Perceptions Of The Dimensions Of Brand Personality: A Survey On Coca-Cola

Discuss About The Perceptions Of The Dimensions Of Brand Personality.

Understanding consumer behaviour is critical to the success of any organization. Businesses need to understand the buying behaviour, patterns and preferences of customers in order to ensure repeat purchases and sustain customer loyalty (Horner & Swarbrooke, 2016). The goal of this survey is to understand customer’s attitude and behaviour regarding FMCG giant Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola is dominating the beverage industry through its extensive brand image and personality. Coca-Cola ranks third in the world in terms of brand awareness (Business Insider, 2016). The underlying idea behind conducting this survey was to gain a deeper insight regarding the inherent needs and desires of the customers while purchasing Coca-Cola.

The survey has been conducted with a sample size of 25 people. There has been no known bias in terms of the selection of the sample. All the participants are recent buyers or consumers of Coca-Cola.

This section of the report highlights upon the findings of the survey based on the data that has been collected. Respondent’s answers have been analyzed effectively in order to understand consumer behaviour of patterns while buying Coca-Cola. Ten questions were asked in the survey. The responses received on each of them are given below.

The first question tried to understand the motivation behind buying Coca-Cola. This helped us understand precisely what motivates or urges the sample population to buy the beverage. Understanding the motivation behind purchase helps businesses in putting efforts towards further motivation. The options presented to respondents were directly associated with the brand image and personality of Coca-Cola (Lantos, 2015).

The survey results indicate that the biggest motivation for people to buy Coca-Cola is the fact that it is refreshing and that it tastes good. 48% respondents consider Coca-Cola to be a refreshing beverage. Hence the brand must consider this factor while devising its promotions strategies.

The second question aims to understand the perception regarding the product before the customer made the purchase. The before purchase perception comes from a variety of factors. This may include the packaging of the product, efficient advertising by the organization, positive word of mouth publicity or even the nature of product. It is important for organizations to understand the perception about the product that consumers hold before buying the product (Foxall, 2014). If that is low then businesses must put efforts in identifying the reason behind this and towards improving the same.

Overall the perception of the sample population for Coca-Cola before buying the product was positive as per 60% of the respondents. This reflects positively upon the advertising and branding strategies adopted by Coca-Cola.

Data analysis and key findings

The third question understands the perception in the minds of consumers regarding the product after making the purchase. This is important to understand if the perception post purchase has improved, degraded or remained the same when compared to that before the purchase. This helps in evaluating the post purchase behaviour of customers and their perception towards Coca-Coal. If a business’s post purchase perception is worse than that before purchase then it signifies that the business is able to create curiosity and excitement regarding the product but unable to meet customer’s expectations (Maehle, Otnes & Supphellen, 2011).

For Coca-Cola, the post purchase perception remains positive with the same 60% of the consumers depicting that the brand has been successful at building expectations as well as living up to them.

The fourth question throws light on the family association of the product by understanding which family members use Coca-Cola. This is important to understand how customers perceive Coca-Cola in regard to their family. Some products can be consumed with family members and have a family vibe to it others may be best suited for personal use.

As per the analysis of the survey, family values associated with the beverage are high. 60% of the respondents accept that everyone in their family consumes Coca-Cola. This goes to show that the brand could introduce promotional strategies on its family pack or could also position the product effectively by demonstrating family values in its advertisements.

Value for the money paid by a customer for a particular product plays an important role in influencing the behaviour and perception of the product in the mind of the customers (Ali, Thumiki & Khan, 2012). Even if a product is premium priced, as long as it delivers value to customers, the business will grow. However, despite several discounts if the customers fail to see value in a product, they will not continue to purchase the product.

When asked about the value delivered by Coca-Cola with regards to the money paid by customers, the response was highly positive. 92% of the participants responded that the value for money delivered by the beverage of Average, above average or excellent. None of the respondents felt that the value for money delivered by the brand was poor. This goes to show that customers are happy with the current pricing strategy of Coca-Cola.

There are several emotions that an individual associates with a product or service while consuming it. These emotions play a significant role in ensuring repeat purchases and customer loyalty (Esch et. al., 2012). Customers tend to consumer brands that they feel positively about. If an individual feels angry at a brand then the possibility of the customer buying the product is reduced.

However, with Coca-Cola, the strategies adopted by the brand to create a positive brand image must be largely appreciated. 80% of the respondents could associate positive emotions with the brand. These emotions included happy, refreshing, sharing, energetic and celebration. Only 8% of the people had ‘unhealthy’ as their first emotion regarding the brand.

With the advent of globalization and technology, competition among businesses is getting fierce by the day. Even in the FMCG sector, the competition among various brands is very high. In the face of increasing competition, it is imperative that businesses adopt strategies that help them in differentiating their product or services from other players of the industry (Loecker, 2011). There are various competitors of Coca-Cola that offer several options to customers. Hence this question aims to identify the biggest differentiating factors owing to which people prefer Coca-Cola over other brands.

As per the survey, the most differentiating factor of Coca-Cola over other brands was the taste of the beverage and the price. Only 16% of the respondents did not prefer Coca-Cola over other brands, the rest 86% of the respondents had their allegiance towards the brand. Besides the taste and price, few of the respondents also preferred Coca-Cola over other competitors owing to effective packaging and positive brand image (4% and 8%).

For every product, it is important to identify the reason that the customers believe in while making the purchase. Coca-Cola can be used as a refreshing drink or it can be used to cheer someone up while they are upset. However, understanding and identifying these reasons can help the business in devising unique promotion strategies that specifically aim to target customers for that particular reason or motivation.

A wide majority of Coca-Cola customers believe that they buy Coca-Cola because it helps them feel refreshed. Using this information, Coca-Cola can adopt strategies to build upon that brand image of a refreshing drink and target customers in an effective manner.

56% and 48% respondents considered Coca-Cola an appropriate beverage for special occasions or for a refreshing drink respectively. Understanding this, the brand can include these emotions and situations through their advertisements and other promotion strategies.

Brand image or brand personality of a particular business refers to the human attributes that can be assigned to the brand (Bian & Moutinho, 2011). It is important the businesses create a brand image that is relatable to customers. This would motivate them to buy the product as now they may feel that they have a personal connection with the brand. Coca-Cola also has several such attributes that customers relate with. This question aimed to identify how significantly people relate with the brand.

76% of the respondents could relate to the brand image offered by Coca-Cola. This includes being optimistic, refreshing, energetic, family time and sharing. None of the participants said that their ability to relate with the brand was very low. This demonstrates that Coca-Cola is a very likable brand.

The easiest and the most significant contribution that a customer can make towards a brand is recommend the brand to other around. This word of mouth publicity is essential for improved brand image and increased brand awareness (Sweeney, 2018). Therefore it is essential to understand if customers of a particular brand will recommend the brand to those around them.

Coca-Cola clearly has a set of loyal customers because only 8% of the respondents mentioned that they would not recommend Coca-Cola to others. The rest 92% people were likely to recommend Coca-Cola to someone or believed that the brand’s level of awareness is strong and Coca-Cola needs no introduction.

References

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