Factor affecting Marketing of Coca Cola-Free-Samples for Students

Question: Discuss about the factors affecting Coca-Cola's Marketing. Answer: Introduction The BRICS superpower is a group of one of the strongest superpowers in the globe. The chosen country for the report is India. India has ranked up in the charts of economic development and stability. The chosen organization in the country is Coca-Cola India. The company came into the given country in 1950s and has established itself since then. This report aims to highlight the impact of various political and economical factors on the marketing of the given company (Best, 2012). Marketing refers to reaching out to various target market members in order to promote the product. However, various factors affect the marketing factors of the concerned company- Coca-Cola India. The given report discussed about the country chosen and about the chosen organization. It then discusses about the various marketing strategies and how they are affected by the external factors in a business environment (Hollensen, 2015). The two factors-political and economic factors of the country were analyzed and their impact on the marketing of the given company was assessed. Discussion About the country: India India is one of the BRICS group and is a vast South Asian country with a diverse terrain ranging from the Himalayan peaks to the Indian coastline. The country is famous for its diversity and rich culture (Wilson Gilligan, 2012). The economic country of the country has stabilized since 1991 and the government of the country has been taking various efforts to improve the economic condition of the country. It has been predicted that the country will become a superpower by 2020. About the company: Coca- Cola India Coca- Cola India is a subsidiary of the Atlanta based company that concentrates on selling a wide range of juices, soft drinks, aerated beverages and other food items. The head quarters of the company are in Gurgaon, India (Hutt Speh, 2012). The current portfolio of the company comprises of Maaza, Minute Maid, Vio, Kinley, Georgia and local brands like Thums Up, Limca and Fanta. The company started its operations in India in the year 1950 but had to exit the Indian market in 1977 after the government`s new law for Mncs in the same year which did not suit the company. 1993 marked the second coming of the brand in India. Marketing strategy A marketing strategy can be defined as a plan which is made by an organization which provides details about the manner in which a company`s products and services which will be offered to the consumers. The marketing strategy of a firm is shaped by keeping in mind the ulterior objective of the company. All businesses are exposed to the external environment and therefore their decision making is highly affected by the players in the external environment (Armstrong et al., 2015). The six primary external factors influencing the marketing strategy of the firm are the various Social, Legal, Economical, Political and technological factors. In the report the political and economical factors affecting Coca-Cola`s marketing in India will be analyzed. A market analysis can be described as a strategic management tool whereby the external environmental factors of a business environment are studied and relevant decisions are made accordingly. These factors lie beyond the realm of the organization but have the power to affect the organization. Marketing strategy of Coca-Cola The marketing strategy of Coca-cola plans to fulfill the vision of the company, which aims at becoming the largest brand in the country. The company has introduced new techniques like fountain machines, which are taken to haats and melas and other relevant gatherings (Ball et al., 2012). The coke is served in cups at rs. 5, which works well as there are rarely any permanent shops there. These innovations are used to increase the availability of the brand in the country. The rural market is the key focus of the brand currently because the market is unexplored. The brand also aims to widen its operations into the dairy market (Wheelen Hunger, 2017). The country also develops cans and bottles of various sizes in order to make it popular among the wide masses. It makes use of various pricing strategies so that people belonging to all age groups can produce the particular good. It uses various forms of advertising like campaigns, advertisements, application advertisements in order to pro mote the product. SLEPT Analysis- This are the social, legal, economical, political and technological factors affecting the particular organization. These factors have a large impact on the marketing of the organization and tend to affect their marketing strategies. The two main factors political and economical present in India have been given below: Political factors of Indian Business Environment Political factors refer to the policies and procedures that have been made by the government. These government policies tend to intervene with the working of the firm (Peteraf, Gamble Thompson Jr, 2014). These policies by the government often relate to the products and services that a firm provides. Political decisions have had widespread implications on the working of a company in the sense that they have wide spread implications. The Indian government is based on the Common law of British and has different applications for different legal codes. The political condition of the country can be fairly stated as to be stable in the sense that with the reign of the NDA government, various government policies have come up to boost business in the country (Hill, Jones, Schilling, 2014). The government runs by a large majority and therefore, they are the major decision makers of the firm. The NDA government provides various incentives to the companies who operate their business in India, however to promote the economy of the country they have strict rules which have to be adhered by. The government can be termed as a rigid one and therefore while making advertisements and promotion for marketing the company needs to be extremely careful to make sure that it does not hamper the sentiments of the government. The taxation regime is very complex and therefore consideration needs to be made about those factors too. The ideologies of the various political parties and interests of the politicians ted to play a major role in the working of any business. Impact on the marketing of the company (Coca cola) Sound marketing decisions cannot be taken without taking into consideration the political party in power or one cannot go against their ideologies to establish a fact or a statement. There are many minor groups that often come up to object the marketing decisions if the company. Laws of the land also affect the production capacity, design and pricing strategy. The government surely intervenes in the business of the firm (Hitt, Ireland Hoskisson, 2012). Like in idea, the government in order to promote the domestic economy sets down certain price limits so that the foreign companies like Coca-Cola does not engage in fierce price wars. Hence, coca-cola needs to make sure that they price accordingly to the limit set down by the government in order to insure that the can continue their operations peacefully (Pendergrast, 2013). The various advertisements, which it uses to promote the products, also need to be within the guidelines that have been prescribed by the company in order to insu re that they do not hurt the sentiments of the various political parties and the public at large. Coca-cola has to abide by the advertisement rules and broadcast timings (Kapferer, 2012). Any advertisements which are not liked by the government may be banned by the government and affect the operations as well as the goodwill. The government also lays down certain standard food rules and regulations like FSSAI, which the company needs to abide by. During inspection, if it is found that the product has not been following these standards then the company might be in trouble. Recently, various states like Kerala have been banning the soft drink consumption in India, which is hampering its marketing operations. Economical Factors of Indian Business Environment. The economic situation of the country is strong and this involves many taxation policies, interest policies and economic growth concerns. The government of the country introduced the industrial reforms back in 1991 and since that time there has been some reduction in licensing, barriers to investment and increased liberalization of foreign capital. These moves have been able to remove the rigid system and improve the economic scenario of the country. The country has a GDP of approximately 7%, which is one of the highest in the globe (Hill Jones, 2013). The country has shown great potential and has shown remarkable success in conducting business with various parties like BMW, Toyota, Mercedes Benz, Ford, Volkswagen and Hyundai. The country has various resources like coal, mica, titanium and chromites. The country has attained enough foreign exchange and other resources, which is why it is concentrating on sectors like education, banking, health care and financial sector. The governme nt makes various investment policies for foreign companies like Coca- Cola. The company has a majority of people who belong to the lower to middle-income group. These people cannot afford expensive drinks and therefore this is an important aspect for the company to consider while marketing their goods. Impact on the marketing of the company (Coca-Cola) As mentioned that a majority of people in the country belong to the lower income class therefore, the company needs to emboss the following factors in their marketing mix. Price- The price of the product in the country should be relatively cheaper. The majority of the population is poor in the country and they will not be able to afford a product which is priced high (Tomlinson, 2013). Therefore, to gain popularity in the market, the company must lower its prices and price according to the needs of the population. It can follow a cost leadership strategy to gain the benefits of a mass market. Place- The place refers to the place of distribution, The Company has an extremely strong target market in both the urban areas as well as the rural areas. It strong distributing channel helps it to promote goods throughout the country. However, according to the recent trends the country has a large portion of rural areas, which are still not catered to (Cassen, 2016). The government is also interested to build up these rural areas and therefore, the company can take advantage of this initiative by the government and market to areas, which promote the strongest potential. Promotion- Majority of the country has an access to a telephone these days and the internet has become popular among the rural population as well. Hence, the company needs to follow a promotion policy, which can cater to meeting the eyes of the largest population base. It can do this by television advertisements or mobile promotion. These mediums are comparatively cheaper and reach out to the masses easily. Hence, keeping in mind the political situation of the country, the coke company should engage in mediums, which are simple yet popular (Corbridge, Harriss Jeffrey, 2013). Product- the Company knows that a majority of the population is below average and hence, the company can form product sizes accordingly. This is the reason coca-cola packages the products in various sizes. These sizes are small and affordable which cost around. 5$. Conclusion Therefore, from the discussion it can be stated that Coca-Cola has been extremely considerate about the economic and political factors prevailing in India. It has realized that India is a strong market and has a lot of potential therefore; the company has formed various strategies to cope up with the competition in the country. The company has realized that there lies a lot of potential in the given market and therefore it has been expanding in the rural areas. The rural areas remain unexplored, which provides great opportunities to Coca Cola. The company considers the various economic and political factors before making any marketing strategies References Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M., Brennan, R. (2015).Marketing: an introduction. Pearson Education. Ball, D., Geringer, M., Minor, M., McNett, J. (2012).International business. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Best, R. (2012).Market-based management. Pearson Higher Ed. Cassen, R. (2016).India: population, economy, society. Springer. Corbridge, S., Harriss, J., Jeffrey, C. (2013).India today: Economy, politics and society. John Wiley Sons. Hill, C. W., Jones, G. R. 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