What influenced my decision?

I was pretty sure that my favorite soft drink is Coke, no doubt. However, when I was asked to do a simulation marketing research of three different soft drinks, I was shocked.

The game played in this way: three cups of drinks were offered in front of me, the same cup, the same color, and the same smell (actually no smell ^-^), I tried them one by one. Once I finished one, I was asked how it tastes and what makes it special, sweetness, palate, or aftertaste?

The first one is nice on the sweetness, just right palate, and good aftertaste; the second one is a little bit sweeter, palate is so-so, and the aftertaste is not so good; the last one is also sweeter, nothing special on palate and aftertaste. Finally, I chosen the first one，which is Pepsi…

Why? What makes it happen? Maybe at the very beginning, I chose Coke just because most of my friends like it, or I like its packaging (I like red rather than blue), or even just because it showed up earlier than Pepsi, so I thought it’s more“traditional”?

Actually, when we make a decision, we are all affected by brand expectations, packaging and the environment. So, it’s necessary to think deeper. What is the target market of a special product? What do they like best? What’s the main factor to force them to make a decision? And these are what the marketing research will do.