Entrepreneur

dafuq?

THIRST

Coke and other drinks solve the problem of thirst (in a hot day, after long day of work, etc) or the problem of needing to drink something with food. Try eating your meals without a drink, that’s a legit problem. They just got really good at being the solution in many people’s eyes

They got in early on branding so when you feel thirsty or need something to drink with a meal, a lot of people automatically associate it with needing coke. They are then the perceived solution.

The luxury items = status, they’re solving the problem of insecurity.

Well the original had cocaine in it. Sugar satisfies dopamine receptors in the brain so its basically satisfying an addiction.

It meets a number of needs from what I can see:

Comfort paired with consistency (people recognise the name and know the flavour).. Addiction (caffeine hit).. Comfort again (the fizz can help with digestion if you have an upset stomach).. Sugar cravings (it looks like sugar is actually a highly addictive substance).. Safety (for example if you are traveling people will often only drink from a known safe container to avoid bad water)..

People like choices. You keep saying water. Why does wine, whiskey, coffee, tea, etc. exist. Coke is dominate due to them being one of the first colas to the market (unique), had a hard to replicate formula that gave them intellectual property (even without cocaine since it didn’t scale until that was long gone in their formula), capital since they grew due to being unique (and invested in), etc.

Basically, they built barriers to entry and own the top spot in the market. It’s VERY hard to dethrone a top player. Remember the coke sells a lot of other products also, including water. They also diversified when their sales were growing as quickly and/or slowed down in the past.

Diet Coke cures my depression.

It solves a feeling customers are missing.

They also add sodium so you still feel thirsty after you are done drinking it!

Everyone says to build a good business you have to find customers pain points and solve that

Like with anything, there are exceptions. Who knows how hard it would be to get something like Coke to succeed today? It's not to say it doesn't solve problems too, but that's not why people buy it at this point. It's a part of the culture and passed down generations. Any product in Coke's shoes would be a smashing success unless it was going extinct, like fax machines.

The advice you mentioned is mainly so when starting a new business, you're not having to convince people in a way that won't really get them taking their wallet out to buy what you're selling, but instead looking for people with a problem and some urgency to solve it, and solve it for them with your product/service. Because if you've got that, you don't necessarily have to be good at two of the hardest things to master in business, sales and marketing.

Yes it creates and solves an addiction. Sugar caffeine etc I hate drinking it because it is addictive but gives me a short happy buzz.

Not every business needs to solve a problem. That's a fallacy. Doing that helps, but isn't needed.

Coke dominated advertising. First as medicinal usage then somehow convincing (paying) the government during WW1 that they were essential to solider morale therefore bypassing any sort of rationing that was thrusted upon other companies.

I don’t normally suggest YouTube but magnatesmedia on YouTube is an amazing channel with many businesses’ background.

Who told you a product has to solve problems to be a good product?

Your college lecturer is reading off the script.

Fact is, it's not a luxury product or a product that solves problems. It's a product that makes people feel good for a short time. Same as cigarettes and e-cigs. It's a dopamine hit.

I could tell you.. but then, I would definitely, have to kill you.

So...

do you still want to know? /s :)

Well, people need to something drink. They solve that problem. I think your question is should be phrased “what problem are they solving which other companies are not already solving?” in which my answer would be - none. If the company ceased operations tomorrow then all other beverage companies would rise to meet demand. Look at what happened to Bud Light after their hiccup from the marketing department.

Coca Cola has a very shallow moat, which is why they spend so much on marketing.

There are 3 types of products-

Painkillers: an immediate solution to a pressing problem.

Vitamins: not solving a pressing problem but something that can enhance your overall quality of life.

Candy: something that doesn’t solve a pressing problem, or enhance your overall quality of life, but is still enjoyable nonetheless.

The fastest line to success would be to sell a painkiller. But there are also vitamins and candy that always have a place in the market.

Zoom out. If you understand business models, great. But do you understand human psychology? Go watch some videos longer than 1 minute.

The secret ingredient is marketing. They push themselves in front of your face constantly.

Coca Cola used to have cocaine in it. that should explain it ;)

The contribute to an addiction..Sugar addiction

When cola was first created, I do not believe there was an alternative. So at the time cola was a new luxury affordable by the masses. Today cola has been around for more than a hundred years and it is difficult to see the problem solved when it has been solved for so long. To the second part of your question all the other businesses you mentioned are products you use when all your other needs are met, food, security, and shelter. When those needs are not met and society goes into a recession those businesses are hit the hardest.

I think you have great imagination and imagine that “everyone is saying that”. Or maybe you’re listening to wrong people because I guess Coca Cola may not be saying that. Find out what Coca Cola is saying and then make a claim that “not everyone is saying the same thing.” But maybe everyone is saying that you need to research a topic to not make false claims about everyone saying something :)

Thirst

Well, for starters, they are ancient and has been a giant in the industry for ages, helps with brand recognition and trust. Soda B could taste 100x better and people will still get a can of ice-cold Coke over it. Their marketing only gets better over the years, adding to that ancient ass brand recognition.

Basic necessities solve themselves. There will always be a market for food, beverages and other personal hygiene commodities (toothpaste, tp, tampons etc.) and medicine. If air could be marketed I'm sure it would be too (it sort of has in the flavoured air department). In order to really break into these markets it takes enormous amounts of effort and struggle, since there are big players already dominating and have been for hundreds of years. Coke cola (in its current form) has the luxury of being 120+ years old, the people running it now weren't even alive for its conception. This is an extreme generationally engrained brand that has immortalized itself in the beverage market, for better or for worse, with it being the most popular drink in over 100 countries.

There are certainly some products, services, and businesses that don’t appear problem-focused on the surface but rather fulfill some want or desire.

Drilling down another layer or two, there usually still is a core need being met, but it’s more generalized. For example games or movies address our need for enjoyment and leisure, and the specific genres or flavors provides the differentiation (sometimes in an underserved segment).

There are "Want to" and "Have to" services and products. Things you want, or things you have to have. Selling people what they want or what they need is better than selling something no one wants or needs. But market and advertise differently for the two different types.

A problem that didn’t need to exist that Coca Cola created themselves, just like 90% of the companies created in the past 70 years. I hate this place.

So many wrong answers!

John Pemberton, the creator, had a medical degree and was addicted to morphine. The first version was an attempt to produce a tonic as an alternative to morphine. It was alcoholic.

Shortly after, with prohibition he created an alcohol free version.

He was trying to solve a problem in the start, now it's past that.

Coca Cola solves the problem of people wanting the taste of a Coke. When they changed their formula in the 80s people were outraged. They changed it back and remained the #1 soda since.

Coke, along with other additctions serve human needs. Products are not just to solve problems, they satisfy needs.

In fact, you can argue that most big companies apple, Amazon, Google etc., don’t solve major problems. They do satisfy different needs. Amazon shopping is all about convenience/speed. if we didn’t have Amazon, we’d probably be ok buying from local makers. It didn’t solve any major problem per se. In fact, products aren’t all about solving problems, it’s about satisfying customer needs.

Coco cola and other luxury brands are there to satisfy the wants of people, which is why they thrive.

Satiating an addiction

Originally a nice cocaine high now- caffeine game. Diet Coke has a great buzz

The problem that is solved is increased pharma profit from obesity and diabetes.

In many parts of the world they have branched out from being a beverage company to other industries for eg the whole pakistani music scene is single handedly being kept afloat by coca cola and their coke studio project

A problem is both real and invented. Coca-Cola solves the problem of thirst but it’s value is emotional marketing that sells happiness… “make it real” “have a coke and a smile” “open happiness” “taste the feeling” etc. it’s competitor is basically water and the like- boring, unfun, unhappy. That’s the invented value of “non-coca cola beverages don’t make you happy”.

Any product based on addictive substance will succeed. coca cola is addictive because of the caffeine and sugar. The same thing for Starbucks. A lot of food industries are not solving problem but instead selling addictive product and causing more problem. Sugar, salt, and fat are addictive if you mix those three ingredients and give it nice name, packaging, and marketing then you make a lot of money.

Most luxury brands solve the problem of people who want to 'show off'. Attention is a human need.

Consistent flavor, desire for novelty with the carbonation. A blank slate for designers and illustrators to get big paydays by working with a company so esteemed. Refreshment on a hot day, even if most are smart enough to realize it's not the most scientifically sound way to hydrate. Desire for nostalgia. Many people probably have associated memories with loved ones over a Coca Cola. The company solves a need for something other than boring old water to drink.

Coca cola - problem - water is boring. bubbly Suger is yum.

games/ movies - life sucks i need an escape.

dropshipping stores - i want something, these guys sell it, i no longer need to go serach anymore (or deal with sourcing directly from china)

expensive brands - i wanna look rich and be admired and show off

Coca-Cola has solved multiple problems over history. Plus Coca-Cola has historically been fantastic with marketing, product development and supply chain.

Successful businesses don't just solve problems. They must also deliver on everything else.

Coca-Cola began in an era where soft drinks were created by pharmacists to cover up the taste of medicine. They were often promoted as having their own health benefits. They were also popular drinks for kids and promoted by the Temperance movement.

Coca-Cola was not the first soft drink. But it was the first soft drink to figure out how to bottle its product and thus could be served outside of its location.

Coca-Cola also invented a unique bottle for their product. There wasn't cans of soft drink at the time. Only glass bottles.

If you saw a photo of the Coca-Cola bottle, you knew it was the Coca-Cola bottle. No other bottle looked liked it.

Prohibition and WW2 transformed Coca-Cola into the brand we know. Coca-Cola is not as sweet as other soft drinks. This enabled it to become the best mixer for poor-quality alcohol aka "bathtub gin" in Prohibition cocktails. As I recall reading, Patton's favorite drink was rum and Coke.

The Coca-Cola company capitalized on this. They supplied the US Army with as much of their product as possible. They were one of the first viral products.

As the US Army conquered territory, Coca-Cola built factories. They also built a large factory and distribution network across the US. This is a problem most Internet entrepreneurs don't have to worry about.

The soft drink industry is dependent upon a distribution network. Nobody compares to Coca-Cola's distribution network even today.

Coca-Cola had a century of the best marketing in history. The way Santa Claus is depicted is because of Coca-Cola.

They had the best tag line of all-time "The Real Thing".

Their jingle "Let Me Teach The World To Sing" was a hit song.

They worked with McDonald's to develop a system (the size of the straw is optimized for Coke flavor) so that Coca-Cola tastes best at McDonald's.

They developed recipes that use their product.

Even their biggest mistake - aka "New Coke"- was a success. Diet Coke is the diet version of "New Coke". 20 years later when people wanted to drink sugar-free soft drink without being Diet - they launched Coke Zero (now Sugar-Free Coca-Cola). It is the classic Coke formula without sugar.

In conclusion - when studying successful brands, you must look beyond the basic question of "what problem does it solve."

From what I feel personally they solve no problem but they simply an addiction just like tea or coffee. Yes we tea and coffee have polyphonic caffeine bla bla but real reason we drink is its a habit and a light addiction. Same goes for coke

Customers pay for only two things.

1. Seeking pleasure
2. Avoiding pain

Level one products/services are the hardest to bring to market, have fickle consumer cycles, and yet highest chance of real success if you don't fail.

The second class is more reliable, more commoditized. Safer bets but lower margins.

It's a very important and strategic decision as a business, and critical to know which you are for your gotomarket strategy.

Solves the problem of what to mix my alcohol with to not go to hard to fast

Every problem that isn't immediately life threatening... temporarily.

Ganes solve Depression temporarily bruh

Problem of the perfect mixer... have you ever tried a whiskey and Pepsi?

My rusty tools love that stuff. Cheapest rust remover on the market!

An amazing cure for a serious sugar addiction.