Customer Relationship Management: a case study of Nike Inc.

Nike Inc. is a multinational corporation based in America which deals with the design, development, and manufacture and selling of mainly sporting footwear, equipment, accessories, and apparel. The company also provides related services to its global consumers. Customer relationship management is a collection of specific guidelines, principles, and practices which organizations adhere to while interacting with their customers. (Ramaswamy, 2008).These principles serve to enhance the customer’s overall experience. Customer relationship management (CRM) often involves technology, customer communication, pricing strategy, and levels of service. In this article, we shall analyze how its customer relationship management approaches in a bid to relate in better ways with its current and potential customers.

Nike plc. It has established itself as a global sports brand such that today when one thinks of a sports apparel, it’s the first brand that comes to mind. The company has managed to innovate products that have sold highly globally. According to Forbes, the company raked in $10 billion in 2018 in direct sales, making it the most profitable sports entity globally. (Winer, 2001). The deals are expected to soar up to $16 billion in 2020. The company has millions of customers, or rather fanatics, judging how they adore its products. But the question begs, why is the company so successful in its prospects in comparison to its competitors? The answer lies in the company’s structure and strategy; its customer experience is unmatched. The success story of Nike Inc. is derived from the classical marketing strategies that place value for the customer ahead of anything else.

Nike Plc. has modeled itself as a highly ambitious company when it comes to customer relationships and management. The company aimed at creating its community or lifestyle even as it met the customers’ satisfaction. Nike Plc. has also identified itself with sports icons like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Lionel Messi and even came up with products explicitly styled for the athletes to assist them in getting better and reaching higher levels in their area of specialization.

CRM programs at Nike Plc.

Nike Plc. has established programs such as Nike fuel and Nike plus through which the company can collect and keep precious customer information, which gives the company ideas on how to meet the needs of its many coveted customers. (Winer, 2001). These programs can also inform the company about the current trends in the fashion world, which guides the company to innovate new products based on further information. Another innovation is Nike’s fuel band, which is worn by a person while to record and store information such as the heart rate, distance walked, and the frequency of intense activity such as exercise. Using data acquired from these innovations, the company can create customized consumer profiles that are important in designing products that suit the customer’s style and preference. Secondly, using these programs, the company has been able to connect emotionally with its customers. Besides, the company has also established a strong presence on social media on sites such as Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Nike plus. The latter platform is the company’s social network, where it can acquire views and reviews from the customers directly, get insights, answer questions from the members, and monitor the regular debates on the platform.

Customer Service Policies

When it comes to Nike’s customer service policy, the company has been able to design its digital platform systems. On the company’s official website, there is a provision for labeled GET HELP upon which striking the option leads one to further specific interests such as order status, shipping, returns, and support. (Ramaswamy, 2008)The GET HELP provision also allows the customers to directly get assistance from the company’s employees through the phone by calling or online via chat. Furthermore, the company website has a user-friendly web navigation system that allows the customers to go through it seamlessly hence avoiding customer frustrations. The site allows a visitor to click on direct links, which lead to the company’s other useful sites. Besides, the website menu is well structured and organized such that it enables a visitor to check out various subcategories being ingrained in the system. The language employed on the site is also easy to grasp, as it is clear and orderly.

Customer Facing

Nike. Plc. has adopted various strategies in its approach to its past, current, and future customers. The company specializes in the individual process of customers. Using a system known as NIKEid, the customers have a chance to add their own desired modifications to a product for better use. (Winer, 2001). Nike’s interactions with its customers are also on point as it uses various platforms to realize such. When the company has a newly launched service, campaign, or product, its current and potential customers are notified through newsletters, its website, applications, and other social media channels. Consequently, if Nike wants to get a message out, nothing can stop it as it employs both digital and traditional means of communication.

The Nike Philosophy

Nike Plc. is widely known for its swish logo and catchy and straightforward phrase; just do it; however, that is not all. The company has a mission statement as well as eleven principles that are adhered to by its employees. (Ramaswamy, 2008)The mission statement is to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. If you have a body, you are an athlete. The information has served to guide the company for decades. The company’s maxims include; our nature to innovate, Nike is a company, Nike is a brand, only and go,  the consumer decides, be a sponge, evolve immediately, do the right thing, master the fundamentals, we are on the offensive-always and remember the man. The company also has core management values that guide it in its relations with the employees; they include; lead, coaching, managing, and inspiring. These are the core values of the company.

Pricing and Pricing Strategies

In an industry full of rivalry between major competing corporations producing similar products, Nike Plc. has established its dominance through its premium pricing. The company uses a value-based pricing strategy, in which a company sets a product price by using the amount that the consumer places on it. (Ramaswamy, 2008) Many companies globally sell their products at the lowest price to ensure more sales. However, Nike has convinced its customers that the company produces top of the range products and therefore needs to pay more for them. Conversely, the company has overall more sales than all its other competitors and looks promising even in the future.

Conclusion

Nike Plc. is a significant sporting brand worldwide as a result of dedication to its customers. The company has fostered a strong relationship with its customer base through various techniques, most of which have been mentioned above. However, the critical factor is Nike’s ability to design and produce high-quality products, which boosted its standing in the sporting world. However, only a fraction of what has been achieved so far would have been possible without robust customer relations and management.

References

Ramaswamy, V. (2008). Co‐creating value through customers’ experiences: the Nike case. Strategy & leadership.

Winer, R. S. (2001). A framework for customer relationship management. California management review, 43(4), 89-105.