development is also easier to do as it only aims to develop a new product into the existing market, which will be quick and easy to do, because the company has already been in the market.Diversification:Diversification is the name given to the growth strategy where a business markets new products in new markets. This is an inherently more risk strategy because the business is moving into markets in which it has little or no experience. For a business to adopt a diversification strategy, therefore, it must have a clear idea about what it expects to gain from the strategy and an honest assessment of the risks.Advantages of Ansoff Matrix➢ The Ansoff matrix helps an organisation to achieve its aims and objectives.➢ It is easy to use and understand.➢ It clearly provides an overview of an organisation’s positionDisadvantages of the Ansoff MatrixAnsoff’s own criticism of this approach is that it can tend to be ‘paralysis by analysis’ where strategic plans are made and remain unimplemented, and profits and growth continue to stagnate. Organisation that follow a conglomerate strategy, may improve the organisation’s position but if this strategy is pursued into growth fields the earnings of the stockholders is frequently dilutedWhat stage is my new strategy at?My new strategy is at the Product development stage this is because I am developing a new product to my existing customers. In order to satisfy my customers and to get their point of views I did questionnaire this was to see is they were looking forward for a new product of Coca Cola. My research went successfully.The table below is an Ansoff Matrix of Coca Cola. It shows the products of Coca Cola in each category of the Ansoff Matrix. By looking at this table below I can see that Diet Coke is in the Market penetration section. Coca Cola Vanilla and Fanta Icy Lemon is in the Product development section. Winnie the Pooh Roo juice and Powerade is in the Diversification section and in the Market development section there is Coca Cola share size 1.25 litre Bottle.How would I check if my new strategy was successful?It is important for me to do research in order to find out if my product has been successful in its market, so that I can either carry on with marketing my product or stop marketing if it is making no profit and is making a loss. Checking if my strategy was successful could also help me to make improvements and this way I would make more profit. I could check if my strategy was successful by different ways, such as:➢ Analysis sales performance➢ Customer feedback➢ Looking at the market share of the Coca Cola CompanyAnalysis sales performance:This is the most useful way of checking if my strategy is successful or not. Looking at annual reports would directly tell me whether my strategy is successful or not. If my annual reports show that my strategy has made a profit this means that my strategy is successful however if the annual reports show that my product hasn’t made any profit or even a loss this means that my strategy was not successful. Action will need to be taken.Customer feedback:This is a very useful was of getting feedback about my strategy as in some cases I could get into direct contact with my customers. I could get feedback from customers by looking and doing the followings:➢ Looking at the complaints '' looking at customer complaints can tell me if customers are satisfied with my strategy or if they aren’t satisfied. If there are a lot of complaints and some are serious this means that some improvements have to be made, and if there are a few complaints and not serious ones this will show me that my strategy is being successful.➢ Asking customers directly what they think '' this method will be useful as open questions will be asked and I believe that good results will be gathered. This can be done by getting members of staffs to stay in different outlets that sell my strategy and get them to ask questions to consumers. Staffs could ask whether they buy my new strategy, if they like it etc.➢ Suggestion box- suggestion boxes can be put in outlets that sell my strategy, consumers will be allowed to write what they like.➢ Questionnaires'' questionnaire are useful as it is a primary data, useful questions will be asked and closed questioned will be asked. It will be easy for me to analysis.Looking at the market share of the Coca Cola Company:Doing this again could show me if my strategy has been successful, because if after I introduce my new strategy the market share of Coca Col’s increases this would possibly mean that my strategy has been successful and has affected the overall Coca Cola Company top have a higher market share.ConclusionFor this assignment I chose to launch a new product of Coca Cola. I did my primary research, which was conducting a questionnaire that included 10 questions and this questionnaire was given out to one hundred people. In order to do my Secondary research I looked at a variety of sources. Some of these sources were useful, some were out of date and some were not useful. After giving my questionnaire to one hundred people I found out that customers of Coca Cola wanted a new product to be launched but majority wanted me to launch blackcurrant flavour and fizzy drink. At the beginning I wasn’t planning to make the flavour blackcurrant but I had to change it because it is the choice of customers and they have to be satisfied. If they are not satisfied they would not want to buy and I would not be able to make a profit.After planning my flavour I had to look at the external influences of Coca Cola. I had to do a PEST (Political, Economic, Social and Technology) and SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis, as these factories are very important for me to know before I am able to start marketing my new strategy.I had to research the marketing mix, which included the four Ps (Product, Place, price and Promotion. I had to research each P and relate it to my new strategy. These four Ps are also very important for me to know before I am able to start marketing my new strategy.Lastly I had to research the marketing models, which are Product Life Cycle, Boston Matrix and Ansoff Matrix. I researched each of the models. For the Product Life Cycle I explained what stage Coca Cola is currently in. For Boston Matrix I also explained what stage Coca Cola is at, and for Ansoff Matrix I had to state what stage I am in because I am launching a new strategy for an existing market.Overall I found this assignment very fun to do it gave me a wide range of knowledge of marketing. I enjoyed learning marketing and how it works out.BibliographyIn order to do this assignment I used the followings:➢ Assignment sheet- this stated what I had to do for each question➢ Worksheets- these helped me they were very useful because the sheet related to some questions➢ Help from teacher- my teacher explained each question and gave me corrections which helped me to do better➢ Books: o AVCE Business book o International Marketing- by Philip R. Cateora and John L. Graham o The Marketing Book- by Michael J. Baker➢ Internet- I used the Internet to find information about Coca Cola and other questions in the assignment. I used the following websites: o www.cocacola.co.uk o www.thetimes100.co.uk/files/brief_studies/simp_coke_9.pdf o www.Marketingteacher.com-----------------------[pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic]Small bottleMy favourite flavour already exists[pic][pic][pic]Strengths(Positive, current)Opportunities(Positive, future)Threats(Negative future)Weaknesses(Negative, current)[pic]SWOTS