Wow, I almost fell asleep just now without doing my weekly post. Shame on me! Well, I don't think you can blame a guy who's working full-time, taking four classes and has a pregnant wife at home (sympathy violins anyone?). Oh, and not to mention that I'm utterly heartbroken this weekend, as I watched my beloved Pitt Panthers (my Alma mater) lose to Villanova in a nail-biter.
Well enough about me and on to my post of the week. So, there was a very interesting article I read this week as part of our assignment regarding Nike and their latest innovation quest, seeking designs from YOU!
http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/next/archives/2007/10/nikes_new_publi.html
And that's why I'm calling it Power to the People 2.0! I think this is amazing! I mean, a giant company like Nike, who, supposedly has a crack sales and marketing division, athletic sponsorship out the "wazoo" and well over a billion dollar in revenues, is asking YOU to design their shoes! Well not really, they're asking you to design your own shoe, and if they like it, they may sell it on a limited basis. But still, how amazing is that! And, in my humble opinion, directly relate it to the huge reach of the Internet and the ability of people to readily voice opinions and share their own ideas at a touch of a button. Its now wonder that Nike's website called NikeID.com has tripled its membership since 2004. This is the website that allows you to begin customizing your products. We can see this in other industries as well. Look at Apple and its iPhone applications. Its also customer driven. Many of the Apps on the iTunes store are created by non-Apple employees.
These innovation ideas, where the company reaches out to their customers for ideas, is brilliant and only pushes the company to produce top-notch products! Keep on innovating Nike! Just do it!
On a side note, did anyone else fall of their chair laughing at Sayyid's drugged up confession on Lost??? ;)
I, too, think that Nike is taking it to the next innovation level with their NikeID process. I have used it before and really enjoy it. The one set back is that it sometimes takes quite a long time to actually receive your final shoes. So while their product innovation and IT departments may be well-aligned, it seems operations may still be re-configuring to handle such a load of one-off runs.
ReplyDeleteI wondered at first how they could afford to forego leveraging economies of scale, but after going through the process, I can see that they are definitely charging a premium for the shoes, using very cheap labor, and leveraging the power of technology to give it some viability. It will be interesting to see how Nike will measure ROI with this initiative.
I agree; I was equally fascinated by this article. I think it is a tremendous and unique idea. What I liked about it was the fact that it plays on two of the main drivers in today’s marketplace – virtual and customization. Yet it is also linked to a physical, brick & mortar store – the NikeID Studio. I felt this was an excellent idea to appeal to the technically savvy/cutting edge side, but still have some in person interaction and engagement (good CRM tactic!).
ReplyDeleteUnlike Lily I haven’t personally tried this product, but after reading this I am definitely intrigued! I could see this being addictive. Just like Lost… :-)
I've already commented on a couple of others' posts on this topic, but I don't have it in me to ignore a Lost reference!
ReplyDeleteSayid rules all! haha
Like Kate said, I find the ability to customize products as intriguing!
ReplyDeleteI'll relate this to the example of the computer industry.
Last year, when I decided to purchase a new laptop to replace my old heavy-equipment-like-sound-making laptop :), I had specific requirements like large memory capacity, inbuilt webcam , amongst other things I was looking out for. The fact that I didn't have to compromise on any of the requirements was a plus for HP's site.
I've not explored the Nike site but I can relate my experience with HP's site and I definitely know how satisfying it is to purchase a product that meets your desire/taste.
Asides the customer satisfaction, this marketing initiative is a great resource in enabling businesses compete against other traditional-order-style competitors.