1. MBA IN MARKETING AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
STRATEGIC MARKETING MANAGEMENT
NAME: SAITOT K JOEL
REG //: 2015010034
INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT N0 1
Qn. Select any product of your choice, assess how changing of any the 4P impact customer
behavior towards that product. What are the best strategies they can adapt to rectify the situation
if negative and for improvements if positive?

2. INTRODUCTION
This discussion is going to explain several issues concerning about marketing mix and how
consumers are impacted by different strategies that companies use to increase demand for their
product. Focusing on how needs and wants are highly needed while resources are less,
satisfaction is what companies are doing these days to make sure that they a customer high value.
The today’s economy sees what we call perfectly competitive market where there are many
sellers and many buyers who produce products that are of similar in nature and this has resulted
to what is called production overcapacity and so competition is high. According to this
companies have to be very careful while making their strategies by remembering to differentiate
their products always. If you refer Professor Michael Porter in his three generic strategies “we
marketers have to be unique and that uniqueness is what he called Differentiation strategy, we
survive by the creation of new things, products, programs if not the personality of what we stand
for”.
DISCUSSION
4P are tools that companies use to attract customers toward their products. The 4P include
Product, Price, Place (distribution) and Promotion. It is also referred to as marketing mix which
is described as set of controllable, tactical marketing tools that a company uses to produce a
response from its desired target market. Managements use these tools to influence sales known
by a traditional formulation as 4P Product, Price, Place (distribution) and Promotion.
The term ‘marketing mix’ became popularized after Neil H. Borden published an article in 1964
called ‘The Concept of the Marketing Mix’. Borden began using this term in the late 1940’s after
James Culliton had described the marketing manager as a “mixer of ingredients”. The ingredients
in Borden’s marketing mix included product, planning, pricing, branding, distribution channels,
personal selling, advertising, promotions, packaging, display servicing, physical handling, and
fact finding and analysis. E. Jerome McCarthy later grouped these ingredients into the four
categories that are today known as the 4P’s of marketing, namely product, price, place and
promotion.
A product is anything for attention, acquisition, use or consumption can be marketed and can to
satisfy a need or want. Product is something more tangible goods. Product includes physical

3. objects, services of persons, places, organizations, manufacturer idea or a combination of these
(Kotler & Armstrong, 2000). About major components of the product can be cited, such as:
product variety, quality, design, features and facilities of product, brand, packaging, size of
product, service, guarantees, return the product (Maleki, 2002).
The price refers to the amount of money that a person must pay to use a product. A person may
purchase property one or more product or has the right of limited use (such as car rental or home
Hire purchase). Set a price for a product requires a deep understanding of the symbolic role that
price plays a role in determining the product in target market. The price of a product in the
customer's mind is not the costs expended for to produce. Goods costs to the consumer are the
one thing that every consumer should losing for access to the benefits and points of ownership or
use of a product. Reducing nonfinancial cost of ownership or use of goods is one of the things
companies are doing to enhance the value of their goods to the customers. In case of success this
strategy reduces the total cost of product for a consumer and still marketer’s revenue remains
constant or increases (Hawkins, 2005).
Promotion is all the communication tools that can deliver the message to the intended audience.
Basically promotion is set of activities to inform, persuade and influence that completely linked
(Roosta & et al, 2007, p247). Promotion can be divided into four groups that each group has
different dimensions. They include Advertisements, sales promotions, public relations and direct
marketing.
Distribution is delivery the desired product and service to the customer on time and desired
place. There is an overall strategy about distribution. In the first strategy organization direct and
in second strategy by helping distributors provide their goods and services to consumers.
Members of distribution channels are responsible for the following main duties: Market
informing: gathering and distributing news and market research about actors and forces in
marketing environment that is needed planning and assistance on the exchange.
The 4P affect so much a customer towards making a choice of buying or not buying the product.
Alternatively, consumer buying behavior “refers to the buying behavior of final consumers, both
individuals and households, who buy goods and services for personal consumption” (Kumar,
2010, p.218).

4. Kotler and Keller (2011) state that consumer buying behavior is the study of the ways of buying
and disposing of goods, services, ideas or experiences by the individuals, groups and
organizations in order to satisfy their needs and wants. Consumer behavior focuses on how
individuals make decisions to spend their available resources (time, money, effort) on
consumption-related items that includes what they buy, why they buy, when they buy it, where
they buy it, how often they buy it, how often they use it, how they evaluate it after the purchase
and the impact of such evaluations on future purchases, and how they dispose of it.
Every company wants to sell and maintain its status through customer satisfaction. In order to
stay up as a company, always we must be committed in designing/developing goods and services
that will give a customer high value. When customers are satisfied with a certain product, they
will always go for it and this is build within the 4p meaning the product itself, price, place and
promotion.
Coca cola is the brand with the highest brand equity. No doubt it has gone through the ups and
downs of business to reach that position. The marketing mix of Coca cola has been changing
over time with more and more products being added such that today it has 3300 products, the
marketing mix have affected consumers in many ways as follows.
Products
The product (Coca-Cola soft drink) includes not just the liquid inside but also the packaging. On
the product-service continuum we see that a soft drink provides little service, apart from the
convenience. Soft drinks satisfy the need of thirst. However, people are always different, some
want more and others want less. Therefore Coca-Cola has made allowances for that by providing
many sizes. We also have particular tastes, and again they have provided several options. So,
although thirst is what is needed to be satisfied and that is the core benefit, we are receiving other
benefits in the taste and size. Coca-Cola has developed several different flavors and sizes as
mentioned above, but also several brands such as Sprite, Lift, Fanta and Diet Coke which
increase the product line length, thus making full use of the market to maximize sales. The
product is convenient, that is - bought frequently, immediately, and with a minimum of
comparison and buying effort. The appearance of the product is eye catching with the bright red
colour. It has a uniquely designed bottle shape that fits in your hand better, and creates a nicer &
more futuristic look. The quality of the soft drink is needed to be regularly high. Sealed caps

5. ensure that none of the "fizz" is lost. The bottles are light, with flexible packaging, so they won't
crack or leak, and are not too heavy to casually walk around with.
Price
Due to the availability of wide range products the pricing is done according to the market
and geographic segment. Each sub-brand of coca cola has different pricing strategy. Their
pricing strategy is based on the competitors pricing, Pepsi is the direct competitor to coke.
Beverage market is said to be an oligopoly market (few sellers and large buyers), hence they
form into cartel contract to ensure a mutual balance in pricing between the sellers. Like any
company who has successfully endured a century of existence, Coca- Cola has had to remain
tremendously fluent with their pricing strategy. They have had the privilege of a worthy
competitor constantly driving them to be smarter, faster, and better. A quote from Pepsi Co's
CEO "The more successful they are, the sharper we have to be. If the Coca-Cola Company didn't
exist, we'd pray for someone to invent them." states it simply. The relationship between Coca-
Cola & Pepsi is a healthy one that each corporation has learned to appreciate. Throughout the
years Coca-Cola has made many pricing decisions but one might say that their ultimate goal has
always been to maximize shareholder value. As Cola consumption has decreased in the US Colas
have come to realize the untapped international market. In 2003 both Coke and Pepsi had a solid
presence in India and 32 33. Had each introduced a 300mL bottle? In order to grab market share
Pepsi began to drop prices (even with summer approaching, which was contrary to policy in
America). Shortly thereafter, Coca-Cola decided to drop their prices slightly, but focused on the
reduced price point of their 200mL container. Coca- Cola planned to use the lower price point to
penetrate new cities that were especially price sensitive. The carbonated soft drink market in
India is nearly 37% of the total beverage market there. This low price strategy was not unfamiliar
to Coca-Cola. Both Coke & Pepsi utilized a low price strategy in the early 1990s. After
annihilating the low price store brands, Coke chose to reposition itself as a "Premium" brand and
then raise prices. Coca-Cola products would appear, on the shelf, to have the most expensive
range of soft drinks common to supermarkets, at almost double the cost of no name brands. This
can be for several reasons apart from just to cover the extra costs of promotions, for which no
name brands do without. It creates consumer perceptions and values. When people buy Coca-
Cola they are not just buying the beverage but also the image that goes with it, therefore to

6. have the price higher reiterates the fact that the product is of a better quality than the rest and that
the consumer is not cheap. This is known as value-based pricing and is used by many other
industries in attracting consumers. In Tanzania, the average 500tsh is an affordable amount on
the pockets of the rural audience.
Place
Coca cola is the world’s most favorite brand and is available all over the world. The distribution
system of coca cola follows the FMCG distribution pattern. The effective distribution network of
coke has almost eroded the small and middle level players in the market. In Tanzania they have
captured even the rural market by extensive distribution and have eroded the market share of
Pepsi in somehow. The concept of "place" has been generally replaced by distribution in the
marketing mix system. Distribution means getting products to customers in a strategic way.
Coca-Cola's distribution process is a key element of its offering. The company's products are
available in cans and bottles in supermarkets and other retail stores around the world. Coca Cola
has managed their company’s marketing and sales strategy within channels. Have you ever
considered the significance of the Coke vending machine to the success and profitability of the
Coca Cola Company? This channel is direct to consumer and vending machines often have little
to no competition and no trade or price promotions. The Coke Company operates three primary
delivery systems for its business channels: Bulk delivery for the channels of large Supermarkets,
Mass Merchandisers and Club stores; for smaller channels Coke does advanced sale delivery for
convenience stores, drug stores, small supermarkets and on-premise fountain accounts, Full
service delivery for its full service vending customers, Key Channel Listing Supermarkets
Convenience Stores Fast Food Petroleum Retailers Chain Drug Stores Hotels/Motels/Resorts.
Additionally, the company provides supplies for fountain drinks in many restaurants. It sells its
products in thousands of pop vending machines placed in businesses and public buildings. The
ease and convenience of getting to the product is important to customer loyalty. The fact that you
find coca cola everywhere can affect your behavior towards what drink to take, this has helped
them much to get customers buy their product.

7. Promotion
Coca cola adopts various advertising and promotional strategies to create an
increased demand in the market by associating with life style and behavior and mainly targeting
value based advertising.
Coca-Cola invests billions of dollars a year in advertising and promotions around the world to
maintain its position of industry leadership against rival Pepsi. Pepsi increased its TV ad budget
by 30 percent in 2011 when it fell behind Diet Coke. Coca-Cola spends a good portion of its ad
budget on television advertising. It has used polar bear characters and a message of nostalgia and
tradition as part of its branding over time. Magazine ads, online and social media have also been
used as media for Coca-Cola marketing. Sales promotions at the store are used to drive revenue
during slow periods.
Example, Share a coke campaign was launched in 2014 by the coca cola and company as one of
their techniques to increase sales. Coca Cola replaced the distinctive coca cola name on bottles of
coke with most popular names. Coca Cola text was reduced to a smaller font at the top stating
share a coca cola with (one of the 250 chosen names). The rest of the branding is the same so
that consumers can still identify the product as coca cola. Consumers were also offered the
opportunity to create virtual labels online with their name on them. Virtual labels can be shared
with family and friends online. Creating a buzz through personalisation, personalisation can have

8. a universal appeal. A coke bottle with your name on it is likely to be something you want to
show others Inexpensive personalisation tool for consumers i.e. all you need to do is purchase
a bottle of coke.
Social media played a huge role in the success of the campaign. When people were successful in
finding their name on a bottle, they were encouraged to share their find on social media using the
hash tag #ShareaCoke. This sharing behavior acted as an organic means of spreading brand
awareness throughout social media platforms. Friends would see each other finding their names,
enjoying a Coke product, and they would be inclined to interact with the brand, and so on. The
campaign went beyond customized bottles. Coke created interactive billboards and websites as
well as traveling kiosks where people could get more unique named Coke products. The
integrated marketing technique using several avenues created a Jackson-Pollock effect that
(successfully) splattered the campaign on every available surface. The integrated marketing
created a cohesive message that was available on every communication channel. The main lesson
to be learned from the success of Coke’s “Share a Coke” campaign: people love personalized
products when it is unexpected. For Coke to print bottles with someone’s name on it makes that
person feel special and appreciated. Of course consumers will take the extra step to seek out the
product featuring their name, and while they are at it, they will buy bottles for their friends, and
why not post pictures to Instagram as well? The campaign created an organic domino effect that
helped the campaign gain traction and noticeably increase sales for Coke.
All firms have competition, (Kotler in marketing insights). From the early 2000’s coca cola have
been facing tough competition from their fellow Pepsi since both companies are investing more
towards customer satisfaction in terms of expensive advertisement using celebrities like sports
man, movie stars etc to deliver high customer value. Because of competition cokes market share
has dropped taking into account that the only competition is not their fellow beverage drink but
also other fluids such as coffee, water, milk and tea, The following are the best strategies the
coca cola company can adopt to improve their product and give customer high value more than
their competitors.
Use LinkedIn and Other Social Networks more to distribute product Content

9. Creating engaging content is only half the battle for content marketers. One trend from this year
that will continue into 2015 is the use of LinkedIn to distribute content. Social media networks
are good places for content distribution, but LinkedIn has several features that make the platform
more versatile than Facebook, Twitter, and others for this purpose. For example, COCA COLA
can use LinkedIn Pulse to distribute full articles or links to other articles that describe contents of
their drinks in order to increase awareness to its customers, example according to a very simple
research I did only few people know that coke produce diabetic coke drink and even if they
know they are not sure with the sugar content. According to the Content Marketing Institute's
2015 B2B benchmark report, "94% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn to distribute product content;
making it the social media platform used most often (they also say it's the most effective social
media platform)". Hence, if coca cola will publish a lot of material for their products especially
those low sugar rated drinks, they will increase sales taking into account that a lot of aged people
are diabetic according to Health institution data.
Improve Social Media Integration
Social media isn't anything new, but marketers will need to work at finding new ways to
integrate social media into all of their campaigns. Adding social sharing options to websites,
blogs and email messages can greatly increase than range and effectiveness of the campaign.
According to research cited by the CMO council, adding social sharing buttons to email
messages an increase click-through rates by more than 150 percent. This is an area where
COCACOLA need to be continually vigilant. Every year, the major social media networks add a
lot of new features to their platform that make them more usable for marketers. For example, in
2014, Twitter added new Amazon.com integrations, and Facebook added Local Awareness Ads.
Coca-Cola should keep an eye on advances in social media marketing throughout the year, and
try to integrate them into their strategy.
Increase Personalization on Marketing Channels When Possible
For much of the history of the internet, the focus of marketing has been on reaching ever larger
and more diverse audiences. Reaching larger audiences will still be important, but coca-cola will
need to focus on bringing a more personal touch to the messages they send to consumers. There
are several ways they can do this. Adding personalization fields to email marketing messages has

10. been shown to improve results by several studies. A report from Aberdeen found that
personalized emails improved click through rates by 14 percent and conversion rates by 10
percent. The same can applied to websites. Using personalization to give specific users more
relevant options is a good way to increase the chances people will respond to the content.
According to Janrain and Harris Interactive, just under three-fourths (74%) of online consumers
get frustrated with websites when content (e.g. offers, ads, promotions) appears that has nothing
to do with their interests. Similarly, a joint study from Consultancy and Montale found that in-
house marketers who are personalizing their web experiences see, on average, 19 percent uplift
in sales.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
It was observed that Coca-Cola has been perceived quite positively as it has been projected.
People are aware of the Brand & Awareness of Coca-Cola is quite high in the market. When a
product is launched, avid Coke drinkers choose this soda over any other competitor simply
because it's a Coca-Cola product and they trust it. Although Coke has been into controversies,
people still prefer to stay loyal to the Brand with Coca-Cola being termed as a more popular
brand than Pepsi. Coca-Cola products would appear, on the shelf, to have the most expensive
range of soft drinks common to supermarkets, at almost double the cost of no name brands. This
can be for several reasons apart from just to cover the extra costs of promotions, for which no
name brands do without. When people buy Coca-Cola they are not just buying the beverage but
also the image that goes with it, therefore to have the price higher reiterates the fact that the
product is of a better quality than the rest and that the consumer is not cheap. In supermarkets
and convenience stores Coca-Cola has their own fridge which contains only their products. There
is little personal selling, but that is made up for in public relations and corporate image. Coca-
Cola sponsors a lot of events including sports and recreational activities.
RECOMMENDATIONS, I have concluded some recommendation for the Coca Cola
Company, which is the following. Coca Cola Company should try to emphasis more on
providing their infrastructure in the market to facilitate their customers. According to the survey
conducted by the international firm Pakistani people like little bit sweeter Cola drink. So for this

11. Coca Cola company should produce their product according to the local demand. Marketing
team should try to increase the availability of Coke in rural areas. They should also focus the old
people.

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www.cocacola.com