Certainly being a big firm; having large amounts of customers, economies of scale and market power is something that seems really good and attractive for anyone. However there is a problem to being “big”, businesses in some sense tend to accommodate and do not put enough effort to satisfy their customers with new advancements, expansions or what so ever. A perfect example of this is The Coca-Cola Company which as a result got affected with decreased sales and by then revenue.
Indeed it is nearly impossible to imagine how a firm that has been in the world-market for so many years, attracted so many customers will have a downshift in the amount of sales. So what could have gone wrong? What is the reason behind the drop? Is it that Coca-Cola finally reaching the decline phase in its product life cycle? Could it be that internally something was not done correctly? Could it be that the distribution channels were not longer working? Could it be that the market already needed a new beverage following up Coca-Cola Zero and Diet in order to increase their product line? or Could it be that generally society was having an incline toward healthier beverages?
In this situation is is very interesting to find out that the solution these marketing personnel had basically derived the reason to why sales went badly. Coca-Cola needed some sort of innovation, something else than advertisements, public appearances in world events or some of their selling techniques that would increase their sales. These amazing thinkers came out with the idea not only to change the packaging of their cans and bottles but also to involve their audience in it. The results are amazing because not only they managed to increase their sales but they also got the market even more attracted onto them, they built a deeper connection with their customers and this is what added the value to the bottle of Coca-Cola. It was not a new flavour or additional liters, it is the fact that your name or someone elses name was involve who added the value and the willingness to consume.
The lesson here is that if a business wants to do well and be in the market for a long time it has to go beyond numbers and the “box”, and being realistic if a monstruos firm like Coca-Cola needs it is for certain that other firms will need it.
Bibliography:
“This Clever Marketing Campaign Reversed Coke’s 11-Year Decline in Soda Sales.” Entrepreneur. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2014.