Analyzing the Consumer Market
Analyzing the Consumer Market
BUSI 520 Strategic Marketing Management
Professor Muriel Wilson
Liberty University
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Analyzing the Consumer Market
Describe and discuss the cultural, social, and personal factors that have the most influence on
consumers purchasing your product/service.
Cultural
In order for the Coca-Cola team to effectively market its products to customers, they must
understand who those customers are. Depending on where you are at in America or a greater
scale, globally, people’s needs and wants can be drastically different. “Culture is the
fundamental determinant of a person’s wants and behavior” (Kotler & Keller, 2016, pg. 157).
Coca-Cola’s primary objective just to get their products in consumers hands thus the key
objective of the marketing analyst is to meet the cultural needs of those customers. Geert
Hofstede conducted extensive research on the national culture and formulated six dimensions of
culture and how our values are influenced by it. He defined culture as “the collective
programming of the mind distinguishing the members of one group or category of people from
others” (Hofstede, 2017), noting that culture could not be changed but one should understand and
respect it. This is where Coca-Cola’s marketing division spends a significant amount of time
ensuring that they understand the cultural needs of the customers in which they market to.
As Coca-Cola continues to repair its damaged reputation in India, they recognize India
has the potential to be its third largest market (Trefis Team, 2017). As sugary soft drinks
continue to be scrutinized by the health-conscious customer, Coca-Cola recognized milk is
deeply rooted in Indian tradition and culture. Indians have an infinity for milk touting its health
benefits as well as beauty purposes and as their grandmothers would convince them of all the
sicknesses a milk concoction could cure. Enter VIO in 2016, a milk based drink that Coca-Cola
formulated with saffron and almond flavors to cater to the Indian consumers (George, 2017).
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Analyzing the Consumer Market
This has become a popular drink Coca-Cola has partnered with many of the local dairy farmers
and vendors in the country to boost the economy at the ground level. This product has become a
win-win for Coca-Cola India because it helps repair its reputation with the locals as well as
increasing its brand sales.
Social
While cultural factors shaped the values of consumer behavior social factors affect
buying behavior as well. Social factors are shaped by family, reference groups, and social status.
Consumers are becoming more educated when it comes to their nutrition. For consumers over
the age of 28 carbonated drinks have become less attractive while so called healthier drinks have
become trendy. 2015 study by Beverage Digest (Kell, 2016) revealed soda sales continued to
decline as many consumers look for healthier alternatives. While Coke continues to be a popular
brand, the middle-aged consumer who quite possibly can be parents have a great influence on
what their children are drinking. Coca-Cola has combated the perception of its unhealthy soda
drinks by moving into various beverage categories such as juice, tea, and even coffees. In one of
the more recent branding strategies, Coca-Cola renamed and repackaged a previous product
known as Coke Zero. Many consumers took the social media immediately sharing their
displeasure after hearing that Coke Zero would no longer be available however Coca-Cola
insured all of its fans that Coke Zero was simply getting an upgrade. It was now going to be
called Coke Zero Sugar and its packaging was changed to the traditional iconic red Coca-Cola
disc (Journey Staff, 2017). This recent change is in line with its “One Brand” slogan, where they
look to bring all of Coca-Cola’s beverages under a single trademark brand.
Personal
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Analyzing the Consumer Market
Another set of factors that influence buyer decision our personal factors such as age,
occupation, economic status, as well as your personal lifestyle and values. Is fairly uncommon
to look around the general public and witness a six-year-old drinking a Coca-Cola.
Alternatively, it is quite common to see folks at fast food restaurants drinking a carbonated
beverage. For certain individuals, their jobs require extensive travel which usually means people
are eating on the go making quickly prepared meals at fast food restaurants an easy choice. For
other people, health and wellness is an important part of who they are. People in this group are
usually aware of their nutrition and what they put in their bodies. A sugary carbonated beverage
can probably be excluded from their meal plan. Coca-Cola is aware of all the personal factors
that they must overcome to get one of their beverages in a consumer’s hand. For the athlete, they
provide brands such as PowerAde Zero or Vitamin Water. For the adolescent, a parent might
choose Minute Maid or Simply Beverage brand. For the hard worker who is always on the go a
Coca-Cola classic, Sprite or Fanta could be there to go to beverage of choice.
For all the factors that continue to influence consumer behavior, Coca-Cola surely has a
team of market analyzers evaluating those factors. Coca-Cola has been around for over 100
years because it continues to learn about its consumers’ needs and desires for not only great
tasting products but for what they stand for and believe.
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Analyzing the Consumer Market
References
Coca-Cola. (cover story). (2011). Coca-Cola Case Study: The World’s Most Recognizable Brand,
1-18. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?
url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=bth&AN=74250837&site=ehost-live&scope=site
George, Smriti. (2017). 5 Reasons VIO is Perfect for India. Retrieved from http://www.coca-
colaindia.com/choices/vios-flavours-with-the-Goodness-of-Milk
Hofstede, G. (n.d.). National Culture. Retrieved November 15, 2017, from Geert Hofstede:
https://www.hofstede-insights.com/models/national-culture/
Journey Staff. (2017). Whats the difference between Coke Zero and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar.
Retrieved from Coca-Cola Company: http://www.coca-colacompany.com/coca-cola-
unbottled/what_s-the-difference-between-coke-zero-and-coca-cola--zero-suga
Kell, John. (2016). Soda consumption falls to 30 year low in the US. Retrieved from Fortune:
http://fortune.com/2016/03/29/soda-sales-drop-11th-year/
Kotler, P. T., & Keller, K. L. (2016). Marketing management (15th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson, Inc.
Trefis Team. (2017). How Coca-Cola Plans To Make India Its Third Largest Market . Retrieved
from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2017/09/07/how-coca-cola-
plans-to-make-india-its-third-largest-market/#48e3d5eb2e84
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