My Nordstrom Creative Strategy

8 Responses to “My Nordstrom Creative Strategy”

1. Education » My Nordstrom Creative Strategy on February 24th, 2008 8:45 pm

   [...] ..:.:.. Todd And = Marketing + Media ..:.:.. wrote an interesting post today on My Nordstrom Creative StrategyHere’s a quick excerpt I worked at Nordstrom for three summers during college and I will forever be a Nordy. Not because I’m 6′ 5″ and it’s one of the only places with clothes and shoes that fit me, but because Nordstrom is where I first learned and used SWAT - sales with advanced techniques. Boy, did I know how to sell children’s shoes! A year ago I wrote about the legends of Nordstrom’s unbelievable customer service. Around that time, I was extensively researching Nordstrom for my MBA creative strategy class. Thr [...]

2. Clay Parker Jones on February 24th, 2008 11:22 pm

   Todd -

   I agree with you about Nordstrom. I first went there as a young child, with my Grandma, Mom and cousins, to the San Francisco location. Later in life, my ex-ladyfriend told me it was the ONLY place I was allowed to shop. A bit totalitarian, sure, but the reasons were valid: well-edited collections, and great return policies if I strayed too far from the shallow end.

   Thanks for sharing this, and thanks, too, for including me on an impressive list of folks. I think I’m the “which one doesn’t belong”, but whatever.

   So… the presentation. I like the overall idea of “invitation” and the notion that Nordstrom is where friends and fashion meet, mostly because I think Nordies does that far, far better than anyone else. Even at the Michigan Avenue location, if you shop there a few times, the people will start to recognize you and become immensely more helpful. I don’t get that sense from Bloomingdales, much less from Macy’s, Saks and Needless Markup. So I feel like the positioning is good. I think maybe it could be pushed a couple notches further, if you really messed around with the idea of invitation, and the kind of things that these partying ladies are thinking about, but that may be a job for the creatives…

   Couple of questions regarding the way you envision it working. How many people are invited to these things? Are you thinking of targeting one recurring customer (from an email list) and offering this as a free “thanks for being a customer, invite 10 friends to this party” kind of deal? Or is this going to be a “come one, come all, to this awesome party” event? I know these are rather tactical questions, but I think, especially for a promotional concept such as this, it’s important to think about how the strategy plays out.

   And don’t worry about the creative. We [strategy people] aren’t here to make things look good. Yours isn’t bad anyhow!

   Again, thanks for sharing your work!

3. Todd And on February 25th, 2008 8:29 am

   This is exactly what I love about blogging. Post a question and get a thoughtful response. Great feedback, CPJ, and excellent questions. At the time this was created, about a year ago, I didn’t think it through that far. Although, I imagine I’d opt for the “thanks for being a customer, invite 10 friends to this party” kind of deal.

   Within the last few years, Nordstrom installed state-of-the-art register technology so I imagine they keep a ton of quality customer data. That said, I’d probably focus on the most profitable departments and hit the customers who spend a lot, but don’t shop frequently. In my opinions, they’re the ones who’d know how to party at Nordstrom.

   T

4. Daniel on February 25th, 2008 11:06 am

   I know that Nordstrom hosts a lot of “trunk” shows. These are the types of events with free hors d’oeuvres, drinks, etc.

   I’m sure folks sign up for mailing lists at these things, which aren’t marketed very well outside of the company’s elite shopper crowd. Perhaps this is a good target segment, or were you looking to go more broad?

5. Craig Klein on February 25th, 2008 9:56 pm

   The best ideas are always very simple.

   Throw a party! I like it.

   Surprised you didn’t touch on e-marketing aspects to promote the parties.

6. toddand on February 26th, 2008 6:45 am

   Thanks, Craig. I’m not sure how I feel about e-marketing as a tactic to implement this strategy. I’d have to look at the statistics on internet usage among my target audience to make sure it made sense. Who doesn’t love a party?!

7. johnmoore (from Brand Autopsy) on February 26th, 2008 2:07 pm

   Todd … assuming all your customer data is correct (loyalists visit just 1-to-4 times per year, HHI, etc), the objectives and strategies outlined seem sound.

   Hosting a party for loyal customers isn’t novel. It’s effective though. So the party angle would be fine especially given the importance of “social shopping” in today’s retail world.

   I might get more tactical and track customers by how much they spend on their Nordstrom’s card and crunch that data to determine the invite list and the focus of the fashion lines presented during the party. I would also give make sure all Nordstrom employees on the floor have invitation cards to hand out to shoppers they connect with.

   Rather than throwing a Party, I might consider ways to create new shopping occasions in order to increase the 1-to-4 visits a year from Nordstrom customers. Maybe run in-store promotions tied to the “Party Calendar Cycle” of when people gather to celebrate. Just a few thoughts.

8. Todd And on February 26th, 2008 2:22 pm

   Great stuff, John. Kinda like those “Hallmark holidays,” Nordstrom should have its own shopping occasions. I like it. Thanks for your contribution!

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