For the Coca-Cola Company, the Customer Is King

Customers are the most important aspect of your business. Without the customer, you wouldn’t have a business. Large companies such as Coca-Cola (who by the way use Lean Six Sigma methodologies) know all too well what happens when you change a product without the customer’s blessing.

It was April 23, 1985 when the Coca-Cola Company changed their prized Coke recipe. A national poll conducted showed that only about 13% of soda fans liked the new Coke. The company took a big fall; their customers weren’t upset, they were downright angry.

The customers and fans of Coca-Cola took it upon themselves to launch a campaign to bring back the original Coca-Cola. These passionate fans did everything, from setting up hotlines to signing petitions, and were outspoken in their quest to get the original Coke back.

All this time, the Coca-Cola Company took a major hit. They spent $4 million in development, and then after deciding to pull it off the shelves, they had over $30 million worth of unwanted new Coke concentrate. This is was the worst mistake that the Coca-Cola Company ever made, and it is still referred to as the worst flub a company has ever made.

Interesting Facts

It wasn’t that the Coca-Cola Company didn’t do their research; in fact over 53% loved the new Coke over the original. In the blind taste test, the subjects were just asked which one they liked best. So they didn’t have a choice. Had they been told that in choosing the new Coke the original would be phased out, the subjects would have politely changed their answer.

Apparently, customers make their purchasing decisions on habit, nostalgia, and loyalty.

This decision could have destroyed a great company. Luckily they listened to their customers and went back to the original Coca-Cola, and today with Six Sigma methodologies implemented, they are $182.9 billion strong!

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