need help with paper

Final Paper

Southern New Hampshire University

MKT 228

December 16, 2018

Executive Summary

This report presents a marketing plan for Nike Inc. products that were recently introduced by the company. It contains a comprehensive analysis of various components including the market and its competitor’s analysis. Besides, the report discusses Nike’s objectives as it looks forward to expanding its market and the marketing mix strategies that are employed in terms of 4ps using new technologies. Nike as a worldwide company in apparel and footwear has coped with global competition through responsible design and marketing that offers remarkable performance.

Through the initiation of environmental management information system (EMIS), it has a plan to formulate a decision backup system that can enhance the “Considered Index” environmental preservation initiative and environmental management. Through such an initiative the company makes a sustainably balanced scorecard that drives business growth as quality products for the diverse client and frees from waste generation are developed. The execution of this plan merely depends on the senior management and other team members who would make the dream goals achievable.

Marketing Mix Strategy

Nike Inc.’s marketing mix (4Ps) enables it to determine its growth while focusing on business profitability. Nike plays a strong role in its promotional activities and employs some strong marketing mix approaches. While the company is dependent on the other pull strategy, it has established its sizing against the big competitors like Adidas and Reebok. The four Ps employed by the company includes products, place, promotion, and price as discussed below;

Product

Nick Inc. integrates some new technologies into its product lines to enhance some customers’ satisfaction while improving its efficiency. The company produces a wide range of products including apparel, shoes, and equipment. Even though a large percentage of its products are won for leisure purposes or casual wear, Nike’s athlete footwear products are specifically designed for athletic use. The organization places a high emphasis on innovation and construction of high-quality products. Currently, the top selling products in the market include shoes for running, training, soccer, kid’s shoes, and sport-inspired casual shoes. Nike also produces market footwear that is designed for cheerleading, baseball, outdoor activities, tennis, wrestling as we as other recreational uses. Moreover, the company sells sports accessories and sports apparel that are sport-inspired. Often, it concentrates on collections of similar designs for purposes that are specific.

Recently, Nike has introduced cricket shoes which are designed to be about 30 percent lighter than its rivals. Products such as Nike Air Max and Zoom Yorker are usually designed with a modern addition to its lie skate Nike 6.0. This type of shoe can track the performance of a corridor on the radio ploy that links to the iPad Nano to come up with the Nike + Apple Inc. with the team. Such products generate valuable statics and enable the users to get value from the product. Another recent brand for this company is NIKEiD, a sub-brand that permits clients to design their customized Nike footwear through the provision of a wide range of shoes that customers would desire to have. Such a customization process enables them to purchase from a selection of pre-made designs that are present without a hassle (NikeID).

Pricing

Nike’s pricing approach is viewed as competitive when compared to other retail sellers. Given that its brand commands a high premium, it's pricing also based on the premium segment as a basis of its target customers. According to the Marketing mix of Nike, the common approach that is employed in pricing considers a vertical integration where the participants at different channel levels work more to control, costs to impact product pricing.

Place

Nike plans to sell its new products to various outlets globally. In the United States, the company will utilize about 20, 000 retail stores to sell its products. As such, retail stores, Nike online Stores and Nike town Retail Outlets will be useful according to their significance. The company plans to open more franchises and stores to expand the number of maximum buyers besides reaching out to more target customers. Retail stores are strategically located places that are easily accessible worldwide. In the global market, Nike plans to assign the task to independent distributors and subsidiaries from developing countries to sell its products as a way of lowering costs. Owing to the fact the company plans to spend more time on online advertising rather than using the advertising medium, online marketing contributions and e-commerce are planned to expand the appropriate channels.

Promotion

The promotional mix involves the techniques that Nike Inc. employs in communicating to its target markets. Nike depends on effective promotional strategies to maintain a strong brand image as one of its strengths. Generally, promotional activities such as sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing, personal selling, and advertising are consistently used to persuade consumers to purchase its products. While print advertising is simple, Nike uses this approach to send a strong message to the public. As such, this method is useful since it exceeds the expectations of every person with this kind of shoes in the sense that they are able to make evident on the rise for customers. As an aggressive organization, it extremely relies on advertisements particularly those that involve high profile celebrities to endorse its products. Nike Inc. employs direct in the promotion of new products to its target market. Even though the company advertises heavily, it utilizes sales teams to approach specific individuals or organizations in the targeted segments. Essentially, the teams strive to establish a strong relationship with targeted customers besides motivating them to purchase the products.

SWOT Analysis

Competitive Analysis

Nike’s main competitors are Adidas and Reebok. Their products are not very different from that of Nike since they also deal with the design and marketing of apparel for fitness projects as well as athletic footwear. However, Nike has differentiated its products by designing them with some distinctive competency as a way of enhancing some competitive advantage in the marketplace. Besides, Nike has a strong brand power given that it focuses on its customers’ brand awareness thus strategically positioning itself in the market. As such the company has a number one seat that is irreplaceable by its competitors due to the uniqueness of its symbols “Swoosh” and the “Just Do It” slogan. Furthermore, their sports icons are recognized for targeting a specific audience.

Nike Company possesses two great attributes that its use to develop some distinctive competencies. First, the organization designs cannot be replicated in the market, and secondly, the value that such products offer to customers is great. Moreover, there are very few organizations that have this kind of image as well as the necessary resources to market their business like the way Nike does. Generally, the company emphasizes sportsmanship, fitness, and competition. Apart from enabling its customers t0o develop a spirit of confidence, Nick offers very high-quality products that attracts potential customers, while maintaining the existing ones due to the positive influence in the market.

Consumer Relationship Management (CRM) Database

Nike employs some key features of social networking in CRM like its online site Nike.com to track valuable information so as to capitalize its customer relationship management. When customers order some products from the company online, they are required to capture their details which are then used to track the purchasing habits of such consumers. This was, the company is able to utilize the consumer-centric so as to improve on their products. This is one way that Nike uses to get closer to its customers. Furthermore, it tries its best to correct any problem regardless of how small the matter is to increase consumer loyalty and brand’s respect. As part of brand marketing, a strong relationship is developed when an individual join or invites into the community

Market Segmentation and CRM Systems

There are three target market segments, that is, the geographic, psychographics, and gender. Nike’s new products will be for the sports people. It will have the population, age, and gender group within sports (Cleveland, Laroche, & Papadopoulos, 2011). The male and female between age 18- 55 year will guide the segmentation. The best marketing that will enhance their purchasing behavior is social media. According to Chea (2011) women take a lot of time browsing on goods and trying to match the prices, quality, and tests as compared to men who directly go for the products. Therefore, through social media platforms, Nike should make two kinds of promotions that suits the two groups s that it wins both. Social media hinders the development of new products because clients focus more on what is present and state demands based on it rather than seek new provisions.

The second segmentation is the psychographics and behavioral segmentation that considers the reasons for the consumers wanting the products as well what interests or purchasing habits the customers have (Cleveland, Laroche, & Papadopoulos, 2011). The market is sports or athletic oriented as well as people with an active lifestyle. For these segments, Nike will market through the use of celebrities in athletics and other sports so as to change the customer behavior. For this kind of demographics, the company can enhance their buying behavior if only they consider the particular settings where the clients practice their sports, the kinds of teams they play for, the length of active life they conduct. Besides, considering setting and heights will be essential.

The third segmentation is geographic. Nike is interested in serving clients all over the world. The use of social media will be significant in showcasing the new products to clients. Technologies required are outsourcing where people from developing countries will be hired to conduct promotion and sales in order to save costs and have goods reach the clients immediately, they require it (Cleveland, Laroche, & Papadopoulos, 2011). Through outsourcing, it will be possible for the company to interact with both the suppliers and the wholesalers. For example, the company will go for particular developed wholesalers and retailers in developing nations reach out for the clients at agreed terms. Even though the social media platform will be used, the firm will network with the two to enhance the marketing of products.

Similarly, the company will interact with other business through both networking software and social media. Likewise, social media will enhance customer buying experience because they will see diverse products at varied prices, quality, size and based on their interest. Therefore, the clients will make informed choices when they have full information about Nike’s new product. Nike has new products that have both new technological dying and makes inventions, new category entries for varied demographics. Through social media and especially crowdsourcing, Nike can have a reflection of what the new ideas are then they screen, develop concepts, test, evaluate the business, develop a prototype, test marketing, and commercialize products. According to Motale & Dhurup (2016) technology services in actual generation of the idea to commercialization phase in Nike when they are producing new shoes because the clients will give comments and expectations as to what Nike is offering.

Supply Chain, promotional mix, and technology

The supply chain of Nike is centered on the customers, fast, lean, and agile with a target of over $50 billion by 2020. In the company’s supply chain there is the use of diverse information so as to shape, product, and pivot the demand and supply within the business with a flexible manufacturing and movement of products to the place and at a time required. There have been innovative processes of product development and design. For instance, the fly kit technology has served in the delivery of lighter shoes for the runners through the utilization of few materials. Nike shoes uses “essentially a single thread”. Given that the one-piece upper fails to use the textile cuts and multiple material used in traditional sports footwear, there is less waste and expense. Another underlay technological use in the design supply chain process is the utilization of Dyecco’s recycles carbon dioxide in the transfer of the dyes (Porteous & Rammohan, 2013).

Through such a technology the company abolish the use of water in the textile dyeing process especially in the Asian branch hence affluent discharges are reduced in the supply chain. The second major change rest on the need to be more demand-driven. There is the use of Point-of-sale [POS] technology That has of late become prominent in the company making the company advertise through both face-to-face and exhibition marketing and reach put to the clients who reach various sites of the company. There is a need for the company to expand technology so that there are both mass media and social media mechanisms to reach out for more clients in various other places where outlets are unavailable.

The promotion is enhanced in sustainable manufacturing and enhances a marketing mix through product and people (Angeles, 2013). According to Porteous & Rammohan (2013), EMIS improves the sourcing, manufacture, marketing, and supplying of customers. It motivated sustainable consumption among the clients for the products and reduces issues of price expenses in mitigating risks and upgrading product development. The use of a technology of dying and material enables the company to market goods of different types for different people and varied qualities.

Nonetheless, there is a need for putting in place radio-frequency identification (RFID) if the company wants to have consistent and sustainable chain management improvement in supply. RFID will serve in the inbound and outbound product identification. Currently, the technology only serves in locating products in the warehouse to locate the product in the manufacturing and processing industries, Work in Progress together with finished goods. It also offers a way of encoding digital data is tags or smart labels by a reader via radio waves, hence promoting product publicization and enhancing the differentiated promotion of the product (Qrunfleh & Tarafdar, 2012). However, it results in underutilization of the social media as well as field advertisements.

Moreover, the technology helps in monitoring and tracking product in transit, ensuring store shelves are replenished. Angeles (2013) asserts that RFID-based inventory tracking helps in real time foresee of inventory and demand management that results in a greater turnover and low inventory costs. In the applications, there is a low-cost SC strategy. Nonetheless, Nike deployed $ 100 million deployments of supply chain software have had a failure in the prevention of significant excesses and supply chain inventory shortages.

Recommendation/Conclusion

Based on the company’s and market analysis, Nike has the potential to implement its objectives. The company can expand its share and also offer new products. Overall, to enhance effectiveness and efficiency, Nike should expand its product range and increase its promotional approaches using social media. There is a need to collaborate more with a company like Apple Inc. so as to incorporate more technology into the business. It is important that the company learns to apply a suitable supply chain objective that aligns with the information systems. Furthermore, there should also be adequate analysis consistently to enhance correct information management and processing. However, the recommendation is that there should be diverse RFID technology to satisfy the varied requirements and develop different solutions for the tracking and locating products. The company needs to seek more responsive technologies that reduce time wastage track all processes of chain supply.

References

Angeles, R. (2013). Understanding Nike “Considered Index” Green initiative using the technology-organization-environment framework. CONF-IRM 2013 Proceedings, 1-14. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f624/200c5991d76e37d39ba10c29a53601804211.pdf

Chea, P. (2011). Gender differences in the fashion consumption and store. 1-49. Retrieved from http://bada.hb.se/bitstream/2320/8503/1/2011MF06.pdf

Cleveland, M., Laroche, M., & Papadopoulos, N. (2011). Identity, demographics, and consumer behaviors: International market segmentation across product categories. International Marketing Review, 244-266. doi:10.1108/02651331111132848

Motale, M. &Dhurup, M. (2016). Walking the talk in the sports footwear industry: A generation Y cohort analysis of consumer-based equity dimensions and purchase intention. International Journal of Business and Management Studies, 8(2), 102-121. Retrieved from http://www.sobiad.org/ejournals/journal_ijbm/arhieves/IJBMS2016_2/Paper55_Motali_Dhurup.pdf

Porteous, A.& Rammohan, S. (2013). Integration, Incentives, and Innovation Nike’s Strategy to Improve Social and Environmental Conditions in its Global Supply Chain. 1-7. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/96a8/e6c03086ebd2532352f5b6c9192f75e8d8df.pdf

Qrunfleh, S. & Tarafdar, M. (2012). Supply chain information systems strategy: Impacts on supply chain performance and firm performance. Int. J. Production Economics, 1-11. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2012.09.018