The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) has, without a doubt, one of the best long-term track records in the history of Wall Street. That doesn't mean, though, that investors should equate a tradition of excellence with a guarantee of future success. Every business faces challenges. As investors, we need to understand the threats and assess a company's ability to adapt.

The problems at Coca-Cola are: 1) Its marketing efforts in the U.S. have been dismal. Pepsi's (NYSE: PEP) been teaching marketing to Big Red for more than a year now; 2) Coke needs to increase unit case volume to where it was when CEO Roberto Goizueta was running the firm. That includes all drinks (particularly with exploding demand for bottled water) and all corners of the world (with so many aspiring democracies to explore).

It gets back to a consistent marketing message and tight messaging throughout the company. Coke's lacked both in recent years. It needs to get back on track.

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