...accuracy and thoroughness. Described partially Nordstrom's level of service on the continuum from full service to self-service; gave a relevant example of a store that would be on the opposite end of the continuum and partially explained their differences; omitted key information. Described with 60 – 79% accuracy and thoroughness. Described sufficiently Nordstrom's level of service on the continuum from full service to self-service; gave a relevant example of a store that would be on the opposite end of the continuum and sufficiently explained their differences. Described with 80 – 89% accuracy and thoroughness. Described fully Nordstrom's level of service on the continuum from full service to self-service; gave a relevant example of a store that would be on the opposite end of the continuum and fully explained their differences. Described with 90 – 100% accuracy and thoroughness. 3. Analyze the six components of Nordstrom's retailing mix to determine which have been the most important to the company's success. Provide a detailed rationale. Did not complete the assignment or did not analyze the six components of Nordstrom's retailing mix to determine which have been the most important to the company's success; did not or did not sufficiently provide a detailed rationale; omitted key information and/or irrelevant information. Analyzed with less than 60% accuracy and thoroughness. Analyzed partially the six components of Nordstrom's retailing mix to determine which have been the...
Words: 1783 - Pages: 8
...Retailing Management – Case 31 Customer Service and Relationship Management at Nordstrom 1. What steps does Nordstrom take to implement its strategy of providing outstanding customer service? To begin with, Nordstrom employees treat customers like royalty. Customers are even at the top of Nordstrom’s so-called organization chart. All lower levels work towards supporting the salespeople, who in turn work to serve the customers. Salespeople are given personalized business cards to help them build relationships with customers. They are not tied to their respective departments but to the customers, this turns their salesperson a “personal shopper” of the customers. This opportunity to sell departments enables salespeople to maximize sales and commissions while providing superior customer service. Despite all the efforts in making sure customer satisfaction is met, it starts from the employees. Nordstrom employees are treated almost like the extended family. They are treated like businesspeople and empowered to make independent decisions. Overall, Nordstrom delivers good quality product with good service. 2. How do these activities enable Nordstrom to reduce the gaps between perceived service and customer expectations, as described in Chapter 18? Nordstrom’s policies focus on the concept of the “Life –time Value of the Customer.” Their service goes above and beyond what other retail stores can offer. Even if little money is made from the first sale, the lifetime value of a customer...
Words: 463 - Pages: 2
...Identify the type of retailer that Nordstrom’s is classified as. Describe the characteristics it shares with other retailers of this type. Nordstrom is classified as a department store. It sells a variety of products including clothing, jewelry, handbags, cosmetics, and home furnishing. Nordstrom started as a shoe store as time passed they diversify their product, and they opened more stores in different locations. They sell products identical to the department stores. Nordstrom like department stores have a series of permanent products such as cosmetics, hardware, jewelry, sporting goods, among others. Another likeness to the other department stores is that they have many stores in different locations of the US. Nordstrom competes with other national, regional, and local retail and departments stores. Nordstrom’s top competition comes from retail stores that sell similar lines of apparel such as Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Dillard’s, and other high-end fashion retailers. Nordstrom shares many characteristic with other retailers such as their generous exchange policy, superior customer service, the product quality. 2. Describe Nordstrom's level of service on the continuum from full service to self-service. Give an example of a store that would be on the opposite end of the continuum and explain their differences. Moving from full service to self-service paid off for Nordstrom. You will think that a customer will enjoy more the full service, because it may seems like the...
Words: 995 - Pages: 4
...Anita’s Apparel Case Study Nordstrom developed a number of systems that was designed to support “The Nordstrom Way”. I will evaluate the company’s compensation programs, customer service satisfaction and employee empowerment systems. I will then provide suggestions for Anita Lamont about compensating her employees. Nordstrom’s compensation management system contributes to the overall success of the organization in several ways. Nordstrom’s philosophy is to offer the customers the best service, selection, quality and value. They enforce that all employees regardless of the level is the customer service department. Nordstrom has an inverted pyramid of which they put their customers at the top of the chart followed by salespeople and so on and so forth. The company promotes from within and every person starts as a salesperson. Nordstrom’s compensation system for their salespersons’ salaries are commissioned based, reflecting a commitment to pay people for their performance. Commission based salaries allow salespeople to earn considerably more money than the industry average. Salespeople also receive bonuses and rewards for doing an especially outstanding job. In order to retain their competitive advantage of superior customer service in the highly competitive retailing market, they designed an evaluation/compensation system that had the following objectives: (1) to support its high-service strategy and (2 to motivate its sales employees. They tried to evaluate and...
Words: 561 - Pages: 3
...1 Nordstrom Case Study Nordstrom’s Success Fred Ware III Strayer University Marketing 100 May 29, 2011 Professor Niquelle Wright 2 Nordstrom’s is an upper echelon grand department store that retails the finest products for an affluent consumer. Similar department stores that operate on the same scale and market are Barney’s, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue. Other less exclusive retailers like Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Dillard’s are in competition with Nordstrom’s, but do not carry the same high quality merchandise. All of these retailers offer items such as jewelry, cosmetics, perfume, clothing, shoes, and accessories. Nordstrom’s inventory tends to be more upscale for the exclusive consumer. This consumer may be looking for the best product or shopping experience available in a retail operation. Nordstrom’s delivers this in exceptional style. Nordstrom’s carries a varied inventory on its floor, offering choices for men, women, and children. 2. Unrivaled customer service is entrenched in Nordstrom’s retail policies. Many times in order to appease the customer; a monetary loss is taken by the store. Customer Relationship Management as described in our textbook is a process that companies use to rank, sort, and group customers into categories. Once this step is done, customers are organized and a personal data file is created. With this data when the customer returns, the salesperson can view the customer profile, purchase history and...
Words: 1131 - Pages: 5
...Identify the type of retailer that Nordstrom’s is classified as. Describe the characteristics it shares with other retailers of this type. The type of retailer Nordstrom is classified as is a Department store. A Department store is a retail establishment which specializes in satisfying a wide range of the consumer’s product needs, carries a wide variety of shopping and specialty goods, including apparel, cosmetics, houseware, electronics, and sometimes furniture. Nordstrom fall into this category because it sells clothing, accessories, handbags, jewelry, cosmetics, fragrances, and in some locations, home furnishing. This hasn’t always been the case, Nordstrom started out as a Specialty store, in which retailers specialize in a given type of merchandise. This merchandise for Nordstrom was shoes but the company later decided not only to focus on shoes but other merchandise. Some other department stores that share similar characteristics as Nordstrom are Macy’s, Ross, JCPenny, Dillards, and Kohl’s just to name a few. In these Department stores a customer can find a wide variety of products, for women, men, and children. Describe Nordstrom's level of service on the continuum from full service to self-service. Give an example of a store that would be on the opposite end of the continuum and explain their differences. As mentioned prior Nordstrom’s was at one point considered to be a specialty store and their specialty was shoes. In the past your sole reason to go to Nordstrom...
Words: 1147 - Pages: 5
...MORALES, Marc Russel M. BSBA-MM II-C MM100 – Fundamentals of Marketing Management MABEZA, RYAN MARVIN Nordstrom’s Case Analysis Companies are everywhere. Competition in a global business world are in left and right scenarios. So companies must find the right ingredient for them to be successful. Creating loyal customers is at the heart of every business. Improving efficiency in connecting to customers, building customer satisfaction, customer value and loyalty leads to improved and better business results. Marketing experts Don Peppers and Martha Rogers say, “The only value your company will ever create is the value that comes from customers—the ones you have now and the ones you will have in the future. Businesses succeed by getting, keeping, and growing customers. Customers are the only reason you build factories, hire employees, schedule meetings, lay fiber-optic lines, or engage in any business activity. Without customers, you don’t have a business.” Companies must establish and maintain a high customer value for their products and services because consumers use customer value to make buying decisions. You make buying decisions in day-to-day life experiences. For example in buying for a bottled water drink. Should you buy the wilkins worth P15 or the evian water worth P65? In every buying decision, a consumer asks the same question: 'is what I am going to receive worth what I have to give up in order to get it?' The gain the consumer receives for the benefit is...
Words: 1714 - Pages: 7
...Summary: This article was interesting to me because it shows how big the e-commerce market or online marketplace is rising and how brick retailers are viewing this as a chance to strategize their companies structure. In this case, Nordstrom's knows that Amazon is a competitor, they know that online business is a big part of the economy today and for the future, but they are differentiating themselves from them as an omni-channel merchant or "bricks and clicks" retailer. Erik Nordstrom makes clarity of this by saying that. “We’re not a price promotional retailer. ... The products we participate in, they’re not commodities, and brands matter. There’s a lot of retail that’s gone to commodities, and the brand value’s been taken out of it.” (Wagner,...
Words: 309 - Pages: 2
...Retailing all over the world is beneficial to the individual in some form, whether it is purchasing good and services or selling goods and services. Retailing is activities related to the sale of goods and services to people of the world. The retailing industry is one of the largest employers in the United States and the economy depends on it heavily for economic growth. Identify the type of retailer that Nordstrom's is classified as and describe the characteristics it shares with other retailers of this type. There are a few type of retailers that we recognize or classify such as Independent retailers, which are retailers owned by a person or partnership and this type of retailer are not operated as part of a larger retail institution. Another type of retailer is franchises and they are owned and operated by individuals but they are licensed by supporting organizations two examples are Apple Bee’s or Beef ‘O Brady’s. The third types of retailers are chain stores, and they are owned and operated as a group by a single organization. Nordstrom is known to be an upscale retailer that has been famous for superior customer service for over 100 years. Nordstrom has 157 stores in 27 states and their plan was to open 19 more by 2010, and expanding into Boston, Ohio, and other untapped U.S. markets. They strive to make every customer’s experience enjoyable and upscale, so that the customer feels as if they are treating themselves upon every visit to the store. Eric Nordstrom...
Words: 1055 - Pages: 5
...1. Identify the type of retailer that Nordstrom’s is classified as. Describe the characteristics it shares with other retailers of this type.. Nordstrom would be described as a department store. They carry a wide variety of goods, such as clothing, accessories, handbags, jewelry and cosmetics like other department stores such as Macy’s, JCPenney and Sears. They have a very high level of service as evidenced in the case study about selling just one shoe and taking a return on snow tires when they never sold auto parts. Their prices are fairly high since they carry mostly high-end brands. These are all traits that department stores share. 2. Describe Nordstrom's level of service on the continuum from full service to self-service. Give an example of a store that would be on the opposite end of the continuum and explain their differences. Nordstrom’s level of service would be classified as full service. They have sales people that help with the fitting process among other things. Their customer service is their number one priority. The example given in the case study was of a Nordstrom employee paying for a cab ride to the airport just to return a lost ticket to a passenger. This is going above and beyond what is expected of a salesperson. On the other end of the spectrum would be self service. An example of this would be Wal-Mart. They have employees to help, but for the most part people get their own merchandise and make their decisions...
Words: 723 - Pages: 3
...partnership with a man named Carl Wallin. In 1901 the two opened their very own shoe sore, Wallin & Nordstrom, in downtown Seattle. John’s business philosophy was based on exceptional service, selection, quality and value, which ended up becoming a retail legend, also allowing them to build a customer base, and open their second store in 1923. In 1928, John Nordstrom sold his share of the company to his sons, and in 1933 Carl retired and sold his shares to the Nordstrom brothers. Nordstrom’s began building their reputation becoming the largest independent show chain in the U.S. In 1960, the company expanded offering customers shoes and fine apparel, called Nordstrom Best. Then in 1966, they offered men’s clothing and children’s wear. The company went public in 1971 just after the sales passed $100 million mark, and the company was recognized as the largest volume West Coast fashion specialty store. This same year, the name was changed to Nordstrom, Inc. Nordstrom’s today focuses on catering to customer’s needs, and individuality. They do not categorize their merchandise by departments, but by individual’s lifestyles. Nordstrom’s now offers generous size ranges and a selection of the finest apparel, shoes and accessories for the entire family, along with renowned service. Nordstrom’s mission statement is, "At Nordstrom, we value the richness that diversity brings to our workforce - it makes our Company better and the communities we serve stronger." This is also exactly...
Words: 1689 - Pages: 7
...For the exclusive use of Z. YUAN Harvard Business School 9-191-002 Rev. October 15, 1999 Nordstrom: Dissension in the Ranks? (A) The first time Nordstrom sales clerk Lori Lucas came to one of the many “mandatory” Saturday morning department meetings and saw the sign—”Do Not Punch the Clock”—she assumed the managers were telling the truth when they said the clock was temporarily out of order. But as weeks went by, she discovered that on subsequent Saturdays the clock was always “broken” or the time cards were not accessible. When she and several colleagues hand-wrote the hours on their time cards, they discovered that their manager whited-out the hours and accused them of not being “team players.” Commenting on the variety of tasks that implicitly had to be performed after hours, Ms. Lucas said, “You couldn’t complain, because then your manager would schedule you for the bad hours, your sales per hour would fall, and next thing you know, you’re out the door.”1 Patty Bemis, who joined Nordstrom as a sales clerk in 1981 and quit eight years later, told a similar story: Nordstrom recruiters came to me. I was working at The Broadway as Estee Lauder’s counter manager and they said they had heard I had wonderful sales figures. We’d all heard Nordstrom was the place to work. They told me how I would double my wages. They painted a great picture and I fell right into it. . . The managers were these little tin gods, always grilling you about your sales. . . . You felt like your job...
Words: 7737 - Pages: 31
...Nordstrom “Fashion changes. Shopping changes. Our commitment to happy customers doesn't.” Nordstrom today is currently operated by a fourth generation of the Nordstrom family, an executive team, and a talented team of innovators and fashion leaders. Nordstrom has grown from a small downtown Seattle shoe store into a nationwide fashion specialty chain. It offers a tremendous selection of shoes, accessories and an extensive range of services to make shopping a fun, efficient and convenient process. In 2011, the company was recorded as achieving an all-time record for total net sales at $10.5 billion. In 2014, Nordstrom “serves customers in 38 states with 118 full-line stores in the United States and one in Canada, 167 Nordstrom Rack locations. We also serve customers online in 96 countries through Nordstrom.com” (Nordstrom Website). This company clearly has shown their business philosophy to provide exceptional service, selection, quality and value has lasted over time. Nordstrom’s organizational structure is set up a little different than most companies. Individually, each employee must excel to reach their personal selling goal on a daily basis. This is important because each group, or department an individual works in, must also reach their selling numbers to prosper as an organizational or company level. Nordstrom uses an inverted social structure. Since Nordstrom prospers on their ability to sell to their customers, selling employees are at the top of their pyramid...
Words: 1589 - Pages: 7
...Unit 2 Case study – Question 1 pg 148 The first question in the book is very interesting. The question is how else can Nordstrom continue to provide exceptional customer service and increase brand loyalty? Well to begin with we have to start accepted wisdom of how to put forward extraordinary patron services it is imperative to become conscious that purchaser services is not just a line of attack of responsibility of doing effects but an positive mind-set. Accomplishing this no more than have need of changing the mind-sets of corporation human resources towards the businesses clientele. Nordstrom goes out of their way to take care of its most loyal customers. Nordstrom does this by using the “Fashion Rewards Program, rewards customers on four different levels based on their annual spending” (Kotler & Keller, 2012, p. 148). An example of this can be found in the text book on page one hundred forty eight. Nordstrom goes above and beyond to take care of their customers. They could have easily have just done easy acts of kindness such as being in good spirits while conducting an conversation with an client over telephone, being in good spirits can resonate over the phone and become infectious to the customer in the other end of the telephone. This has been somewhat that has been linked with Nordstrom but that have to be enhanced with each day. Its capacity also might be as simple as by means of an proper acknowledgment every moment in time you are talking to the patrons...
Words: 887 - Pages: 4
...Harvard Business School 9-191-002 Rev. October 15, 1999 Nordstrom: Dissension in the Ranks? (A) The first time Nordstrom sales clerk Lori Lucas came to one of the many “mandatory” Saturday morning department meetings and saw the sign—”Do Not Punch the Clock”—she assumed the managers were telling the truth when they said the clock was temporarily out of order. But as weeks went by, she discovered that on subsequent Saturdays the clock was always “broken” or the time cards were not accessible. When she and several colleagues hand-wrote the hours on their time cards, they discovered that their manager whited-out the hours and accused them of not being “team players.” Commenting on the variety of tasks that implicitly had to be performed after hours, Ms. Lucas said, “You couldn’t complain, because then your manager would schedule you for the bad hours, your sales per hour would fall, and next thing you know, you’re out the door.”1 Patty Bemis, who joined Nordstrom as a sales clerk in 1981 and quit eight years later, told a similar story: Nordstrom recruiters came to me. I was working at The Broadway as Estee Lauder’s counter manager and they said they had heard I had wonderful sales figures. We’d all heard Nordstrom was the place to work. They told me how I would double my wages. They painted a great picture and I fell right into it. . . The managers were these little tin gods, always grilling you about your sales. . . . You felt like your job was constantly...
Words: 6969 - Pages: 28
