Implementation, Evaluation, Control, and Contingency of Marketing Plan.

Nike’s snowboarding strategy, taking into account its external operating environment as well as its internal capabilities and weaknesses, will be based on its stated objective of driving operational excellence as well as the pursuit of innovation excellence (Nike, 2009). Therefore, at the corporate level, the strategies that will be pursued will be a mix of growth and retrenchment strategies. The Ansoff Matrix identifies four growth strategies including: market development, product development, market penetration, and diversification (Mercer, 1996).

Robbins and Coulter (2008) have identified four growth strategies as: concentration, vertical integration, horizontal integration, and diversification. Nike will use a combination of these growth strategies. The retrenchment strategy will be implemented through layoffs and cost reduction initiatives. In particular, cost savings will be achieved through optimization of the supply chain, restructuring of the organization in order to achieve savings and to streamline management, and laying off of excessive employees.

At the business level, the generic strategy of differentiation (key differentiators being superior innovation capabilities, design, and performance) will be deployed. By optimizing the supply chain and restructuring the organization, Nike’s flexibility and responsiveness to the market will also be enhanced which will help spur innovation and creativity and feed into the firm’s differentiation strategy. All the seven elements of the extended marketing mix will be used to support this plan. This is presented as shown in the schedule below.