Marketing Issues

Marketing Issues

Business 508 – The Business Enterprise

February 26, 2010

Abstract

Since the opening their first shoe store in downtown Seattle in 1901, Nordstrom has experienced significant growth and is focused on expanding its brand, improving the efficiency of its operations, and increasing consumer purchases as a means to increasing the loyalty and profitability of its consumers. Nordstrom’s mission statement is “To maintain a workforce that represents many backgrounds, while remaining deeply committed to cultivating an environment where the contributions of every employee, customer, and vendor are valued and respected” (Nordstrom, Inc., 2010). Studies in several industries show that the costs to keep an existing customer are just a fraction of the costs to acquire a new customer. So often, it makes economic sense to pay more attention to existing customers. The purpose of this paper is to describe Nordstrom’s product and general business strategy. To do this, this paper will discuss the environmental forces of political, legal and regulatory, social, and economic, as well as their impact on Nordstrom’s marketing strategy.

Introduction

Nordstrom is characterized by its ability to provide the highest quality and largest selection of products at very competitive prices. One of the most distinctive corporate traits that helped guide the second generation of Nordstrom salesmen was their passion for entrepreneurial thinking and their immense dedication to providing outstanding customer service and repeat customer satisfaction. Nordstrom's constant focus on serving their customer's needs instilled a solid reputation across the retail environment for providing exceptional service that differentiated them from the competition. Nordstrom also focused their buying strategies on providing more specialized, private label clothing lines and fashion accessories with limited mainstream apparel that was a stark contrast to the extensive mainstream clothing...