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Coca-Cola and its customers: a study of brand loyalty through interviews

By Meenakshi Visvanathan
BACmmPy
MA213017

Brand loyalty is a pattern of consumer behaviour in which customers make repeated purchases of the same

brand or product over time. It is the emotionally charged choice of a customer to repeatedly buy a certain

brand. The customer believes that the specific brand has the attributes necessary to live up to their

expectations and personally connects with them. Brand loyalty contributes to the development of a solid

client base, which is then used as a tool to beat out competitors and get the edge needed to flourish in the

market.

Brand loyalty is not to be confused with consumer loyalty. When a client genuinely utilises a company's

product or service and is pleased with what it has to offer, brand loyalty is gained. On the other hand, in

order to keep consumers satisfied and encourage them to make repeat purchases, customer loyalty is

acquired through discounts, coupons, extended warranties, incentive programs and freebies. The major

distinction between the two ideas is that customer loyalty corresponds to what the consumer has in their

wallet, whereas brand loyalty corresponds to what they have in their minds. Brand loyalty is quite simple to

maintain after it has been developed, provided that the level of service and product quality is kept at a high

level. In comparison to consumer loyalty, which necessitates consistently providing low rates and ongoing

discounts to preserve best-deal-on-the-market reputation, making brand loyalty is also less expensive to

sustain.

In a study consisting of 110 Students of different universities on the Influence of Brand Loyalty on

Consumer Repurchase Intentions of Coca-Cola, it was found that customer satisfaction and the brand image

are the major factors that affect the brand loyalty of the consumer towards any brand, and that that brand
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loyalty and repurchase intentions has positive relationship, i.e brand loyalty influences the repurchase

intentions of consumer.

Coca-Cola, a product that has been in the market since 1886, is one such brand and product that has had

immense success in the market thanks to its loyal customer base that purchase not only the product, but even

product merch, such as red t-shirts with Coca Cola printed on them. There are a few reasons as to why this

is the case – ranging anywhere from iconic marketing, Ads and packaging to plain old good taste.

Interviewing three people about the same, I discovered that people don’t know much (and don’t care much)

about the history or making of the soft drink itself – but taste and quality are big factors, as are things such

as brand popularity and ease of availability, and to some extent the brands marketing, advertising and

packaging. Nostalgia plays a big role as well.

Hita, 21, master’s student

Hita says that she has been drinking coke since she was a child- she couldn’t really say since what year, but

over a decade, for sure. “Not very often though, because I honestly don’t really like fizzy drinks. Coke is

actually the only one I drink”, she says. Her reasons for drinking coke are simple - “It’s just kind of a classic

popular drink, no? Like, you think soda, you think coke only first, then maybe followed by like, Pepsi or

Fanta.” She says that she honestly has never considered switching to other soft drinks, because she does not

really like any of them. “Coke is the exception, Ive just been drinking it for so long.” She says.

Visvanathan, 50, Manager - Market research company.

Visvanathan said that the first time that he ever drank Coke was well into his college days. “I can’t really

tell you how the product has changed in terms of taste, because I didnt really drink it all that much when i

was younger, but i can tell you i still like it.” He said. “It’s got the right kind of fizz.” He said that he likes

the design a lot– “It’s classic.” He says that he has switched before, to Sprite, but it was too sweet for him,

so he switched back to Coke. “I want to say I drink it whenever my children buy it, but i do sometimes add

it to their grocery list because i want it.” He joked.

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Balaji, 16, 11th standard

“When I was little, my mom didnt really let me drink any aerated drinks,” says Balaji. “But there would

mainly be Coke and maybe like Maaza or Fruity or something at birthday parties and stuff – so that's when i

got to drink.” He says that he didnt really used to see much of a difference between Coke and it’s popular

competitor, Pepsi, but prefers Coke now. “I got annoyed by this one Pepsi Ad. I can’t remember it now. But

it made me like Pepsi less,” He laughed. “I had a phase when i was totally addicted to fizzy drinks,” he said,

“that time i would drink everything all the time – Mountain dew, Bovonto, and all. But then i got over that,

and I pretty much only pick Coke now. Maybe like, Miranda if i want something orange-y.” He said that he

had never really thought about the design or packaging before being asked now, but thinking about it, he

liked the red. “I like to collect cans,” he added. “And Coke cans are really nice.”

Another study involving Coca Cola, “Us Versus Them: Oppositional Brand Loyalty and the Cola Wars”,

suggests – loyal users of a given brand may derive an important component of the meaning of the brand

and their sense of self from their perceptions of competing brands, and may express their brand loyalty by

playfully opposing those competing brands. This phenomenon is termed oppositional brand loyalty.

There does not seem to be any one reason for Brand loyalty, but many, even with one person who is loyal to

the brand. But it would not be wrong to say quality is a non-negotiable part of the deal.
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Interviewee contact details

Hita - hitajunie@gmail.com

Balaji - 8971430691

Visvanathan - svishyn@gmail.com

Bibliography

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/brand-loyalty.asp

https://www.marketingtutor.net/what-is-brand-loyalty/

Influence of Brand Loyalty on Consumer Repurchase Intentions of Coca-Cola - Salman Habib, Saira

Aslam

The relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty: Cross-industry differences

Lars Gronholdt,Anne Martensen &Kai Kristensen

Albert M. Muniz, Jr. and Lawrence O. Hamer (2001) ,"Us Versus Them: Oppositional Brand Loyalty and

the Cola Wars", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 28, eds. Mary C. Gilly and Joan

Meyers-Levy, Valdosta, GA : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 355-361.