Chapter 7: Business Marketing

Business marketing, also known as industrial marketing is the marketing of goods and services to individuals and organizations of purposes other than personal consumption. Business products include products that are used to manufacture other products. I don't believe "Coca Cola" is an example of business marketing because they do not industrialize products for other companies to make their own products. "Coca Cola" is considered a consumer product because people buy their product to consume, and not to make a new product. When companies have an agreement, it is very important for one company to trust the other one so the relationship mantains the same so they could be in business for a long period of time. Raw materials and supplies are crucial for companies that need them to industrialize products to sell it and make a profit. 

Chapter 8: Segmenting and and Targeting Markets

Target market is a certain group of people that a company targets that will most likely buy the company's product. "Coca Cola" came out with the "Diet Coke" and "Coke Zero" for people that have to avoid sugars, like diabetics and also regular people that just prefer to have the soda but without sugar.  The main target market for "Coca Cola" are children abd middle aged adults. Segmenting is when you have a group of people with similar characteristics that causes them to need or want the same products. For example, some people that are trying to watch the calories they consume, they are more likely to buy fat free products or products that use less sugar than the rest. Demographic segmentation goes according to age, gender, income, ethnic background, and family life cycle. This helps the company decide who they have to target to make sales and profit easier.

Chapter 11: Developing and Managing Products

Creating a product that will be success in the market is one of the most important goals that a company has to achieve. Coming up with new ideas isn't easy because there are so many products out in the market nowadays. "Coca Cola" has been developing and managing new products for a long time now. For you to create a new product you have to first have an idea of how the products is going to look and affect the market. They also have to go through testing and such things. Product development is crucial for companies because they need to develop something that will satisfy the customer and be a success. Brainstorming is a great way to get companies to think about great ideas for products to be released for a company. Innovation is a product but more developed than the one before.

Chapter 18: Social Media and Marketing

Marketing is the communication between the customer and the company, in this case, "Coca Cola". Coke tries to get the consumer's attention by the way that it advertises it's product in the market. Like how Six Flags advertises "Coca Cola" inside their park. How they make promotions on how you can get discounts on tickets to go in if you bring a can of coke or its partners to the park. They do that because that attracts many people to buy their product. Social media monitoring is very important for a company because it informs the company on how they are doing in the market and what the consumer thinks about their product. Social networking sites are also a way for companies to find out what the people are saying about the company and the product as well. Review sites also keeps the companies up to date with the consumer's opinion on their product and helps them improve the products so consumers are more satisfied.

Chapter 10: Product Concepts

"Coca Cola" has a variety of products, but their main product is soft drinks. They produce their products in many shapes, sizes, and use different many different materials to make the outside of the drink look nicer, and cheaper for the company as well. Their most known product is "coke". This drink you can find worldwide in any country that you visit. Most of "Coca Cola" products are considered convenience products. Some companies like to extend their product line so they could compete more abroad in the industry. That is, introducing new products to the market to see if the customers will like what they introduced. Brand loyalty is very important for companies. That shows that their customers will always come back to their products and won't buy from the competition. A warranty is very important for the customer when they purchase a product. It makes them feel safe because the warranty guarantees that the product will not fail or harm the consumer. 

Chapter 17: Personal Selling and Sales Management

Personal selling is all about trying to present your product the best way you can to make customers believe it is of use to them and convince them to buy it. For the company to get the customer's interest, we can say that it kind of has to get in a relationship with the customer itself.  Getting the customer to trust your brand is everything every company wants. Interaction between the consumer and the company is very important to keep this "relationship" alive and going. Companies need to focus on keeping their customer's eyes only on their brand and away from the competitor. When you get a customer satisfied, he/she will most likely spread the news about how good your product is and that will attract other customers. So satisfying customers is crucial to keep the old customers and gain new ones. Every company has a certain number to reach every day, month, and year. That is called a quota. They need to achieve a certain number of products they sold.  

Chapter 16: Advertising, Public Relations and Sales Promotion

Anywhere you go in the world, you are probably going to see an advertisement from "Coca Cola".  They are on billboards, magazines and commercials. "Coca Cola" is well known for their christmas commercials. Advertising is really important for companies. They bring in new consumers, could bring the competition down and protect the company. 

"Coca Cola" has been judged and not recommended by a lot of people. Obesity is one of the major issues that Coke faces. Doctors tell their patients how coke can affect the human body and that doesn't look very pleasing at all for the consumers of the product. That is why "Coca Cola"introduced new products that are supposed to be healthier, like the Diet Coke, Coke Zero. 

Sales promotion is good to companies to attract new customers by lowering the price of a product and offering them more. Better products and more reliable ones will catch the customers attention. "Coca Cola" also has a promotion with Six Flags. If you bring a can of coke with you to the park, you get a discount on your admission ticket.

Chapter 14: Marketing Channels and Retailing

Coca Cola is being sold at many retailers all around the world. "Coca Cola's" products can be purchased at restaurant, delicatessens, vending machines and various other places. Retailers sell the products in a small amount, unlike wholesalers that sell the products in bigger quantities. It will come out a lot cheaper when consumers buy as wholesale rather than retail. The price will also variate depending on the area that you are making the acquisition. For example, at a grocery store you might pay $1,00 for a can of soda, meanwhile you are more likely to pay close to $2,00 at a mall or restaurant.   Prices change within certain areas as well. For example, in the city you might pay a little more for a product that would come out cheaper outside of the city. So the price will always depend on where the purchase is being made. "Coca Cola" also have retailing store that sells clothes and accessories that attracts customers. That is another way to make a profit and gain new customers as well.

Chapter 6: Consumer Decision Making

The many decisions the consumer has to make include: wheter to buy, when to buy, what to buy(product and type brand), where to buy(type of retailer, specific retailer, online or in store) and how to pay. Those are the most important decisions the customer has to make before purchasing the products they might want to buy. In the market of soft drinks, there are many options and many companies that try to beat the company so consumers will always have a hard time to decide which to buy and why. Some people decide to buy certain ones becayse they've been buying from the same for many years and know they are reliable and won't let them down. Some just buy it because they simply like the product. Social factors, cultural factors, individual factors and physological factors are the main ideas that make customers think if they should buy it or not. Certain products only reach to a certain market, and the company knows it so they make it easier for their customers to make the decision. It is crucial for "Coca Cola" to have options in the market so they can reach to different people and maybe even get new customers with their new product. Something different might want to make people try it out and they might like it. That's a very smart way to achieve new goals and acquire new customers in the market.

Chapter 5: Developing a Global Vision

Global Vision is being recognized and known around the world for your business or for what you do. As an example, "Coca Cola" is known for their soft drink around the whole globe. Coke is being sold around the whole world and everyone knows about it. They have made their name big enough for everyone to know what their business what is about and what they expect from customers. Once a company starts to expand to other countries, even other continents their chance of making a profit becomes a lot bigger. Like I stated before, "Coca Cola" is known for its main product which is coke, but that is not it. The "Coca Cola Company" owns other soft drinks (Fanta, Sprite), juice brands (Minute Maid), waters (Dasani, Vitamin Water), and even energy drinks (Monster) among many other drinks sold around the world. "Coca Cola" owns most of the soft drinks that are being sold out in the market. That is globalization. Developing a global vision in the market can make your business very successful. "Coca Cola" is a company that is known worldwide by everyone. You can find their product in the market anywhere you go.

Chapter 4: The Marketing Environment

 Marketing is the most important thing in a business. It is what makes the business grow stronger and compete with it's competitors. Social media is becoming very important for businesses to get new customers and attract new people. Facebook is a great way to do so. It attracts new customers, and it advertises their product to the people that stay connected to the internet world. For example, my company, "Coca Cola" has over 73 million likes on facebook which makes them very popular. People are directly or indirectly the basis of all markets, making population the most basic statistic in marketing. "Coca Cola" reaches out to all customers, from young kids to the elder. People spend so much money buying new products and innovative things. The ethnic market is changing over the years, there are so many hispanics in the U.S now than there ever was. The poulation is changing so much that some states white is already minority. These states are: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi, and Nevada. The consumer's purchasing power depends on how much their income is. If a a household doesn't have a high income, they will not buy items that they want, but only items that they need. That affects the company, and it's income as well. Political and legal factors are also crucial to a company. There are laws and restrictions that companies have to follow otherwise they will be punished, be given fines and sometimes even harsher decisions made by the government.

Chapter 3: Ethics and Social Responsibility

In order for customers to be satisfied, the company has to be honest with their customers This is all about ethics. Being honest can take you various places, very good places. People start to trust you more, and more and become a regular customer since they now they have their trust in the company. It's like a contract between the cuctomer and the company. The company will be honest with the customer in order for the customer to be a regular to them. "Coca Cola" for example has to be honest with their customers, customers need to know about the product, how it is made, what it is made of among many other information on the product. Being socially responsible is also a big role for companies. "Coca Cola" has been involved in many social responsibilities such as, a project called "Ocean Cleanup" which is great for the environment and helping earth become a better place, also stopping the furher extinction of some animals that could be harmed by the garbage around the oceans. They also provided drinking water to more than 60 million americans. "Coca Cola" signed a contract with the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) in order to restore natural resources to provide water for many americans. Green Marketing is also very important for the environment and it makes companies look friendly with the environment, which is becoming very popular amongst many companies. Recycling is a big part of it, and "Coca Cola" is trying to do it's part in it by recycling used bottles, and cans that were purchased by previous customers.

 

Chapter 2: Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

"Coca Cola" has had its main product out for a while, which is the regular coke beverage. But in order for the company to make profit and expand into other countries and reach new customers it needs to come up with something new. Like every company, when it comes out with a new product and it reaches the customer, it could be a great investment or a fail. A company always needs some other product  to back itself up. "Coca Cola" for an example, had created many different flavors with their main product. For example, "Coca Coca Cherry", "Coca Cola Lime", "Coke Zero", "Coca Cola Vanilla", among many others. This type of investment gets the customers attention and even new customers could start using the product. This is a way of reaching to new customers and making more profit. Now some products of the company are considered stars, they are the company's main product and the product that brings in most money out of all products, but they need a lot of cash to be started. There are also dogs and problem child , which are products that were introduced to the market but it hasn't really satisfied the customers and will have to be "thrown out" of business. It is very important to plan how the product will be introduced to the public and, and how its going to affect the business. Companies need to set a competitive advantage to their competitors. Introducing new products that only your company will make is a great way to take an advantage on others. If you are the only one manufacturing certain products, you will have no competition and all the profits will be yours. Businesses need to figure out how to make a difference, not only make new products because competitors will always come back at you with a new product as well. Implementation of the product is crucial to the business. It is very critical that the product is introduced the right way to the market otherwise it could be a big fiasco and the company only wasted time and money which is essential nowadays in business.

Chapter 1: An Overview of Marketing

The "Coca Cola" recipe was first created at the Eagle Drug and Chemical Company, which was a drug store in Columbus, Georgia by the man named, John Pemberton. It was first introduced to the market as a patent medicine at a very low cost, only 5 cents for a cup at the soda fountains which were very popular in the 1880s in the United States. The creator of Coca Cola believed the drink cured many diseases, such as, morphine addiction, dyspepsia, neurasthenia, headache and impotence. The first advertisement of the beverage was on May 29, 1888. The name "Coca Cola" was established by John Pemberton. Many other Atlanta businessmen were using the same formula for the drink and tried to bring Mr. Pemberton down. Later on, after John Pemberton's death, a man Asa G. Candler bought the recipe from John's wife and started to produce the beverage on his own. It is said that he bought the rights for $300 from Mr. Pemberton's wife at her husband's funeral. Candler now owned "Coca Cola" after about a year, with a total investment of $2,300 in the company. The first time Coke started being manufactured in bottles was in 1891 in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The first outdoor advertisement for "Coca Cola" took place in Cartersville, Georgia in the year of 1894. Later on, Coke was even certified kosher after some ingredeients were changed. By July 12, 1944 the one billionth gallon of "Coca Cola" syrup was manufactured making it a big deal for the owners of the beverage. Coke cans weren't introduced until the year of 1955, much after "Coca Cola" had been already established and well known all over the U.S. "Coca Cola" mission statement was and still is to refresh the world, inspire moments of happiness and optimism and to create value and make a difference in the world.