Research Proposal: Marketing Mix and Customer Satisfaction at Nike

This research proposal investigates the impact of the marketing mix on customer satisfaction, using Nike as a case study. The study aims to identify the influence of marketing mix elements (product, price, place, promotion, process, people, and physical environment) on customer satisfaction levels. The research employs a positivism philosophy and a deductive approach, utilizing a quantitative method to collect and analyze data through surveys. The methodology includes a literature review of marketing mix and customer satisfaction factors, along with a detailed discussion of the research design, data collection methods (primary data via questionnaires), and data analysis techniques using SPSS. The proposal outlines a five-week work schedule, including literature review, questionnaire development, data collection, analysis, and the formulation of findings, conclusions, and recommendations. The research anticipates limitations related to time management and research tool proficiency, while focusing on providing insights for Nike to improve marketing effectiveness and enhance customer satisfaction.

RESEARCH PROPOSAL CASE OF
MARKETING ON CUSTOMER
SATISFACTION ON NIKE

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................1
Research rational....................................................................................................................1
Objectives...............................................................................................................................1
Research questions.................................................................................................................1
LITERATURE REVIEW...........................................................................................................1
Marketing mix........................................................................................................................1
Factors of customer satisfaction.............................................................................................2
Issues for marketing mix........................................................................................................2
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...............................................................................................3
Research philosophy..............................................................................................................3
Research approach.................................................................................................................3
Survey....................................................................................................................................4
Research type.........................................................................................................................4
Research design......................................................................................................................4
Cross section..........................................................................................................................4
Data collection.......................................................................................................................4
Data analysis..........................................................................................................................5
Plan and procedure.................................................................................................................5
Research limitations...............................................................................................................5
WORK SCHEDULE..................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES...........................................................................................................................7

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Gantt chart....................................................................................................................5

Abstract
The research will focus on marketing mix functions and their impact on the customer
satisfaction level of Nike. The purpose of study is to analyze the contribution of marketing
mix in business development through meeting the satisfaction level of customer. For
managing the research, the positivism philosophy will be used. The deductive approach and
quantitative method will apply for managing the outcome using the statistical data by
developing the questionnaire. Moreover, the researcher will adopt deductive research design.
For the collection of data primary data collection method is used and that will be analyzed by
considering the SPSS tool.
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INTRODUCTION
Research rational
The study about the analysis of the impact of the marketing mix on customer
satisfaction on Nike is important to know about the changes in the marketing mix approaches
and. In the current scenario, the marketing mix (7ps) is having the influence of online
activities and improvement in the level of competition that affecting the business process.
The research will identify the factors and issues that have the direct or indirect impact on the
customer satisfaction through marketing mix functions (Armstrong and et al., 2015). The
analysis of customer perception and impact of the marketing mix activities will be beneficial
to Nike to make corrective decisions to improve the awareness and interaction with existing
and potential customers.
Objectives
 To identify impact of marketing mix
 To analyze factors of customer satisfaction
 To develop strategy for new marketing mix
 To identify issues in current marketing mix for customer satisfaction
Research questions
What is the importance of marketing mix for Nike?
Why customer satisfaction is essential for business development?
What are the key factors influence the marketing mix and customer satisfaction?
LITERATURE REVIEW
Marketing mix
According to Huang and Sarigöllü, (2014), marketing mix refers to the set of actions
or tactics that a company uses for promoting the products, services and brand in the market.
The major marketing mix elements involve price, place, promotion, product, process, people
and physical environment. The top management or the marketing team of organization
analyze the marketing mix attributes and develop the strategy to improve the effectiveness of
these marketing mixes to influence the decisions of buyers. The product and prices are
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primary functions of the marketing mix as the company need to design and develop products
according to needs of target customers and set optimum prices that help to gain the
competitive advantage. Additionally, the promotional activities of company support to create
the awareness about the products and services and set the appeal to increase the sales (Huang,
and Sarigöllü, 2014). For promotion company uses social and print media, direct marketing
and promotional pricing. The place and people are playing a vital role to influence customer
satisfaction as easy availability of products in market increases the brand effectiveness and
information provided by employees support to make the decision of the customer to buy the
products. Huang, and Sarigöllü have added that physical environment and process of selling
also help to engage the customers. The organizations are using the online selling method for
processing the order and offering the products. The interiors and environment of stores also
aid organization to increase the satisfaction level of customers.
Factors of customer satisfaction
There are various factors that have a significant impact on the customer satisfaction
level. As per the views of Pavlou, and Stewart, (2015), the key factors that considered for
analyzing and increasing the customer satisfaction involve accessibility, customer interaction
level, convenience, customized approach, trust and choices. However, the leading
organizations are developing the products and promotional activities by focusing these
factors but changes in the market trends and improvement in the competition level influence
the customer satisfaction level. In the current scenario, there are various organizations that
offering similar kind of products at lower prices that affect the brand stickiness and choices
of the customer. The high accessibility is essential for an organization to attract the customer
and engage them in buying the certain products offered by them. In spite of that, past
experience with organization and response from the staff members to make the choices also
play a vital role in the improvement of customer satisfaction (Pavlou and Stewart, 2015). By
having concern over these elements, the organizations could be able to maintain the
constructive relationship with the customer and meet their satisfaction level.
Issues for marketing mix
To maintain the effective marketing mix strategy, organizations have to face different
issues. Hanssens (2014) has analyzed that, ethical pricing and promotion are affecting the
activities of marketing and shaping the decisions of the customer to choose a particular brand.
The customer demands high-quality products at optimum cost but the organizations are
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seeking for higher profitability. This kind of approach is affecting marketing functions and
customer satisfaction level. If there is the monopoly of the organization in the market then the
satisfaction level of the customer will be low. In addition to this, the false information that is
provided by the organization to promote the products and services also affect the marketing
strategy and performance of the organization in existing market (Hanssens and et al., 2014).
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research methodology is an essential element of study that helps to maintain a
systematic approach to solving the problem and meet the objectives. The research
methodology is useful for readers to understand the manners in which the study has been
conducted and identify the techniques were applied. The current research methodology is
framed from the topic “Marketing Mix of customer satisfaction on Nike”. The major
elements of current research methodology involve research methodology, research approach,
data collection, sampling and data analysis.
Research philosophy
The research philosophies provided the ground for handling different directions of a
study and for those three types of philosophies are used such as interpretive, positivism and
realism philosophy. For the current research, positivism research philosophy that involves
factual data that collected through observation and lead to the statistical analysis. The
research philosophy will be helpful for the researcher to maintain the independent flow of
study without any interaction with the human (Taylor and et al., 2015). This kind of research
philosophy will be beneficial for explain and predict the marketing mix for Nike to improve
marketing effectiveness.
Research approach
For managing the data and achieve the defined goals and objectives the research
approaches plays a critical role. There are two types of research approaches are used that
involve inductive and deductive. For the current research, the research will use deductive
research approach to confirm the marketing mix theories on the basis of collected data
(Lewis, 2015). In this context of the deductive approach, the research will analyze
satisfaction level of the customer through marketing mix of Nike considering the secondary
and primary data. The collection and comparison of both will help to draw an effective
conclusion.
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Survey
The survey strategy will be used for collecting data and meeting the objectives of the
research. In this approach, the researcher will design and develop a questionnaire and offer to
the selected sample size to collect their views (Flick, 2015). The kind of strategy will help to
improve the effectiveness of research and eliminate the risk of biases from the study.
Research type
In order to manage the desired output and maintain the effective flow of research, the
researcher needs to segment the study. For that three methods have been used such as
qualitative, quantitative and mixed. For the current study of “Marketing mix of customer
satisfaction on Nike” the researcher will use the quantitative method. According to this
method, the researcher will collect statistical and numerical data using the survey and
questionnaire method which will be done by using the primary data collection process
(Silverman, 2016). This kind research type will improve the reliability and maintain the
validity of research.
Research design
The research could follow either descriptive or exploratory design for managing data
and proving the desired objectives. For the current research, the researcher will use
descriptive research design that will help to develop a new theory about the impact of the
marketing mix on customer satisfaction level of Nike. Moreover, the research is based on
quantitative data hence it is essential to use the descriptive research design to identify the
facts (Palinkas and et al., 2015).
Cross section
For the study, the researcher will use cross-sectional approach for recording the
information about the satisfaction level of customer considering the effectiveness of
marketing mix. By using the cross-sectional time horizon, the researcher will analyze and
compare the data collected from the different population groups. Moreover, by using this
technique the data will be gathered using the survey method (Smith, 2015).
Data collection
Data collection is an important aspect of research that influences the finding and
objectives. There are two types of data collection methods have been used such as primary
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and secondary. For the current research, the researcher will collect data through primary
method. For that, the researcher will design a questionnaire and collected the data from the
people. The survey question will be designed in a simple manner that will be easy o
understand. The survey will be conducted using online method of distribution of
questionnaire and collecting the views (Gelman and et al., 2014). This will be cost and time
effective.
Data analysis
The collected data will be analyzed using SPSS tool. For managing the data of
primary research and maintaining the reliability of analysis SPSS tool is widely used. To
analyze the data, the researcher will import the data into excel of SPSS. Additionally, the
graph and pie charts also used for presentation of data (Kratochwill, 2015). This kind of
statistical data analysis will encourage the validity and reliability.
Plan and procedure
The research will be helpful for analyzing the importance of marketing mix for
managing the customer satisfaction of Nike. By considering the results the management of
the company will be able to make changes in the marketing mix to achieve the better
outcome. By undertaking the research, the impact of the marketing mix on the customer
satisfaction level will be identified and highlight the key factors that have a significant impact
on the marketing approach of Nike. The analysis of marketing mix will help to develop new
theories and strategies to improve satisfaction level of customers.
Research limitations
There will be some limitations that will influence the outcome of research. The major
limitation of research will be proper management of time and lack of understanding of the
research standards. I have to learn more about research planning and utilization of tools and
services that will overcome the issues related to consideration of data and management of
time.
WORK SCHEDULE
Activities/ time
frame
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5
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Introduction
Literature review
Research
methodology
Development of
questionnaire
Data collection
Data analysis
Finding and
conclusion
Recommendation
Table 1: Gantt chart
The research will be completed within five weeks. According to schedule, the
researcher will develop the objective and research background by focusing on the secondary
data to develop a strong literature review. In the next week, the researcher will develop a
questionnaire and collect the primary data by using the primary data collection approach. The
data will be analyzed in the 4th week using the SPSS tool. In the last week, the researcher
will develop finding and conclusion on the basis of data analysis and provide
recommendations for further improvement in the marketing mix of Nike to encourage the
customer satisfaction.
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REFERENCES
Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M. and Brennan, R., 2015. Marketing: an introduction.
Pearson Education.
Flick, U., 2015. Introducing research methodology: A beginner's guide to doing a research
project. Sage.
Gelman, A., Carlin, J.B., Stern, H.S., Dunson, D.B., Vehtari, A. and Rubin, D.B.,
2014. Bayesian data analysis(Vol. 2). Boca Raton, FL: CRC press.
Hanssens, D.M., Pauwels, K.H., Srinivasan, S., Vanhuele, M. and Yildirim, G., 2014.
Consumer attitude metrics for guiding marketing mix decisions. Marketing
Science, 33(4), pp.534-550.
Huang, R. and Sarigöllü, E., 2014. How brand awareness relates to market outcome, brand
equity, and the marketing mix. In Fashion Branding and Consumer Behaviors (pp. 113-
132). Springer, New York, NY.
Kratochwill, T.R., 2015. Single-case research design and analysis: An overview. In Single-
Case Research Design and Analysis (Psychology Revivals) (pp. 13-26). Routledge.
Lewis, S., 2015. Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five
approaches. Health promotion practice, 16(4), pp.473-475.
Palinkas, L.A., Horwitz, S.M., Green, C.A., Wisdom, J.P., Duan, N. and Hoagwood, K.,
2015. Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and analysis in mixed method
implementation research. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental
Health Services Research, 42(5), pp.533-544.
Pavlou, P.A. and Stewart, D.W., 2015. Interactive advertising: A new conceptual framework
towards integrating elements of the marketing mix. In New Meanings for Marketing in
a New Millennium (pp. 218-222). Springer, Cham.
Silverman, D. ed., 2016. Qualitative research. Sage.
Smith, J.A. ed., 2015. Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods. Sage.
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Taylor, S.J., Bogdan, R. and DeVault, M., 2015. Introduction to qualitative research
methods: A guidebook and resource. John Wiley & Sons.
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