Case Study: Nordstrom

Retailers play a very important role in delivering products and services to the final consumers. Within this this role, retailers must possess the ability to target a segment of the market through different product offerings and product differentiation. By looking at Nordstrom’s marketing mix and specifically product, customer service, and store design, one can see how they utilize different strategies to create competitive advantages within the market. Nordstrom, as a high-end department store, chooses to carry a smaller product line with a wide assortment of high end merchandise. The focus of this higher end merchandise is to market themselves as fashionable experts. By marketing these differences, Nordstrom is then able to charge a higher price and create a larger profit margin per sale. This differs from discount stores such as Target that focuses on offering a wide range of product lines. Within each product line, Target will offer standard products at a discount to increase volume of sales at a lower profit margin. Compared to Target, Nordstrom products are perceived by consumers as higher quality and instill a sense of style and fashion among their market segment. Nordstrom’s webpage states their slogan of, “Style advice, trends, events, and more.” It is apparent through the products …show more content…
Through personal selling of the merchandise, Nordstrom is able to effectively create a customer driven environment and maximize customer value and satisfaction. This is a form of shopper marketing in which Nordstrom attempts to extend brand equity throughout the target market. Nordstrom has been very successful at utilizing these customer service strategies and promotions to defend their market share and create a competitive advantage over other stores in terms of product