Introducing the Calcium-Fortified Pepsi Drink in the UAE Essay

Introduction

Consumers are generally influenced by two factors: internal influences and external influences. Internal influences are personal feelings and thought that includes self-concept, motivation, attitudes, emotions and perceptions. These factors generally influence perception, purchasing patterns, and attitude customers develop towards a product or a service offered by business.

Besides, these factors are directly linked to internal and external interacting social aspects that control the pattern of though and expressed feelings. Reflecting on internal and external influences, this paper develops a comprehensive matrix for purchasing patterns exhibited by customers of the Pepsi soft drink in the UAE in relation to the future marketing practices that the Pepsi Company may adopt in order to penetrate the Middle Eastern market.

Marketing the Pepsi drink in the UAE

Market dynamics and consumer behaviour in the UAE

It is necessary for the Pepsi Company to tailor its calcium-fortified drink to suit the acceptable cultural norms in the UAE. Several external influences affect consumer behaviour in UAE. These influences include individual culture and sub-culture, group associations, social cultural and household structure since the consumption and purchasing behaviour is heavily influenced by the unique UAE conservative culture^[1].

The general buying decision in the UAE

There has been substantial research on consumer behaviour, examining the decision process and influences upon it. These are in terms of store and brand characteristics and consumer behaviours. Solomon (2009) notes, “Central to the theories of consumer behaviour is the conviction that different consumers go through markedly complex decision making process that is influenced at different stages by a number of possible variables”^[2].

The buying process normally begins with the need for a particular product or good. The ‘need recognition’ by consumers is essential part of the buying process because purchase cannot take place without it. Thus, the acceptance of the calcium-fortified Pepsi soft drink will depend on recognition of its significance in UAE.

The second stage in the decision making process is ‘information search’. The need that is created prompts a consumer to such for available information concerning the good or service that can satisfy that need.

Information search occurs internally and externally. The internal search involves search for information from the memory of the consumer and is determined by past experiences with such products. External search is employed when the internal search fails to provide the information necessary to help the consumer make the buying decision in the UAE.

After realizing the need to purchase, the UAE consumers engage in information search to be able to determine the best quality and cheapest brand available in the market that is aligned to their unique culture. ‘Evaluation’ is the last Stage before the consumers decide to make the purchase. It is a process by which an alternative evaluation is based on price, brand name and country of origin before the product is selected to meet the need^[3].

Despite the fact that the market for Pepsi products have been in existence for a long time in UAE, there has never been a calcium-fortified drink from this global company. As a result of the recent economic difficulties, families in the UAE have been scrimping and operating on relatively fixed budgets. Families may benefit from the new Pepsi product since it promises rich calcium to the young children.

Reflectively, the potential clients are likely to accept this product since it usability is on a daily basis, that is, most UAE snacks are incomplete without the soft drinks. This would make potential clients prefer this product especially now that it also promises calcium nutrient. Thus, as an efficient and affordable product, potential UAE clients are likely to embrace this drink as part of their dieting programs in their homes^[4].

Potential influencing factors

This calcium-fortified Pepsi soft drink targets families on both ends of the economic ladder. They purchase and consumer fresh drinks often and have a budget allocation for the same from time to time. These families are spread across all regions of UAE and are major consumers of soft drinks as revealed by the current statistics.

Thus, the main factor that would influence their behaviour is the social identification with the product, that is, it is the first of its kind besides offering rich calcium nutritional value to the UAE users. Moreover, the product is likely to change the perception of the UAE clients whose purchasing ability is defined by perceived quality.

Thus, the Pepsi Company should utilize advertising materials such as print, broadcast and internet ads as a product that is well-worth its price. Given the literacy levels and the exposure to technological inventions of the target buyers, the group is likely to choose the imported calcium-fortified Pepsi drink among other products performing the same function based on the psychological perception created by these advertisements.

Properly designed online marketing and product distribution management facilitated the success and sustainability in online marketing since it operated within stipulated business laws. Among the new development elements that the Pepsi Company should incorporate in the segmented UAE market include trust, distribution, fair retribution process, and passing accurate information to target audience to restore confidence within these networks.

Potential risks factors

The potential risk factors that may face the calcium-fortified Pepsi drink is the possibility of rejection by the older members of the UAE since their bodies do not need too much calcium. Since the product will penetrate the market whit the message of calcium fortification, the new Pepsi drink will be vulnerable to distorted messages on calcium content since the target market is known for its reservations and rejection based on what a close family member says about the product^[5].

In order to avoid the above risks, the new Pepsi drink should come with self explanatory sticker written in simple language that the potential consumer can understand and read in order to know the exact calcium content. Besides, Pepsi Company should make the stickers in Arabic language in order to create a sense of belonging as the potential UAE customer of the soft drink will want to associate with a product they can understand^[6].

Distribution network for the new Pepsi drink in UAE

The physical distribution patterns are with no doubt a critical area of focus. This will make use of the company’s brand logos that are highly recognized by most of the UAE consumers to build other distribution channels in the UAE market. The Pepsi Company may use the already existing distribution network to make the new soft drink easily available in all regions of the UAE.

For various reasons, the provision of the calcium-fortified Pepsi drink would be best done by sales persons of the UAE native. This will increase the chances of credibility and ease on the interpersonal variables during product promotion and provision^[7]. The potential UAE customers will not have to struggle to get this product which is likely to be part of their daily dieting needs.

Conclusion

Consumer behaviour is a decision-making process and all activities that a potential customer is involved in prior to acquisition, evaluation, use, and disposition of goods and services. Consumer’s decision making thus is complicated, dynamic, multi dimensional process as is the case in UAE.

Essentially, success of brand and product management for the proposed calcium-fortified Pepsi soft drink as part of consumer behaviour in UAE will depends on a proper alignment of the company’s functional idea into the creation of flexible, involuntary, and quantifiable measurement of perception among the target UAE customers.

The calcium-fortified Pepsi soft drink is likely to penetrate the UAE market since the calcium nutrient content will be its competitive advantage to cue to perceptions of the conservative UAE society. However, the product may face minor resistance from the market segment targeting the elders due to its high calcium content which they do not need.

Bibliography

Rong, TS, Consumer Behaviour, Wu-Nan Book Co. Ltd, Taipei, 2009.

Solomon, M, Consumer behaviour: buying, having, and being, 8^th edn, Prentice Hall Higher Education, Madison, 2009.

Winchester, M, “Positive and negative brand beliefs and brand defection/uptake,” European Journal of Marketing, vol. 42 no. 6, 2006, pp. 553-570.

Footnotes

1. M Solomon, Consumer behavior: buying, having, and being, 8^th edn, Prentice Hall Higher Education, Madison, 2009, pp. 16-45.
2. Ibid
3. TS Rong, Consumer Behavior, Wu-Nan Book Co. Ltd, Taipei, 2009. PP. 21-56.
4. M Winchester, “Positive and negative brand beliefs and brand defection/uptake,” European Journal of Marketing, vol. 42 no. 6, 2006, pp. 553-570.
5. M Winchester, “Positive and negative brand beliefs and brand defection/uptake,” European Journal of Marketing, vol. 42 no. 6, 2006, pp. 553-570.
6. TS Rong, Consumer Behavior, Wu-Nan Book Co. Ltd, Taipei, 2009. PP. 21-56.
7. M Winchester, “Positive and negative brand beliefs and brand defection/uptake,” European Journal of Marketing, vol. 42 no. 6, 2006, pp. 553-570.