Communication For Coca-Cola Company: Changes, Challenges And Impacts On Business

How ‘Business Communication’ has Changed over the Last 20 years

Discuss about the Communication for Cocacola Company.

When it comes to achieving the goals of any business communication is important. With easy flow of information among the staff the set vision can be achieved with ease. Augment human capabilities are well facilitated through contemporary communication (Barry and Fulmer, p. 273). Just like any other business running a fizzy drink business requires one to embrace contemporary issues related to communication among staff and clients.  When one has effective communication skills then their businesses are made to flourish in many ways. It ensures close ties with important stakeholders in the business like suppliers, retailers and consumers. It also provides room for opportunities which influence trends, perceptions and conversations. Effective communication ensures proper decision making and faster problem solving based on reliable information (Wood, p. 22).  Use of social media to promote businesses has been embraced by many companies due to the ability to attract a great number of consumers. It’s the way to go for any person venturing into business in this 21^st century.

 The business world has undergone great changes over the last 20 years. Some aspects of doing business have become radically different in today’s world although some business practices have remained the same. For example, the way Coca-Cola Company markets its brands to its customers has just taken a new and different life of its own. This shift has resulted from changes in technology and the manner in which money is transacted in business.  Changes in doing business have occurred in the following key areas with respect to Coca-Cola Company (Levitt, p. 94).

Use of internet; in the last 20 years the widespread use of internet by the public was still in very early stages. In those years corporations were quickly vying to control the online market place. People were still trying to get over the idea behind creation of websites, using emails as well as learning of new ideas (Xiang and Gretzel, p. 179). In the early stages we had companies like face book, Amazon and Google emerging as the main central hubs of the modern commerce in the digital era. From then, social networking and bookmarking search engine optimization and many forms of digital traffic generation have grown tremendously. They have since existed as avenues of increasing volumes of internet based sales. Some affiliate programs such as email lists containing auto responders as well as blogosphere have equally emerged as appropriate ways of reaching out to masses. There have been an increasing number of online business transactions where the internet has realized billions in profits. Most business currently operate using company websites unlike the traditional ways of print advertisements (Bruhn, Schoenmueller and Schafer, p. 782).

Use of POS System in Retail Businesses

In the past 20 years most people had little or no experience with touch screen product access and making payments via mobile systems in the retail businesses. With time there has been the rise of modern Point of Sale (POS) systems which has come with a major optimization of sales volumes by the retailers. POS has made the running of retail businesses more cost effective and efficient by allowing customers to have direct access to onsite products as well as numerous payment options. Tracking and ordering invention has been revolutionized by the automation system which allows for the control of inventory measures. Mobile payment systems have also revolutionized business in the modern world (Munshi and McKie, p. 12).

Crypto currencies; the most successful attempts in the revival of using crypto currency since its collapse in 1998, is the reinvention of payments via PayPal systems. The rise of Bit coin from 2008 has increased the online exchange of crypto currencies and these are viable forms of using currency to engage in business transactions in the current world. They are the safest unofficial mediums of money exchange in the less publicized private online markets (Xiang and Gretzel, p. 88).

The app revolution; the first Smartphone series were realized in 1996 which was Nokia 9000 communicator. Currently the app driven commerce and Smartphone technology is at the heart of modern business. Some apps display company products while others provide payment methods for goods and services. Shoppers can also be able to do online comparison of products before settling on one. These changes have made consumers to be more savvy shoppers unlike 20 years ago.

Challenges that businesses in the 21st century are facing with communication /negative effect of social media on business

Marketing shift; this has become a burden since most businesses want to entirely rely on social media to reach their clientele but there is need for personal engagement with customers for one to realize success business success (Mulhern, p. 98).

Increased customer power; before inception of social media the negative customer-company experiences could remain within an individual circle of friends but with the onset of social media communication a bad experience by a customer with any company can go viral within the shortest period of time possible on social media risking business losses.

Tracking of negative or misleading statements; with social media communication it’s not easy to track negative statements about their brands (Vignali, p. 99).

Crypto currencies

Accidental release of confidential information; this can be inadvertently done by individuals with inside knowledge of the company which may damage the company’s competitive advantage. Before social media a letter that was sent to the wrong recipient could be retrieved and kept under wraps.

Habits of unauthorized employees speaking on behalf of the company; this is because it’s very difficult for employers to monitor its employees’ social media activities and stop them from speaking on matters concerning the company without any authority (Snowden and Boone, p. 67).

How changes in business communication have impacted the way that business is being done now

 People watch what they say; with changes in business communication business owners have to adapt to different races, cultures and even one’s physical appearance. This is because their comments may not only be irrelevant but also plain and ignorant. To get the job done is the most important thing (Hanna, Rohm and Crittenden p. 266).

Changes in communication skills; business owners should be prepared to write long mails, make updates on LinkedIn, make tweets, post on face book etc and this is because we are operating in a multimedia world and the message has to be communicated to customers wherever they are.

One has to be on cal close to 24/7 and be mobile; out of office thing does not exist any more. One is expected to respond to mails, texts and even calls within minutes of receipt to keep up with the competitive world (Kim and Ko, p. 1482).

Increased travel; even with social media communications customers still expect to meet the business owners one on one. This has even become more demanding than in the past with flights this has become easier, safer and cheaper ad in return increased customer base as one is able to meet many customers within short time intervals.

Most business owners have become virtual and work from their homes unlike previously where one had to be in an office to have the business running. They have phone systems hosted and applications managed by someone else. Staff uses online collaboration tools to share files and a lot of information (Castronovo and Huang, p. 1).

Getting work from different places; unlike 20 years ago when businesses were managed by telemarketers today business owners are getting leads online. Services such as Foursquare are being used by retailers and restaurants to attract new customers. All this is thanks to remote technologies.

The app revolution

Less paper works and yet more people; checks are still being cut but not so many, paper invoices are no longer used by many businesses. People are archiving their documents online on platforms such as drop box and currently some businesses are moving to mobile e-signature system (Khang, Ki, and Ye, p. 279).

Relying on people from far-flung places; wit the internet one can get help from any qualified people regardless of distance.

Access to more data; with computer a lot of data can be stored for future use unlike the old ways of keeping records in files manually. One could have years of customer interaction and gigabytes of scanned documents all stored in one computer and easy to be accessed (Goman, p. 23).

Two examples of how this  business (Coca-Cola Company) is utilizing these new ways of communicating

Coca-Cola as a company has remained among the top when it comes to business ranking and this success is partly attributed to how it has embraced use of current business communication to reach its worldwide customers. Such engagements include;

 Use of internet; various forms of Coca-Cola adverts have been placed on the internet. For example the brand online advertisement is often undertaken using use of pop-up ads, banners, onsite sponsorship and other online advertisement forms present in thousands of websites along the globe. Some forums and websites have been specifically dedicated to Coca-Cola funs globally and here users share their stories on Coca-Cola refreshment (Cocacola marketing)

Advertisement through radio and television; the company spends a considerable amount of finances specifically for this purpose. The TV ads regarding Coca-Cola vary among countries and they are often prepared taking into account the different characteristics of the local culture so as to avoid misunderstandings that arise due to cultural differences this has maximized the positive impact of TV advertisements. Advertisement through the radio lasts for a few minutes but it’s considered to increase customer loyalty and level of brand awareness

Conclusion

There has been a huge influence of social media on business operations and marketing in modern world. It also has an impact on how the businesses engage with their target market. This growth is at an astounding rate and therefore it’s wise for any business looking to survive in this competitive world to work on developing and implementing a sustainable social media strategy so as to take full advantage of the rapidly changing business environment. However social media comes with its own negative impacts on any business such as loss of business data in case there was no backup as well as exposure of confidential information to the public unawares or by malicious employees.  Therefore, business owners should embrace these changes with a lot of keenness and be on the lookout for any negative impacts.

References 

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Cocacola Marketing. Retrieved from on April 16, 2017 from https://research-methodology.net/coca-cola-marketing-communications-a-critical-analysis/ 

Goman, C.K. (2002). “Cross-Cultural Business Practices,” Communication World 22-25.

Hanna, R., Rohm, A., & Crittenden, V. L. (2011). We’re all connected: The power of the social media ecosystem. Business Horizons, 54(3), 265-273. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0007681311000243 

Khang, H., Ki, E. J., & Ye, L. (2012). Social media research in advertising, communication, marketing, and public relations, 1997–2010. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 89(2), 279-298. https://jmq.sagepub.com/content/89/2/279. 

Kim, A. J., & Ko, E. (2012). Do social media marketing activities enhance customer equity? An empirical study of luxury fashion brand. Journal of Business Research, 65(10), 1480-1486. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296311003584. 

Levitt, T. (1983). The Globalization of Markets. Harvard Business Review, May–June, 92–102 Mapping bias, business and diversity. BusinessCommunication Quarterly, 64(3), 9-22. 

Mulhern, F. (2009). Integrated marketing communications: From media channels to digital connectivity. Journal of marketing communications, 15(2-3), 85-101. https://www.scholars.northwestern.edu/pubDetail.asp?t=pm&id=70449707615&n=Francis+J+Mulhern&u_id=1682.

Munshi, D., & McKie D. (2001). Toward a new cartography of intercultural communication: Snowden D.J., Boone M.E. 2007. A leader’s framework for decision making. Harvard Business Review 85(11), 68-76. 

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