4.

Having started its operations more than a hundred years ago, the company has gone through
different challenging times of economic prosperity and depression, and war and peace. For a
long time especially in the 1990s, the Coca-Cola was one of the world’s most reputable
companies. The company specializes in making and selling carbonated soft as well as many
other non-carbonated drinks. With its mission statement “to refresh the world, to inspire
moments of optimism, and to create value and make a difference everywhere we engage” Coca-
Cola has a set of ideals to which it adheres to both at the business and corporate level.

 Corporate level strategy

A corporate strategy is essential for guiding a company’s performance in its overall business
activities as well as resource allocation in order to achieve the established goals of the business.
The company has been keen on developing new products every time it enters a new market. At
one point Coca-Cola was known to be a company operating in a market dominated by
carbonated soft drinks.

However, over time, the company began producing new products such as Sprite, Fanta and Diet
Coke, which are non-carbonated, and that have eventually become the key products of the
company. Besides, in order to further penetrate the market, the company has widened its
business definition into what is called ready packaged liquid refreshments. Through embracing
this consideration, the company has grown beyond the usual carbonated soft drink market and
joined markets such as fruits juices, ready to drink tea and bottled water.
  Business Level Strategies

The company embraces differentiation strategy in order to remain unique in the market and
separated from its competitors. Through differentiation strategy, the company makes unique and
valued products for its customers. The company has unique capacities to customize its products
in order to ensure that they meet the wants and needs of its target markets. For instance the
company satisfies the needs of old health conscious consumers by providing Diet Coke, Odwalla
products and Vitamin water. On the other hand, it meets the needs and expectations of young
consumers by providing vanilla coke and cherry coke, which are flavored and PowerAde
products of Coke. It is also worth noting that the management at Coca-Cola Company continues
investing a lot of time and money into research in order to acquire a clear comprehension of the
various segments in the market in respect to age, income and lifestyle in order to achieve
accurate development and marketing for its products.
In terms of packaging, differentiation strategy has and continues playing a significant role by
helping Coca-Cola products continue remaining adaptable to different market segments. In this
regard, functional packaging has been essential for making products appear in different forms
and sizes. This includes product appearance fountain drink dispensers, aluminum cans, and
plastic and glass bottles. Besides, the company also uses different sizes and shapes of the cans
and bottles in order to ease operations in vending machines. The company also makes sure that it
uses recyclable packaging materials in order to promote its commitment to the sustainability of
the environment. Packaging materials are well labeled to make consumer identification easier.
Apart from product differentiation, the company also embraces image differentiation whereby it
emphasizes its logo to achieve this. The logo is essential for establishing the name of the brand in
the minds of consumers.
7. Market issues of Coca Cola

 Marketing segmentation of Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola makes strong choices regarding the kinds of markets it requires targeting in order to
promote its sales. A market segment refers to a group of product or service consumers possessing
unique characteristics in a collective manner. For instance, the company satisfies the needs of old
health conscious consumers by providing Diet Coke, Odwalla products and Vitamin water. On
the other hand, it meets the needs and expectations of young consumers by providing vanilla
coke and cherry coke, which are flavored and PowerAde products of Coke.

 Positioning of Coca-Cola Products

Positioning involves choosing the most suitable marketing mix for the targeted customer
segment. In every business, there are definite competitors. Positioning enables a company to
stand out from the competitors offering the same product or service. Positioning makes a
company unique in the eyes and minds of customers. This makes customers prefer and buy its
products. 
The positioning of Coca-Cola regarding cost leadership strategy is as a result of learning,
knowledge as well as experience in matters of production as well operational processes.
Production of new products for new markets and globalization are some of Coca-Cola’s key
corporate strategies. Following an analysis of the competitive environment, the most significant
competitor of Coca-Cola is PepsiCo Inc. Following the analysis of the business-level and
corporate-level strategies of the two companies, Coca-Cola Company is most likely to remain
successful in the long-term as compared to PepsiCo, Inc.