Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Psychology

This report discusses the application of consumer behaviour concepts in overcoming marketing issues, focusing on Nike shoes. It analyzes the impact of culture, attitudes, and social class on consumer decision-making and examines Nike's marketing strategy and communication mix. The report concludes with strategic recommendations for Nike.

Running head: CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND MARKETING PSYCHOLOGY
Consumer behaviour and marketing psychology
Name of student
Name of University
Author note

1
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND MARKETING PSYCHOLOGY
Executive Summary
The report was prepared to discuss about the application of various consumer
behaviour concepts and how it had been related to the overcoming of marketing issues. This
has been critical to the management of consumer behaviours such as group influences,
attitudes, behaviours, culture and social class that contributed to the process of decision
making largely. The product selected here was Nike shoes, which has managed to influence
consumers’ attitudes and buying behaviours largely, though based on various factors
including culture, lifestyles, brand promotions, etc. From the critical analysis, it was found
that mostly the responses had been positive, which suggested the loyalty and trust towards the
brand and its footwear items making a mark in the marketplace. The online business funding,
promotional activities with the help of personal selling and sales promotions along with
involvement of social media platforms have further extended the global outreach for the
brand and improved the brand image and reputation too. Al these aspects have influenced the
buying behaviours of customers and encouraged the purchase making decisions, furthermore
could result in increasing the customers and establish sense of trust and loyalty about the
brand too.

2
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND MARKETING PSYCHOLOGY
Table of Contents
Executive Summary...................................................................................................................2
Selected Product or Service Overview.......................................................................................4
Critical analysis..........................................................................................................................4
Nike’s current marketing strategy..........................................................................................4
Marketing communication mix..............................................................................................5
Strategic Recommendations.......................................................................................................6
Reference List............................................................................................................................7

3
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND MARKETING PSYCHOLOGY
Introduction
The report is prepared to discuss about the consumer behaviours and marketing
psychology considering the selling of Nike shoes based on the various aspects including the
buyer behaviours and attitudes, group influences, lifestyle behaviours, culture and social
class. The topic will critically analyse the various data and information gathered from the
survey process and prioritise on determining the current marketing strategies followed by the
organization and marketing communication mix component, especially, the promotion
component (Hoyer, MacInnis and Pieters 2013). The marketing mix communication
component has facilitated the promotional activities and improved the ability of the
organisation to create greater global brand exposure and enhanced the level of trust and
loyalty among the customers to influence buying behaviours too (Nike.com.au 2019).
Selected Product or Service Overview
The topic was presented to focus on the buying behaviours of consumers considering
the product Nike Shoes. Though the company specialises on the production and marketing of
good quality footwear, clothing and apparel products, athletic goods and other products all
across the world through retail shops and other distributors, subsidiaries, licensees, the
products are produced by independent contractors. The main focus of the assignment is on
the Nike Shoes, i.e., the footwear items that have been produced outside United States and all
over. The footwear products of Nike have been designed and manufactured for the purpose of
athletic activities and even those are worn for leisure and casual purposes (Mullen and
Johnson 2013). Due to the innovation perspectives and good quality design implemented, the
shoes are popular among the men, women and children as well. There are running shoes,
basketball, soccer, cross training shoes as well as shoes for the women, which are in the top
selling product categories for Nike, The company has managed to lead in terms of sales for
the past few years and it aims to make more profit in the upcoming days to come as well.

4
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND MARKETING PSYCHOLOGY
Being one of the major manufacturer of athletic footwear, Nike has maintained consistency in
delivering shoes that are reliable, good quality and the products available at reasonable prices
have further influenced the people to make purchases (Foxall 2014). The people all over
Australia and in other parts of the world have been influenced by price set for the shoes, the
features present in the shoes, marketing activities managed by Nike, cultural aspects and
influence by families and friends, which has influenced the purchase making decisions
largely (Nike.com.au 2019).
Critical analysis
Based on the analysis of survey results, it could be understood that the topic focused
on the understanding of consumer buying behaviours considering the shoes produced by
Nike. The use of Survey Monkey tool has helped in analysing the findings in the form of data
and information provided by the respondents, which helped in determining the various
consumer buying behaviours concepts. The 15 customers were selected as respondents who
provided their useful views and opinions to answer the questions presented in the survey
questionnaires distributed to then for conducting the analysis of data and ensure successful
management of survey process, based on which, the critical analysis has been done (Stephen
2016). Often the price of the product, the features of the product along with marketing efforts
put by the company and cultural aspects have influenced the purchasing decisions and even
buying behaviours of individuals. From the analysis, most of the responses tend to be positive
considering the fact that Nike shoes are of good qualities and available at reasonable prices,
which has encouraged positive perceptions among people regarding the brand as well (Boush,
Friestad and Wright 2015). The lifestyle choices and behaviours also have influenced the
decision making ability of the individuals and made them remain inclined to the brand rather
than making purchase of any other brand shoes from the marketplace.

5
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND MARKETING PSYCHOLOGY
Nike’s current marketing strategy
The marketing strategy of Nike consists of the segmentation, targeting and positioning
aspects that has helped the company to attract the customers from the target market segments,
which further enhances the growth and development of market potential too. The
psychographic segmentation has enabled targeting the right market segments, which ensures
production and marketing of good quality footwear, sports equipment, clothing, etc (Ashley
and Tuten 2015). Though the shoes of Nike are the most popular and have been marketed
with the use of differentiated targeting strategy, the targeting of the STP, has been the most
influential as part of the marketing strategy to position the brand and its products properly,
furthermore ensured creating a positive mind sets among the customers (East et al. 2016).
The marketing strategy of Nike for marketing the shoes facilitates the growth of e-commerce
business as well as strengthened the customer base, which is vital for higher revenue
generation and for attaining competitive edge over its competitors too (Nike.com.au 2019).
The ‘Ask for Forgiveness, Not for Permission’ Mantra is considered as a major
effective marketing strategy that enabled the owner of Nike to introduce the business with a
limited working capital while the management of e-commerce further helped in driving the
sales revenue upwards, thus created, enough scopes and opportunities for the customers to
gain accessibility to the products and services easily (Baker 2014). One such effective
marketing strategy adopted by Nike to market the footwear items is to boost the network with
the use of Linkedln.
The use of online business funding tools also ensured gathering good amount of
working capital, which not only boosted the organisational performance, but also helped in
raising the standards of the organisation with the help of managing good financial condition
too. Phil Knight also managed to engage with the Regional trade activities and campaigns
and the athletic events, which also helped in influencing the people to gain interest and find

6
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND MARKETING PSYCHOLOGY
their live for sportswear and footwear items much more conveniently. To strengthen the
customer base, Nike made sue to gather positive word of mouth messages and information,
which has been possible by delivering extensive customers’ services (Rego et al. 2013). The
company has send emails to clients asking for their feedbacks regarding the use of the
product while the social media comments and feedbacks posted further assisted in
strengthening the relationship between the business and its clients (Nike.com.au 2019).
Based on the analysis, it could though be seen that people are more inclined towards
the other brands like Reebok rather than making purchases from Nike or Puma. Most of the
customers are though loyal towards the brand because of the good quality shoes that are
provided, which has made the customers remain inclined towards the brand and make
purchases of the footwear items consistently. The customers are also loyal, because of which,
they have recommended others too to make purchases (Kim and Mauborgne 2014).
Marketing communication mix
The business organisation named Nike has used the marketing communication mix
for managing communication with the customers and strengthen relationships with them to
make them aware of the footwear items, clothing apparel, accessories, sports equipment, etc.
But as the product that is focused on has been the Nike shoes, so the marketing
communications are mainly prioritised on the promotion of these goods with the
consideration of market conditions and consumers’ buying behaviours within the target
market segments (Todorova 2015). With the understanding of the target market dynamics, it
has become easier and convenient for Nike to adjust the promotional mix components
included in the marketing mix strategy. One of the major success factors of Nike is the
promotional activities, which is an integral part of marketing mix. By putting emphasis on the
marketing communications, Nike has managed to create global brand exposure and at the
same time, facilitate management of best practices to promote the shoes both offline and

7
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND MARKETING PSYCHOLOGY
online (Fill and Turnbull 2016). The marketing communication mix has been effective for
Nike because of the ability to draw in new clients and even retaining the existing clients.
The company’s success puts emphasis on the benefits of effective marketing
communications. In this regard, other firms can learn possible best practices in promotions
from this business case. Nike’s marketing communications mix is effective because of the
balance it creates between attracting new customers and keeping existing customers (Ottman
2017).
The personal selling by Nike has helped in training the store personnel to guide the
customer properly and manage personalised services so that they can be satisfied before as
well as post purchase (Barker 2013). It has developed string relationships with the customer
and enhanced their experiences while the sales promotions have allowed the customers to get
additional discounts for the products that they purchase. This has also resulted in increasing
the demands from the new customers and allowed them to gain perceived benefits
(Nike.com.au 2019). To enhance the marketing mix communication, the company has further
prioritised on the corporate social responsibility and sustainability approaches for
contribution to the positive impact on the Government, which ensures creation of positive
mind sets among the people about the brand (Valos et al. 2016). To influence the consumers’
buying behaviours, Nike has further engaged social media platforms to promote the shoes and
make the customers click on the ads on the social networks and then get forwarded to the
company website from where the purchases could be made. This has been convenient for
gaining accessibility to the products and for checking whether the products could meet their
expectations or not, furthermore encouraged their purchase making decision largely (Shank
and Lyberger 2014).

8
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND MARKETING PSYCHOLOGY
Strategic Recommendations
 Nike possess some major strengths including a positive brand image, consistent
innovation processes and extensive network of distribution, which has enhanced the
global production and ability to market the shoes and other footwear items all over the
world. The strong brand image has been set because of the quality of shoes provided
by the company which has also made Nike support global market dominance,
furthermore retain the global market leadership with much ease and efficiency.
Therefore, it is recommended for Nike to reform the strategies and ensure sustenance
in the competitive global marketplace. This could allow the company to support its
global leadership and at the same time, extend its global outreach and strengthen the
customer base.
 The company should also address the concerns related to the labour management
practices, protection of patents, trademarks and copyrights along for ensuring that
others do not imitate their products, which might create major issues related to
surviving in the competitive business environment.
 It is also recommended for the business organisation to endorse the footwear by
popular celebrities and sports persons, which should make more people aware of the
brand and at the same time, facilitate brand awareness and innovation all throughout.
The sponsorships with sports clubs and paying the sports persons and athletes to
promote the Nike shoes could also be beneficial and thus has been recommended for
motivating the individuals towards making purchases.
 The making of investments should raise the working capital and create scopes for
conducting research for assessing the demands of the target market and also the
employees who perform tasks within the organisation. To deliver world class services
and keep the customers satisfied, the company is recommended to conduct training

9
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND MARKETING PSYCHOLOGY
and developmental programs for the employees so that they could learn and attain the
desired amounts of skills, knowledge and expertise to perform to their potential and
contribute to the business performance and efficiency.
 The cost leadership and differentiation strategies are recommended as well for
regulating the prices based on the prices set by the competitors for the similar kinds of
products though without compromising on the quality of footwear items provided by
Nike.
 The emotional branding is also recommended for Nike for influencing the global
market segments comprising of the clients and the advertisements and promotional
activities further have helped in the use of storytelling as an effective marketing
strategy require to establish a sense of trust and loyalty among the customers too.
 Lastly, it has been recommended for Nike to ensure contributing to the protection of
environment and create a positive impact on it by following the corporate social
responsibility principle and managing sustainable measures to keep the environment
safe and healthy too.

10
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND MARKETING PSYCHOLOGY
Reference List
Ashley, C. and Tuten, T., 2015. Creative strategies in social media marketing: An exploratory
study of branded social content and consumer engagement. Psychology & Marketing, 32(1),
pp.15-27.
Baker, M.J., 2014. Marketing strategy and management. Macmillan International Higher
Education.
Barker, R., 2013. Strategic integrated communication: An alternative perspective of
integrated marketing communication?. Communicatio, 39(1), pp.102-121.
Boush, D.M., Friestad, M. and Wright, P., 2015. Deception in the marketplace: The
psychology of deceptive persuasion and consumer self-protection. Routledge.
East, R., Singh, J., Wright, M. and Vanhuele, M., 2016. Consumer behaviour: Applications
in marketing. Sage.
Fill, C. and Turnbull, S.L., 2016. Marketing communications: brands, experiences and
participation. Pearson.
Foxall, G., 2014. Consumer Behaviour (RLE Consumer Behaviour): A Practical Guide.
Routledge.
Hoyer, W.D., MacInnis, D.J. and Pieters, R., 2013. Consumer behavior.
Kim, W.C. and Mauborgne, R.A., 2014. Blue ocean strategy, expanded edition: How to
create uncontested market space and make the competition irrelevant. Harvard business
review Press.
Mullen, B. and Johnson, C., 2013. The psychology of consumer behavior. Psychology Press.
Nike.com.au (2019). [online] Available at: https://www.nike.com/au [Accessed 7 Jun. 2019].

11
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND MARKETING PSYCHOLOGY
Ottman, J., 2017. The new rules of green marketing: Strategies, tools, and inspiration for
sustainable branding. Routledge.
Rego, L.L., Morgan, N.A. and Fornell, C., 2013. Reexamining the market share–customer
satisfaction relationship. Journal of Marketing, 77(5), pp.1-20.
Shank, M.D. and Lyberger, M.R., 2014. Sports marketing: A strategic perspective.
Routledge.
Stephen, A.T., 2016. The role of digital and social media marketing in consumer
behavior. Current Opinion in Psychology, 10, pp.17-21.
Todorova, G., 2015. Marketing communication mix. Trakia Journal of Sciences, 13(1),
pp.368-374.
Valos, M.J., Haji Habibi, F., Casidy, R., Driesener, C.B. and Maplestone, V.L., 2016.
Exploring the integration of social media within integrated marketing communication
frameworks: Perspectives of services marketers. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 34(1),
pp.19-40.