Today, any person, whether it be a high-ranking official or a factory worker, a doctor or a student, everyone can easily say what Coca-Cola is

What do consumers buy when they purchase a product?

Functional benefit: The Coca Cola consumers are buying a direct functional benefit which is the good taste of the drink as well as the quenching of thirst.
The indirect functional benefit is the packaging; this is seen in the design of the Coca- Cola bottle which is contoured shaped, as well as promotions that term Coca- Cola drink the ‘Real Thing’.
Consumers also buy a psychological benefit which denotes the experience buyers get by being identified with a leading brand which is differentiated from others. The consumer is also able to boost their self-esteem and positive attitude towards life as they are accepted in social groups and society as a whole.

Why Coca-Cola had a higher share of the cola drinks market than Pepsi?

According to Armstrong and Kotler, many factors influence the buying behavior of consumers and their resultant choice of products or brands. These are highlighted below:

Loyalty to the product

The Coca Cola brand has been in the market for a longer period than Pepsi Cola and as such has developed a market niche is loyal to its products. This loyalty is particularly exhibited in the Southern parts of the USA in the region where Coca-Cola originated and where the company still had its headquarters. These people have probably been consuming coke since their youth and would opt for coke anytime instead of Pepsi cola.

Endorsers’ influence

These refers to reference groups in the society which include family, peer group and other important people whose opinion counts. The family members include the father mother or brothers who in most case are actively involved in the buying decisions of anything around the home. The choice of Coca- Cola over Pepsi would therefore count heavily. Peer group also translates to acceptance or rejection by not conforming to the expected behaviors depicted by other peers, which in this case is the purchase of coke in preference to Pepsi.