Marketing Mix Strategies of Nike and Reebok in India Essay

Marketing Mix Strategies of Nike and Reebok in India - Essay Example The intention of this study is marketing mix as a very important part in crafting marketing strategy of a company. Many companies who do not focus on their marketing mix well enough face troubles. There are a lot of perils for a company that does not devise an excellent marketing mix strategy for its target customers. There are also a lot of examples of firms that despite of having a good product went out of business because their marketing mix efforts was not good. Many firms achieved great success from their average products because their marketing mix catered efficiently to the needs of the target customers. In the case of Nike and Reebok, it is also more about the marketing mix strategies of the two brands than their product offerings. Both companies were producing excellent products, but the differentiating factor between their success and failure had has been their marketing mix strategies. Reebok was a quick learner and it quickly shifted its focus on the marketing mix of its product, whereas it took several years for Nike to adjust its marketing mix in India. Indians are different from the other nations of the world, just like other nations are different from Indians, and hence every nation in the world has different preference in terms of prices they are paying for a category of product, the place they want to buy the product from, and the marketing efforts that would arouse them to make a purchase. Examining the marketing strategies of Nike and Reebok, one can see that their products are almost similar. Both businesses are in the business of producing sportswear and lifestyle product. Similarities between the two companies do not end here. Another common factor between the two giants in sportswear industry was their willingness to target the elite or premium sector of the society. Both company opposed the strategy of targeting masses and instead went for targeting the elites of the society. However, it is also very clear from the case that Nike was no t able to replicate the success of Reebok. The reasons for the failure of Nike lie more in their inefficient or flawed marketing mix strategies than their market offerings. Examining the other elements of the two marketing mix and probing the difference between the marketing mixes of Reebok and Nike brings us to the â€Å"Place† factor of the marketing mix. Place, in the marketing mix, is defined as a physical and virtual channel from which customers want to make the purchases of a product. In other words, it is the marketing channel that a company decides to use for selling its product. The major difference between the two marketing mixes here was the entry of these two companies. Reebok entered as a joint venture, whereas Nike started by acquiring a license with Sierra. Both strategies might look equally good, but there is a big flaw in the Nike’s entry strategy. First of all, most of the decisions regarding Nike’s products were taken by Sierra. It is very dif ficult to make sure that Sierra was taking the same actions as Nike wanted to take in the India market. Since Nike and Sierra are different brands having different objective incompatibility in their thinking would have existed. Sierra plans might not be compatible with Nike objectives and Sierra would have to take into account other factors before making Nike’s decision. In fact, Sierra was unable to market the product well. It was also unable to develop an efficient marketing channel like Reebok. Reebok on the other hand entered the market and made its own decisions. Hence, there was a clear sense of direction for the company regarding what it wants to achieve in the market. Reebok kept a wider distribution channel as compared to Nike. When Reebok had more than 500 outlets and 1500 distributor outlets, Nike just had 75 specialist outlets and around 200-300 distributor outlets. Hence, they were not reaching enough consumers in the Consumer Transformation Funnel. Reebok also t ook an excellent decision of marketing its products in Bata outlet and selling its produc