Summary
Being the beginning of the marketing plan, objectives should be set thoroughly in order to allow a company to achieve its goals.
A SMART Objective for Coca-Cola
To produce 20 percent more Coca-Cola Zero by the end of 2021.
- S – the goal is precise.
- M – the goal is quantified.
- A – the goal will be achieved by existing factories that specialize in this product.
- R – a realistic goal can be met with existing resources (Bjerke and Renger, 2017). The goal is achievable as the company has enough resources and a developed recipe.
- T – the goal is time-related and has the precise date by which it must be achieved.
Objectives and Key Results
Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) were utilized by many global enterprises. It is an innovative management tool that aims at encouraging clear communication, which contributes to effective communication within a company (Heinemann, 2020). The method’s effectiveness became especially obvious within the IT industry, which is why OKRs work for Google (Klanwaree and Choemprayong, 2019). For example, in 2018, each team of Google developed its own marketing plans using OKRs, and it was considered a high-level strategy that led to success (Doerr, 2018). OKRs, which imply “whats” and “hows” describing future measurable outcomes, do not work only in technology companies and can be regarded as a replacement for SMART objectives.
OKRs are Useful to Coca-Cola
OKRs implies a clear definition of tasks for the entire company, its departments, and employees. The key feature of the method is that the goal is not 100% achievable, and an employee is expected to feel a little uncomfortable (Niven and Lamorte, 2016). Since Coca-Cola is a more adopted brand then than Pepsi (Sultan et al., 2019), the company should adopt the latest marketing planning methods. Knowledge management is determining factor for organizations’ success (Deise and de Moura, 2016). Moreover, OKRs always imply transparency of information in the company (Hwang, Lin, and Shin, 2018). OKRs establish an algorithm for achieving goals, which can allow Coca-Cola to be specific while planning and increase employee commitment.
Reference List
Bjerke, M. B. and Renger, R. (2017) ‘Being smart about writing SMART objectives’, Evaluation and Program Planning, 61, pp. 125–127.
Deise G. D. and de Moura, G. L. (2016) ‘Organizational performance evaluation in intangible criteria: a model based on knowledge management and innovation management’, RAI Revista de Administração e Inovação, 13(3), pp.211–220.
Doerr, J. (2018) Measure what matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs. New York: Bennett Group.
Heinemann, J. (2020) The role of Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) as an innovation management tool in the context of ambidexterity. Bachelor Thesis. Berlin School of Economics and Law. Web.
Hwang, Y., Lin, H. and Shin, D. (2018) ‘Knowledge system commitment and knowledge sharing intention: The role of personal information management motivation’, International Journal of Information Management, 39, pp. 220-227.
Klanwaree, N. and Choemprayong, S. (2019) ‘Objectives & key results for active knowledge sharing in IT consulting enterprises: A feasibility study’, Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 56(1), pp. 441–444.
Niven, P. R. and Lamorte, B. (2016) Objectives and key results: driving focus, alignment, and engagement with OKRs. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
Sultan, K. et al. (2019) ‘A strategic approach to the consumer perception of the brand on the basis of brand awareness and brand loyalty: A comparative analysis of Coke & Pepsi brands in Erbil KRI’, International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147- 4478), 8(3), pp. 33–44.