Coca Cola Case Study

Executive Summary:

The strategic choices of Coca-Cola align with the firm's generic strategy of differentiation. The incorporation of SWOT analysis identifies a strength that has allowed the company to maintain a sustained competitive advantage, however has overlooked an opportunity in the health drink market.

In this paper, I look at the differentiation strategy for Coca-Cola and compare the strategy to the SWOT analysis. In addition, I will discuss the missed opportunity mentioned above as well as discuss unaddressed weakness of the potential political impact to the company’s diversification. Finally, I discuss how the mission statement of Coke needs to be updated and illustrate how the vision statement still stands the test of time and where the company needs to focus to remain profitable and keep the competitive advantage.

Introduction

The business strategy of a corporation is one of the tools an organization can use to establish a sustainable consumer advantage. Michael Porter describes four types of strategies in his lectures; low cost, differentiation, niche focus, and pre-emptive move (Porters Generic Strategies, 2007). It is how an organization matches its overall strategy to the SWOT analysis to generate a competitive advantage.

In this paper, I will discuss the differentiation strategy of The Coca-Cola Company and compare the strategy to the SWOT analysis conducted in modules 2 and 3 of this class. In addition, this paper will cover unaddressed threats and missed or overlooked opportunities of the company; possibly requiring a relook and revamping of the mission statement. As this paper will show, the current vision statement for Coke remains consistent with opportunities and threats identified below, however to focus the company; the mission statement should add the health drink product line preferred by customers.

The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) Primary Business Strategy

Business level strategy used by Coca Cola is the differentiation strategy. According to Porters Generic Strategies (2007), a differentiation strategy involves the production of a unique product (or products, focusing on superior in value for the customer). The underlying strategy is to build customer brand loyalty. TCCC strives to differentiate from the competition by creating a strong, brand loyal customer base.

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