All of us are familiar with Nike’s catchphrase, “Just do it.” Along with celebrity athlete endorsements, the swoosh emblem, and the brand’s shoes, customer popularity for the company has increased over time. But is it the only thing Nike is doing? Are their marketing plans and approaches any more specific than others?
Not everything that initially created an empire was the Nike branding that the majority of us are familiar with. Numerous shrewd marketing strategies were what propelled them to the top of the list of most well-known businesses.
Furthermore, it is not at all a complicated strategy. However, in order for it to be successful, a business must be persistent in its efforts and offer customers genuine value.
About Nike
American sportswear firm Nike, Inc., formerly known as Blue Ribbon Sports from 1964 to 1978, is based in Oregon. Bill Bowerman established the business as Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964. Bill, a coach at the University of Oregon, made the decision to launch a company with Phil Knight, a former pupil.
The Nike brand sneaker was introduced in 1972 after the first retail location was established in 1966. After going public in 1974, the business changed its name to Nike, Inc. in 1978.
In the twenty-first century, Nike has retail locations and product distributors in more than 170 nations, and its “swoosh” emblem, a checkmark with a curve, is well-known everywhere. What about Nike’s marketing results? That was merely the company’s history.
- With a market share of roughly 27.4% and, most recently, 96% of the market for basketball shoes, Nike dominates the North American athletic clothing business. The company also outsells its rivals in terms of sales:
- Over $3.14 billion was made by Nike’s basketball shoe brand Air Jordan in the 2019 fiscal year, an increase of 10% from the previous year.
- The SEO plan for Nike is also excellent. According to SEMRush, Nike receives over 60 million visits every month, with visitors staying on the site for roughly 7 minutes and viewing nearly 5 pages.
- Nike’s yearly income continues to increase consistently year after year. According to some experts, Nike’s sales will increase by about 25% and reach $45.4 billion by the end of the fiscal year 2021.
The Marketing Plan For Nike
Let’s examine the type of marketing approach Nike employed to win and keep their position as the market leader.
1. Position Goods with Care
Nike has a distinct character as a sportswear brand, which it has been developing over time using various marketing techniques. The one component that stands behind them all and is crucial is product positioning. Let’s examine the marketing plan for Nike athletic shoes to see what we can take from it.
“A shoe must be light, comfortable, and able to cover a lot of ground.” – Bill Bowerman, a founding member of Nike.
The target market for Nike includes professional athletes, sportspeople, and people who want to lead an active or healthy lifestyle. Consumers should be serious about their buying choice because this market has potential.
2. Sell Moving Tales Rather than Incredible Goods
You can’t deny this company is the master of masters when it comes to storytelling. Who can motivate and inspire regular folks to keep training and running in order to achieve their athletic or health goals? That is what it has always done. Its founders were able to tell sincere tales since they were athletes.
For almost 50 years, it has given each of its customers a sense of belonging through its masterful storytelling. Customers of this one should be conscious of their strengths and develop the desire to go further, faster, and higher.
It adopted the use of storytelling very early on and has continued to do so as a means of fostering consumer loyalty and raising brand recognition. And based on the fundamental components of the brand, they may easily generate ideas for writing original stories for the brand that are pertinent to the aspirations, objectives, or lifestyles of the targeted consumers.
3. Social Media Marketing
Nike was aware that it needed to engage with audiences via social media platforms in order to build brand recognition as quickly as possible because many of its customers are social media users.
Take a peek at its social media profiles to see how popular the company has grown. 8.3 million Twitter followers and 138 million Instagram followers (two most-followed active channels). You may witness its speech and actions on these two pages in exactly similar voices and actions.
Social media marketing strategy uses the following tactics:
- Collaborate with prominent individuals
- Participate in consumer dialogues by using user-generated content
- Spread out your storytelling throughout social media platforms.
4. Make Sure Internet Shopping is Simple, Fun, and Hassle-free.
CEO Jon Donahoe stated that “digital is fuelling how we develop the future of retail.”
Internet sales now account for more than 50% of its overall revenue, according to CNBC data updated in September 2020. Prior to the Covid-19 epidemic, the brand only anticipated a 30% increase by 2023. It’s obvious that the crisis has considerably accelerated the growth of Nike’s e-commerce strategy.
5. New Ideas and Technologies
The basis of Nike’s business approach has been technology. The company has made significant R&D investments, which have helped it become known for some notable innovations and revolutions.
The business strategy model of the company is per se defined by technology in design and materials. Nike has developed a number of key technologies and breakthroughs, such as the auto-lacing shoe, iPod pace and distance tracking technology, and airbag technology that replaces foam.
Innovation is, as it should be, one of Nike’s success elements. It has made sure the company stays in the lead when it comes to new items. As a result, the company sets the pace and the trend, and other businesses can only follow. This is demonstrated by the Flyknit shoe.
6. Diversification
One of Nike’s most recognizable business tactics is this one. The differentiation strategy that underpins it is built on this. Notably, the company has been able to provide products to practically everyone despite its stress on high-quality goods.
The company’s product line, which includes clothing and sports equipment for golf, soccer, baseball, basketball, cycling, cricket, ice hockey, auto racing, track and field, tennis, surfing, yoga, etc., is a good example of diversification as a business strategy.
It also makes casual clothing and accessories such as jeans, shirts, jackets, caps, socks, backpacks, watches, handbags, wallets, purses, belts, scarves, and hair bands. Its ownership of the Converse, Hurley, and Jordan brands shows further diversification.
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