Write 8 pages with APA style on Stages in the Marketing Research Process: Nike. The opportunities and threat faced by the company and the scope of market research is being discusses in this case analysis.

From the day Nike had its ad campaign with top athletes like John McEnroe, the ads created for Nike have been icons in setting standards for creativity. The Nike should not switch its focus from celebrities to its product. The campaigns were very effective with their image transfer approach, they casually transmits the message that how fashionable and trendy a person can become by buying a pair of Nike. Nike became a self-fulfilling image statement: if you want to be hip, wear Nike. if you are hip, you are probably wearing Nike (1). By focusing on the aura and image conveyed by the celebrity, Nike was able to attract those who wanted the image. Also the advertisements from Nike are very intensely inward focused concepts. It does not focus on the product, but has its entire focus on the person who wears it.

The success of Nike in the market can be attributed mainly to its understanding of the consumer psyche. During the fitness crazy 1980s, Nike’s campaign was totally tuned to the expectations of the consumers. This kind of understanding of the consumer results from market research. The research Nike should be doing now is a lifestyle study of its consumer to check whether a change approach adopted for advertising. The study that has to be done by Nike is of Descriptive in nature. For the research, the design will be as follows:

1. Interest/ theory – to find out various factors that affect the lifestyle of consumers which has an impact on the purchase of Nike

2. Conceptualization – lifestyle study involves identifying the kinds of products/ services consumed and a relationship with the demographic and psychographic factors.

3. Choice of research method – the research methods that can be used are market survey and unobtrusive methods like content analysis carried out longitudinal and cross-sectional across the target markets.

4. Population and sampling – the population for the study will be all the target markets for Nike across the world and the sample of the study can be selected randomly after segmenting the market into target groups

5. Operationalisation – the survey can be carried out online to elicit responses from various target markets globally. The content analysis can be carried out through observation and comparison of the people who buy Nike and their patterns of purchase

6. Date processing and analysis – after the data is collected a comparison and correlation study of the various factors and the lifestyle of consumers and their perception on Nike can be analyzed.

Buyer behavior

The Customer Focus(R) 2004: Sporting Goods study(2)by Vertis reveals that price and selection motivate consumer purchases more so than quality in case of athletic footwear. The results of the study show that consumers want choices and variety at a good price. A key tool in influencing buying behavior is advertising inserts and Customer Focus can provide guidance on the best way to use media synergistically. According to the survey, female shoppers with young children (ages 6-11) also see quality as less important than price in terms of being a key factor on why they shop at athletic footwear specialty stores. Price, selections are the key factors which play a more important role in deciding the brand and model for purchase.