Coca-Cola is one of the largest company of the world and claiming one of the leading position in with its massive market share in the soft drinks and beverage industry. It started with a small company and couldn’t even achieve profits in the first few years and during the first year, only nine bottles per day used to be sold! But now around 1.9 million bottles are being sold globally, and in many places, it is considered as the number one choice for soft drinks. And all this upside-down change has happened because Coca-Cola has successfully made itself unique from others and gained a more significant profits margin. So what are those exclusive competitive advantages?
5 Major Competitive Advantages of Coca Cola
Unique Packaging
The packaging itself is enough to gather the attention of the market and become the preferred one. And Coca-Cola is superior in this thing. It offers its drinks in an identically shaped bottle which is unique than everyone else in the market. The design of Coke’s bottle is inspired by the cocoa sheath, making it resembling with the drink’s flavor. It worked as a silent salesperson. You don’t need to convince people externally to buy the drink, the packaging itself can do the work. And because of this, this brand is still recognized as one of the best companies with versatile, catchy packaging for its products.
The Image of “Storyteller”
The marketing strategy of Coca-Cola isn’t like others. People acknowledge and admire it as a “World Class Storyteller” brand. Each promotional campaign of this brand comes with engaging stories. It introduced people with the concept of sharing happiness through Coke. It has made its presence through stories in a way that people feels good while consuming its drinks. As a result, this brand has gained a massive word of mouth publicity around the world compared to other competitors in the market. No one else could make it possible through their marketing campaign as much as Coca-Cola did.
Different Innovative Flavors
The product portfolio of this brand is huge! Coca-Cola offers approximately 3900 soft-drinks! And it is continuously inventing and supplying new products in the market to keep pace with the trend and capture a new area. In 2015, it launched a drink named “Powerade” to win the sports drink market in Mexico; it also has a product line called “Simply Beverages” that is consist of fresh, distinct flavored drinks with carafe style bottle packaging. These innovations resulted in a huge success and helped this brand to increase its market share and profit margin within the industry.
The Massive Distribution System
Coca-Cola is currently operating in more than 200 nations globally. And it has made its substantial presence in all of those countries equally. All this became possible because of its comprehensive supply chain management. It has reached to locations where no other companies couldn’t make themselves available. This brand has established a broad vending partnership network that has helped it to become available in every situation. It also continually helps it, suppliers and farmer, with the necessary support to maintain the quality and gathers data about a particular market and serves based on the expectation. This dynamic and robust network is prominently responsible for the larger selling margin this brand enjoys.
One-Stop Shops
Coca-Cola has launched its “One Stop Shop” which allowed the brand to connect directly with its customers. These shops are called as Ekocenters, which will provide its own products as well as water, vaccines, meal, medicines etc.! This idea helped to contribute socially and create a more substantial market value among the customers. This brand also provides fridges to its customers to store. The refrigerator is available free of charge. As a result, retailers don’t face any trouble regarding cost implications.
Related: SWOT Analysis of Coca-Cola and Advertising Strategy of Coca Cola
References
- https://www.ukessays.com/essays/business/a-case-study-on-coca-cola-business-essay.php
- https://notesmatic.com/2018/03/11703/
- https://www.competitiveadvantageanalysis.com/competitive-advantage-of-coca-cola/
Sadnan is one of the top contributors of The Strategy Watch, he has been actively contributing since 2017 as a Content Analyst; He has finished his graduation from North South University with a dual major in Accounting & Finance. As a contributor, he has written for different topics including Leadership Styles and Qualities, Finance, and Economics. He also has a strong interest in SWOT & PESTLE Analysis and Marketing Strategy.