The Role of Social Media and Technology in Marketing Strategy

This paper will seek to examine the advancement in technology and its contribution to the field of marketing. The movement to new ideas is becoming imperative if companies are to survive the era of wait and see no more (Ewen, 2016).

The focus will major on the Dick’s Sporting company success in comparison to how Sports Authority went bankrupt. What marketing strategy did Dick’s Sporting Company use in comparison to Sports Authority? Additionally, a marketing plan that is sustainable for companies in line with the role of social media in marketing is a critical point for this study. Marketing plan is an essential component for the dynamic nature of business operations (Felina & Chritobal, 2008).

Dick’s sporting company was enjoying financial stability while Sport Authority faced with financial burden that proved overwhelming for the company (Ewen, 2016). Given that the two company were competing on free markets definitely Dick’s company had an added advantage since it had the liquidity and sales figure that gave the company an advantage that helped it to whether the market fluctuation storms.

Sports Authority was also slow in adapting to new marketing strategies of online advertisement in addition to showrooming. A good example is the issue of online encroachment where Sport Authority moved slowly as compared to other companies such as Amazon who were quick in capitalizing on the idea. This was also encouraged to a great extent by the mass consumer movement to shopping online. Online advertisement has been established to have many benefits that could attract and establish customer loyalty to brands (Ryan, 2017).

Sports Authority was also reluctant in joining in the new trends. The trends made other companies to diversify their products. Companies like Nike and Dick’s were willing to diversify their product hence the introduction of athleisure (Ewen, 2016).

Lack of vision especially at the corporate level is also evidence for the Sports Authority Company. The management was not innovative and therefore lack sustainable program for the advancement of the company in line with increasing competition were survival of any company was based on new invention and innovation.

The Sport Authority sales lacked a real customer shopping experience in its Showrooming (Mallory, 2016). Given the story of the Sports Authority failure in giving customers a real shopping experience brick and mortar companies should focus on the innovative ways to give the customers the real experience. Such ways may include high tech personalization and run clubs as was the case with Nike (Mallory, 2016). This could help fuse traditional shopping method with customer experiences that could help increase sales.

Sports Authority was well-established company before the many problems it experienced leading to its bankruptcy. However, it is evident enough that the company was so conservative in the past marketing strategies. In line with the changing trends of consumer shopping behavior and advancement in technology, the company overlooked the principle of marketing of creating a total online presence (Strategy Peak). This could have gone a long way in helping the company to increase sales and hence its survival in an increasingly competitive environment.

Conclusion

It is evident from the Sports Authority story of bankruptcy in comparison to Dick’s Sports company story of success that companies need to be diversified. This will assist the company to survive in a fast-changing environment of increasing role of social media and technology in advertisement and marketing strategy.

References

Costello, R. (2017, March 14). 5 Benefits Of Online Advertising. Retrieved January 14, 2018, from ExactDrive: http://www.exactdrive.com/news/5-benefits-of-online-advertising

Ewen, L. (2016, March 15). How Sports Authority went bankrupt—and who could be next to fall. Retrieved January 13, 2018, from Retaildive: https://www.retaildive.com/news/how-sports-authority-went-bankruptand-who-could-be-next-to-fall/415343/

Felina, C., & Chritobal, M. (2008). Principles of Marketing. Rex Bookstore, Inc.

S, M. (2016, July 28). The retail industry is panicking over Sports Authority’s bankruptcy. Retrieved January 13, 2018, from Business Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/sports-authoritys-bankruptcy-has-caused-negative-effects-in-retail-2016-7?IR=T

Strategy Peak. (n.d.). 7 Key Marketing Principles. Retrieved January 13, 2018, from Strategy Peak: https://strategypeak.com/7-key-marketing-principles/