Recent Purchase

A recent purchase that I just currently made was when I bought the new Nike Mercurial Flylight shin guards two weeks ago. They are some of the newest shin guards available on the market. These shin guards offer very light weight material and protects your shins. The reason as to why I bought these shinguards was simply because the shinguards I have been using tore. They lasted me nearly 5 years, but I think it was time for a new pair. After doing quite a bit of research, I found myself choosing between these shin guards and a pair made by Adidas. Seeing as I wear nike shoes and a jersey, I had to complete the look with my Nike shin guards! Safety is the ultimate reason that motivated me to buy a new pair of shin guards in the first place. Nike offered one of the best shin guards in the game, that is why I decided to buy them.

Nike is a solid business and have never let me down before. The option between Nike and Adidas was easy. I will  always go with Nike because I am brand loyal. They have done a great job in the past and continue to excel with all of my purchases.

Group Influence via Social Media

Social media is very tricky now-a-days with the advancement in technology almost anything is possible. People use social media to connect with others and have conversations. Companies in the soccer industry can utilize social media in this way rather than just posting on behalf of the company. By interacting with people and creating a "buzz" about their products is how these companies use social media to get consumers involved. They are able to push their products and influence groups of people by simply interacting and creating conversation.

Companies in this industry need to understand what the consumer wants from a social media and online aspect. The companies that are always online and respond within the hour are probably more successful with people such as the millennials who spend a lot of time on the internet. Customer service is very important. If you look back at my other post, you will see that having great customer service is the sole reason I still shop from Nike and Soccer.com. These companies are consistently online creating group influence via social media such as Facebook and Twitter. They are constantly creating a buzz about their new products and are always trending.

Having pictures of products and creating hype about their company will ultimately help them create more group influence because more people will be interactive with their company. As long as their company can handle all of the social media platforms, they will be very successful.

Consumer Behavior Trends

Most companies in the soccer industry rely heavily on purchases from soccer players. That being said, the companies that are selling top of the line gear such as Nike, Puma, Adidas, and just recently Mizuno rely on purchases from the millenials (people ages 18-34). This is because they are the ones who will be willing to spend more on equipment rather than someone who is younger than that. These companies are looking for athletes all around the world. By selling online, they can mass produce shoes, jerseys, shin guards, and more which can all be sold across the world. Nike being one of the largest soccer equipment providers does not tend to stick to a specific demographic or psychographic. They don't see the need to market to a specific niche when they can target nearly everyone across the world. With Mizuno just recently stepping into the soccer realm of selling, they are relying on selling to these millennials in order to get a buzz going about their product. They do not have the same presence in the market that Nike, Adidas and Puma. Over the years if Mizuno creates quality shoes and can get a celebrity endorser, they will soon be one of the "top dogs" in the soccer industry. 

Customer Loyalty

One of the brands that creates the best customer loyalty in soccer is Nike. The warranties, price, durability, and quality of their shoes and other equipment is what makes people always buy from them. One of the biggest reason that nike holds most of the market for soccer boots is because their warranty offers a one year renewal on all shoes. If the shoes get damaged, you can simply send the shoes back to nike and receive a voucher worth the entire amount you paid for the shoes. This creates a lot of business for Nike because people tend to tear through shoes and cleats. This can also work against them though. Some people will be unethical and break their shoes on purpose just to receive the voucher. However, Nike has to know this. They are selling soccer shoes worth $200+ and nearly everyone is buying them. Also, not everyone tears their shoes on purpose. Nike's customer service is great to deal with and are always very helpful and friendly. By having good customer service, people are more inclined to keep purchasing from them. It also helps that their cleats are comfortable and used by the majority of the English Premier League. Cristiano Ronaldo endorses his CR7 soccer cleats that are made by Nike. He is the Ballon D'or winner this last year which gives him the title of the best soccer player in the league.

From Happy to Angry to Happy

United States soccer isn't typically the best soccer in comparison to the English Premier League and other leagues around the world, but they do in fact have some of the best players. David Beckham has always been one of my favorite players. To think that he started with Manchester United when he was only 17 years old and has grown to be one of the best players in the world.  His move from the English Premier League to the United States Major League Soccer shocked everyone. He moved to the Los Angeles Galaxy to finish out his career. Being a huge Beckham fan, I bought his jersey off Soccer.com. After waiting several days, it finally came in the mail. To my surprise, there was a rip in the jersey at the bottom before I even opened it! That same day I called Soccer.com to order a different jersey in place of the one I was going to return. Their customer service rep not only let me keep the damaged Beckham jersey, but let me order the United States national team jersey for free!

Soccer.com's customer service is easily the best I have ever dealt with. The company cares about their customers and are always looking to satisfy. Having a company who makes mistakes and does not correct them is one thing, but a company like Soccer.com who aims to please every customer is the company that will have my business. I have continued to only buy soccer gear from them for the past several years.

Nike Soccer Boots are the Only Boots

Being an avid soccer fan, I have always had an eye for nice soccer cleats. Im not typically the guy who will go out and spend $200+ on soccer cleats, but something about these cleats grabbed my attention. It was my very last year playing soccer so I decided to spoil myself and buy a pair of Nike Magista Obra soccer cleats from Soccer.com. This buy was definitely emotional. I didn't necessarily need a pair of $250 soccer cleats, but they were perfect and I wanted them. The biggest influence on me to buy these shoes was that I was consistently seeing other players using them in a different color. I only heard good things about the shoes. High quality and durability is the thing I search for when looking for soccer shoes, especially when I plan to pay a lot for them.  After doing a lot of research, and seeing that Andres Iniesta (One of the best passers in the game) endorsed these shoes and helped to create them, I knew I had to have them.


At first, I was a little skeptical about buying these shoes because they have a built-in sock which I had never seen before, I am glad I took the risk and got them. These boots were by far the best purchase I have made when it comes to soccer equipment. The reviews didn't lie, they are one of the lightest shoes I've ever worn and they offer great padding for ball control. I would recommend these boots to anyone, but I would also suggest trying the newer versions, I assume they can only be better! Soccer.com is the only soccer equipment website that I use and they offer deals that are second to none! Aren't these boots beautiful?!?!?!

The Lifestyle

Many companies in the professional soccer world look at consumer lifestyles to try and tailor their campaigns towards specific groups of people. For instance, nike uses social media and web marketing to portray the "soccer lifestyle" seen in the majority of their ads. They do this by targeting younger kids and adults by displaying their new shoes and equipment on younger celebrity endorsers. Barcelona fans may be more inclined to purchase nike's equipment if their favorite stars such as Neymar and Messi are wearing the same equipment. All of their ads show athletic people showing off their new equipment, with people viewing themselves as having the same lifestyle as those athletes, more people are going to buy.

Another company that uses lifestyle techniques is Puma, a company that sells soccer equipment and gear. They also portray in the majority of their ads seen on T.V. and on the internet that the people wearing their stuff are athletes, and not just athletes, but top of the line athletes. This helps them connect with people who want to take the game of soccer to the next level. It is easy to relate to because many of the guys on Aurora University's soccer team buy name brand cleats because big name stars use them and vouch for them. It is a bit ridiculous that people are willing to pay over $250 on a pair of cleats just to be like Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, Gareth Bale and Neymar among the many.

Social Media In Premier League Soccer

Social media is influential in the English Premier League (EPL) as well as other Professional Soccer Leagues. Companies are using popular professional teams such as Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Chelsea among many. It is crazy to think that companies such as Chevrolet and Fly Emirates are using these teams to create awareness towards their companies. Chevrolet is paying a total of $47 million Euros per year just to have their logo on the front of Manchester United's home and away kits. Fly Emirates is totallling nearly $30 million euros to be the sponsor of Arsenal. I say this because on every social media platform that shows a professional player wearing one of their jerseys, they are also seeing the logos of these large companies.
 

Wayne Rooney: Manchester United                            Mesut Ozil: Arsenal

The majority of professional soccer teams are utilizing all platforms of social media including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more! Just the other day on twitter, there were videos showing magnificent goals of the 2014 season. It is great to see because some of these videos go all the way back to when Pele was playing. It is amazing to see how the game has changed over recent years and how it will continue to change in the future. I am interested to see how else social media will play an important role in the future of the English Premier league.

Having these companies pay large sums of money for their logos on these teams. It would be really interesting to see how it affects the sales of the jerseys and awareness towards their companies. Being a huge Manchester United fan, I heard from several people that they were not going to buy the new home and away kits of ManU because the Chevrolet logo made it ugly compared to the AIG logo they used to have. Personally, I love the new jerseys.

My Background in Soccer

For my first post, I would like to give a little bit of background information about myself and how I became interested in the great sport of soccer. Growing up, I had always admired the sport and always thought it was fascinating. I started playing when I was four years old in recreational leagues around Naperville, IL. It is amazing to see how the sport of soccer in the United States has grown from when I first started. I have always been intrigued about the sport once I learned it is the largest sports in the world. Over seas, soccer is the top paying sport in the world. Watching soccer legends like Roberto Carlos, Ronaldinho,Lionel Messi, and Christiano Ronaldo is what first inspired me to start playing. I am a very big Manchester United Soccer Club fan and aspire to be as good as the professionals that play for them.  Seeing the technique and critical thinking that goes into the entire game is what still catches my attention today. I have been playing my entire life and plan on coaching shortly after graduating from Aurora University.

I first started playing club soccer for America's Soccer Club which helped me develop the skill and technique that I still have today. After playing club soccer nearly my entire career, I joined the high school team to play Varsity soccer for 3 years at Waubonsie Valley High School. I played under one of the best coaches in the area, Angelo DiBernardo. Not only did he play with the player of the century, Pele, he has coached me nearly my entire life.

I currently just finished my soccer career after playing 4 years of soccer at Aurora University. I was the captain for my final 3 years and played with a great group of guys. Over the past 4 years at Aurora, I have had two different head coaches. I had Amir St. Clair for a coach for my first three years and my final year I had head coach Ryan Lakin. I have learned a lot about myself and the game while attending Aurora. I now plan on sharing my experiences while coaching youth club teams.