Nike Marketing Strategy Analysis
Companies in today’s hypercompetitive business environment have to continually review and refine their marketing strategies if they are to maintain their competitive edge. Nike, an American multinational has successfully integrated radical marketing approaches into its operations to ensure it remains relevant. The company employs an emotional advertising and celebrity endorsements to create awareness about its products and connect with the target customers (Liu et al., 2021). The emotional marketing makes it possible for Nike to successfully brand its products, such as apparel, shoes, and sportswear, to its target market comprising of teenagers. The corporation’s marketing strategy is driven by the belief that targeting the youth can allow it to build a long-term customer base. In the quest to enhance competitiveness against peers, such as Under Armour, Adidas, and New Balance, integrates the brick and mortar model, with an online presence. For instance, the company has developed a user friendly website that is highly interactive (Liu et al., 2021). The firm’s website allows customers to access a catalogue of the various products on offer, engage customer representatives, and read reviews left by other clients.
Nike Social Media Presence
Over the years, Nike has realized and harnessed the power of the internet in its marketing approach. The firm leverages the social media platforms, such as Twitter, Facebok, Instagram, and LinkedIn, to promote its products and engage clients. Nike’s executive management and marketing unit understand the different social media sites are used by different demographics and have sought to ensure it reaches them (Ravi, 2018). The presence of Nike in the social media platform’s such as Instagram and Twitter is reinforced by the use of models and celebrities, who allow it to connect with users it would not traditionally influence. For instance, the company has partnered with celebrities, such as Roger Federer, Christiano Ronaldo, and Serena Williams, amplifying its reach across multiple ages and sport disciplines. The content shared on its social media accounts complements the offerings on its website, ensuring it delivers a reliable and relevant message to the users. For instance, with 69 million followers on Instagram, and over 5 million followers on Twitter, Nike seeks to inform its customers about product releases and keep them engaged (Ravi, 2018). The business uses eye-catching photographs and short clips to entice customers and attract them to the different products it develops.
Nike’s Digital Customer Targeting
The executive management of Nike has set a target of 50% sales from its digital platforms, pushing it to invest more resources on the internet marketing. The digital sales of Nike in 2020 were $5.5 billion from a low of $3.8 billion the previous year, indicating a steady growth and the potential the internet holds (Thomas, 2020). The company has so far done an exemplary job in identifying issues underlying its resources in the social media platforms and websites to widen its reach within the market. Nike has successfully identified its core market as the people between early adolescence and age 45, keen on accessing ‘cool’ and trendy apparels and shoes. Using social media, allows Nike to keep track of the changes in habits and preferences within the target market, allowing the company to remain abreast with its innovation (Thomas, 2020). However, the business needs to invest more in product analytics since this can allow it to optimize client experience, allowing it to bolster sales. Collecting and analyzing customer data on the various products, can give Nike an edge since it can customize its products to reflect specific customer segments.
References
Thomas, L. (2020, September 23). Nike’s online business is booming — ‘digital is here to stay,’ CEO says. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/23/nikes-ceo-says-digital-is-here-to-stay-e-com-business-fuels-sales.html
Liu, J., Liu, Y., & Zhang, Q. (2021, September). How firms go digital? The digital transformation path analysis——evidence from Nike. In 2021 International Conference on Financial Management and Economic Transition (FMET 2021) (pp. 560-567). Atlantis Press. file:///C:/Users/PC/Downloads/125961086.pdf
Ravi, K. (2018, April 25). How Nike became a leader on social media. Unmetric. https://blog.unmetric.com/nike-social-media
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