The Coca Cola company, headquartered in the United States, has more than 350 global and regional brands, especially the most famous ones, such as Coca Cola Classic, diet coke, coca cola zero, Fanta and sprite. The company sells concentrated drinks and syrup, carbonated soft drinks, mineral water, sports drinks as well as fruit juice, plant drinks, tea and coffee. The key message Coca Cola is trying to promote is that Coca Cola products provide inspiration and energy, promote social connections, and therefore have a positive impact on customers' lives. Given that the company's drinks are officially sold in all countries of the world except Cuba and North Korea, I am very interested in the marketing practices of the brand. Everyone is talking about Coca Cola as one of the most common and typical non-alcoholic beverages. Coca Cola is a customer-oriented brand, its successful communication strategy has an important impact on the marketing effect of Coca Cola.

The core value of the company's products lies in Coca Cola's determination to improve people's lives. When a person opens a can of coke or other Coca Cola products, it represents happiness. It also contains the social value of a person consuming Coca Cola products, which means that the surrounding environment becomes more pleasant and comfortable.

Coca Cola's marketing strategy has some basic theoretical aspects. The company's marketing strategy is based on a well-known "4P" marketing mix: products, prices, promotions and locations. Segmentation helps brands define the right products for a specific customer base. Coca Cola does not aim at market segments, but adjusts its marketing strategy according to new products. Coca Cola adopts a competitive positioning strategy to surpass its competitors in the soft drink market.

The brand faces three direct marketing challenges: narrow the scope of concern, expand the moat, and determine the goal. By narrowing the focus, Coca Cola slows down the decision-making process, hinders operational efficiency, and makes the company vulnerable to competitors. Expanding the moat means expanding the diversity of the company's products. In the absence of compelling innovation, Coca Cola has to rely on its emotional connections with consumers to buy time for the next big thing. The final marketing challenge is how to define its purpose. Coca Cola should not only pursue the goal of high profits, but also make clear the reasons for its own business. Strengthening public relations and clarifying corporate social responsibility should be the basis of marketing strategy.

In order to balance the analysis of Coca Cola Brand achievements, we decided to provide three kinds of negative comments on Coca Cola on social media, especially twitter. The first bad thing is that people don't like Coca Cola's customer service. The second bad thing is that sugary drinks lead to obesity. The third bad thing people say about Coca Cola is that they don't like the company itself. The following three screenshots confirm what people say about Coca Cola:

These comments make sense because one should not drink sugary drinks often. These products can lead to obesity in children and adults. In addition, Coca Cola seems to pay too much attention to the general scale of advertising and business development and does not take a personalized approach to each customer. As a result, customer service for some retail customers may be considered inadequate.

In general, the company's customer policy is based on the principles of kindness, politeness, and mutual respect. Company representatives mainly communicate with customers through electronic communication channels, especially through social media. Managers are very competent in the company's products, production, transportation nuances, and marketing strategies. As a result, criticism of customers faces clear facts about the company and its products. Because of these factors, the company's customer communication strategy is effective.

If I were a brand manager, I would learn to be alert to determine if my conversations with customers started with a negative tone, indicating a change in rhetoric direction. For better results, I'm free to redirect the conversation to the appropriate channel or reply via email or private message.

In general, I learned a lot of interesting information about the world-famous Coca Cola company because of this mission. In particular, I learned how to use marketing tools effectively to succeed in both domestic and global markets. I realized that when developing an effective marketing strategy for an organization, the needs of customers must be put first.

J.C Penny explores bankruptcy as hopes for recovery fade

The article I am writing about is “J.C Penny explores bankruptcy as hopes for recovery fade”, published on Reuters business news. This article interested me because it highlights the struggle that J.C Penny Co Inc is facing due to the current coronavirus crisis. There are also many other companies and organizations facing a similar situation across the globe. The company usually operates different department stores around the United States and Puerto Rico where it normally provides merchandise and services to various consumers via its department stores, the catalog department, and the internet too. However, the company has been forced to temporarily shut down its 850 stores in the U.S. The closure of the stores has affected the company’s income and made it impossible for the company to pay off its debt. The company has a longstanding debt which amounts close to $4 billion (Spector, 2020). The company is supposed to pay a $12 million debt by 22^nd April 2020, followed by a $105 million repayment by the end of June (Spector, 2020). Currently, the company is not in a position to meet the deadlines due to the closed stores.

The company managers are thinking about filing for bankruptcy protection because revenues are drying up. The managers are thinking that filing for the bankruptcy would help in reworking the company’s unsustainable finances as well as save money for the looming debt payments. The company’s value preposition is to strengthen private brands, become a global omnichannel retailer as well as to increase revenue per customer. The marketing relevance explored in this article is the ability to manage a crisis.  J.C Penny is faced by a financial crisis which the company should be able to manage or otherwise the company will collapse completely. The company also has annual interest expenses that will require attention. While the idea of filing for bankruptcy will might help the company address its debt, the managers should prioritize discussions with lenders to push the debts due dates without necessarily filing for bankruptcy. 

If I was the manager, I would ask the creditors for a breathing room via transactions that would help the company to work out the debt without necessarily filing for bankruptcy. I would also capitalize on the internet means of selling merchandise despite the limited number of customers. The company should also think about discussing with its lenders about various ways that can be applied to strengthen its balance sheet as well as maximize its financial flexibility. From this article, I have leant that a company’s debts can be a serious issue in times of crisis such as coronavirus. Hence, an organization should have well laid strategies to address its debt burdens.

 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-jc-penney-bankruptcy-exclusive/exclusive-jc-penney-explores-bankruptcy-as-hopes-for-recovery-fade-sources-idUSKCN21W34W

about me

Name: Shangyi Liu

Prefer: Shangyi

Pronouns: him

Native Language: Chinese

I was born in China and I came yo United States 3years ago for higher education. My major is business and I also very enjoy it, and that's why I have to take this class.
For me, personally, marketing is interesting because i would like to know how the market works.