NIKE SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGIES

Nike has very unique and simple marketing strategies which have been easy to implement. The company’s culture of innovation and use of modern technology has also contributed greatly to the top achievements in the company. First, I will provide a brief history of the company as well as the background. The second part of the paper will focus on the changing nature of marketing and sales management in Nike. Thirdly, I will address how the sales and marketing teams are structured. The paper below provides an analysis of the current sales and marketing strategy used by Nike and provides a recommendation of a new sales and marketing strategy to keep the company at the top. Background of Nike Nike was founded originally by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman as an importer of Japanese shoes (Childs and Jin, 2018, p.

It has experienced significant growth over the years as a result of innovation, appropriate marketing strategies and customer satisfaction. The company has managed to sell its products in more than 160 countries. Its main operation is retail, both locally and overseas. The company makes efforts to reach out to these consumers through agreements between Nike and athletic teams. This is achieved through eventual promotions and product sponsorship to members of the respective teams. This way Nike manages to reach out to many customers who are more likely to make purchases. Despite the fact that there may be other people willing to buy their products, Nike pays special attention to athletes since they are light bearers of the trends in the products. Nike uses various strategies to target their immediate customers.

Nike sells more than just their product through the new technologies in marketing. They also sell aspiration. For instance in 2016 Nike created a YouTube series in efforts to complement its marketing campaigns which received over 80 million views. They have made use of the available technology to develop some of the best ads in the sportswear and apparel business. The use technology and combine with the world class athletes to display their special skills in an appealing way to the market. It has also enabled the company to reach out to many clients in different nations across the globe. Nike has always been a step ahead when it comes to the development of new viral campaigns. They are always updating their social media pages with new photos, links and videos.

Nike has utilized technology very well in creating a good brand image. Diversity in sales and marketing has been a crucial factor in Nike in efforts to reach out to new markets and clients. Their equality campaigns received a lot of reaction online. Most of it was widespread social praise since approximately 91. 3 % was positive. This is a good thing for the company since it shows there is a good brand image. Nike has given much focus on the inclusion of all. The aims of the company keep evolving with time in order to meet the present market needs. Nike’s vision statement for corporate social responsibility is, “to help NIKE, Inc. and our consumers thrive in a sustainable economy where people, profit and planet are in balance”.

The statement addresses three main components which include having a sustainable economy, helping Nike, Inc. and the consumers and ensuring that people, profit and planet are in balance. The methods used should suit and meet the needs of suppliers, business partners and most importantly the customers. Despite the many efforts by Nike to ensure ethical policies in sales and marketing Nike has faced accusations of tolerating sweatshops. It was reported that Nike workers face harassment, poverty violent intimidation and dismissal. This was reported to have happened despite promises by the company to address the issues. Such scandals may easily tarnish the image of Nike in the market. This type of structure is appropriate for companies that sell multiple products. Ithelps greatly in making the product development cycles shorter.

Despite the many merits of the structure it still has its negative side. First, is that it can be difficult to scale. In such a case the company might get to a point where it has duplicate resources for the departments as each struggles to attain autonomy. This helps in ensuring that customer needs and preferences are met in every market. The disadvantage of this structure is that it provides a limited approach to managing Converse operations. When Nike started it was not an international company, but with time it went international. Below are the reasons that contributed to this. First, there was increased demand for Nike commodities outside the United States. Nike always redraws products even in cases where they are selling well.

Nike understands that trends, fashion and preferences from consumers change with time. For this reason it is important to keep redrawing the products to ensure they remain eligible in the market. Nike has one of the most popular shoes in the globe such as the Nike Air. If the company fails to redraw such a product, competitors will take over which is not good for the company. Challenges faced in planning and implementing of sales and marketing strategies Developed by P. R Smith SOSTAC is one of the most famous and effective strategy and planning model. The model composes of six basic elements which include situation analysis, objectives, strategy, tactics, action and control. The figure below shows the SOSTAC theory (Tardan, Shihab, and Yudhoatmojo, 2017, p.

Nike just like any other business faces many challenges in the sales and marketing department. Lastly, it is feared that Nike might lack adequate resources to produce in the next ten years. This might scare away clients who wish to partner with Nike for a long time period. Michael Porters 5 forces To get a better understanding of the challenges I will use Michael Porter’s 5 forces theory. The theory identifies and provides an analysis of the five forces of competition that give shape to every industry. It also helps in evaluating the strengths and the weaknesses. Next is the power of consumers, since they have the ability to bring the prices down. Nike has a huge customer base which keeps on expanding, thus this is not a big challenge.

Lastly, there is the threat of substitutes which is a big problem for Nike. Customers at times tend to try out new products especially when they are cheaper. SWOT analysis of Nike you can see the challenges Nike is the leading company in global sports, apparel, shoes and equipment which shows it has the power to compete against other giants in the industry such as Puma and Adidas. Mintsberg 5 Ps model Mintsberg 5 Ps model can be applied by Nike to minimize the challenges that the company face. The 5 P model comprises of five different approaches to strategy which are planning, ploy, developing a pattern, positioning and having a perspective. Planning is the first stage which involves brainstorming the available options and making plans on how to deliver them.

Ploy involves getting the better of competitors by disrupting them, discouraging and dissuading them. Thirdly, one needs to have the strategy as a pattern for consistency. Sales performance is always expected to be high when the brand image is a good one. Just like any other company, customers are the most important stakeholders. Good customer relations are crucial for the success of any business, and it is the same for Nike. From the start customer relations in Nike have changed to accommodate the changing nature of customers. At the beginning customer relationships were not as strong, since the company did not have enough resources to gather adequate information on the same. To ensure proper customer relations Nike offers high quality products and reasonable prices for its products.

Through modern technology Nike continues to offers customers whatever they desire. Customers remain a top priority stakeholder for Nike (Baker, 2014). Next there is the community as a stakeholder which has a major influence in the company’s social standing. Through the Nike foundation a lot of support is offered to the community through different initiatives. This helps in understanding the most important information about the key stakeholders. This was the company can prioritize on what to take care of first. It will also help Nike to develop campaigns that target the key stakeholders for maximum results. Secondly, Nike needs to engage with the online community with active dialogue. Nowadays most people tend to air their views or complaints through the social media.

Nike also needs to improve employee relationships, which have been a major issue for the company for a long time. Nike needs to employ the following strategies for better employee relationships. First, they should provide incentives regularly to workers at all levels. This way the employees feel motivated and work even harder. Secondly, Nike should offer career development programs for all employees willing to further their knowledge. This can help greatly in increasing the sales as well as the revenue. Market research is necessary to identify new and promising markets before Nike can venture. Next, Nike should have different pricing strategies. This will help in ensuring that the prices offered are reasonable. Price raises should also be done when necessary. Nike marketers have applied modern technology to reach out to a large number of buyers.

This has reflected in the sales volumes which keep going up each financial year. Thirdly, Nike marketers have well defined ways of dealing with top competitors. In terms of technology and marketing Nike is always a step ahead of its competitors. Nike also invests a lot of resources in marketing through sports endorsements. 6 billion dollars. This shows a decline of the weighted average by 3 % on the diluted common shares that were outstanding. Since 2005 Nike has recorded a continuous increase in the revenue from 13740 million dollars in 2005 to 35 million dollars in 2017, (Hand, Coyne, Green and Zhang, 2017, p. This shows great growth in such as competitive market. Conclusion The paper above shows how marketing and sales strategy has enabled Nike Inc. Nike’s dominance can be felt by its competitors, and the managers believe they can remain top.

The paper also addresses possible changes that can help to improve the sales and marketing departments in Nike even further. Thus, the paper clearly shows the marketing strategies used by Nike and possible improvements. Recommendations Nike should address some key issues facing the company for better results. First, Nike should develop a clear and well established competitive advantage. Lastly, Nike should develop a culture of rewarding top marketers and sales persons in the organization. This will motivate each marketer to work even harder and show commitment to their work. Bibliography Albert, P. J. , Werhane, P. and Park, C. W. Millennial consumers' perception of sportswear brand globalness impacts purchase intention in cause-related product marketing.  Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal, 45(8), pp.