The soft drinks and beverage industry has attracted a lot of companies and equally brought huge competition as each player within the industry tries to carve a niche within the giant industry (Kin & Mauborgne, 2005). One of the companies that have historically enjoyed comparative success and hence survival amidst a cut-throat competition is the Coca-Cola company. Success for any industry hugely relies on its abilities to capitalize on the critical success factors and attract customer preferences (Armus, 2005). Convincingly, the Coca-Cola Company through its strategic capabilities has managed to stand the profound competition within the industry and managed to stay relevant.
Success factors within the soft drinks and beverage industry include; cost, quality of the products, and level of advertisement, degree of global presence, distribution and retail channels as well as brand strength. Coca-Cola has capably utilized these key success factors to endure the apparent competition within the industry. There are several factors that can be termed as having been critical to the continued dominance of coca cola despite the highly competitive environment in the soft soda industry. These factors are distinct to the company and have formed part of its organizational culture across all markets that the company controls. These include;
Coca-Cola product portfolio includes healthy soft drinks such as Coke diet. In the 21st century, health stands out as one of the critical factors in marketing. As such, in this awakening, Coca-Cola has incorporated this aspect within its products portfolio by launching the Coke diet that has health benefits. This action has placed the company strategically in terms of customer preferences.
On the other hand, Coca-Cola has a huge global presence. In the 20th century, the company expanded its markets to the global platform. Coca-Cola products are sold in over 200 countries in restaurants and via the vending machines (Foster, 2008). The company was among the first soft drink companies to penetrate the global market and new entrants in the industry have seemingly found it difficult to neutralize Coca Cola’s global presence. The expansion strategies that the company undertook during the 20th century are up to date made Coca-Cola, a dominant player within the industry.
Coca-Cola enjoys spectacular brand recognition. Brand recognition is an imperative aspect that influences Coke’s competitive spot. Over ninety-percent of the contemporary world recognizes Coca-Cola products its product portfolio is prominently preferred and the global market has confirmed its loyalty to the brand (Hays, 2005).
Advertising, diversification and differentiation are other strong aspects that have enabled the company to stand out and outdo other players in the industry. The company’s huge portfolio attracts economies of large scale, and the company has managed to lower its prices comparatively and thus become a price leader. The company pursues a differentiation in terms of bottling, pricing and promotional strategies. For instance, in the United States the company runs different holiday campaigns and sports sponsorship.
Global people framework: Coca cola appreciates the role played by the people who make the company and its brand what it has been through the years of its dominance. This involves creating an enabling work environment for the workers and staff in general. A conducive environment that nurtures leadership and provides frameworks for continued innovation from within its staff has enabled the company to remain competitive amidst a dynamic business environment where technology and marketing innovation is considered critical (Pendergrast, 2000). The ability to choose the right talent, with the right capabilities coupled with the right leadership, has been the anchor to such an environment. The idea has been to protect the emerging talent within the workforce to avoid knowledge tapping from competitors (Hays, 2005).
Global diversity framework: In order to ensure dominance, there has to be a strong bond between all key partners in a business. This involves the workplace, the market, the communities and the suppliers. As such, Coca cola has been at the forefront in ensuring that the workplace is dominated by a diverse population of staff who represent the interests of the market that the company serves. On the other hand, the Coca-cola has continually engaged with communities to enhance their lives through various community projects it supports through its dedicated staff and leadership. In a similar engagement, the company has provided policies that give equal access to procurements to women, minority groups and stereotyped groups in the community (Armus, 2005). This appreciation of the diversity of the community through offering them equal engagement platforms has endeared the company to the global community.
As illustrated, Coca-Cola has enviable strategic capabilities and strategies that exhibit a strong understanding of the market and the industry success factors. Undoubtedly, Coca-Cola has managed to capitalize on all success factors characteristic to the soft drinks industry, including factors such as prices, quality and marketing among others.
References
Armus, S. (2005), Coca-Cola Company, France and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History: a Multidisciplinary Encyclopedia, 2, 273.
Foster, R. J, (2008), Coca‐Globalization, Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Hays, C. L, (2005), The real thing: Truth and power at the Coca-Cola Company, Random House LLC.
Kim, W. C., & Mauborgne, R, (2005), How to create uncontested market space and make the competition irrelevant, Harv Bus Rev, 4, 13.
Pendergrast, M, (2000), For God, country and Coca-Cola: the definitive history of the great American soft drink and the company that makes it, Basic Books.
