Personal Narrative: Costco's Competitive Strategy

Living in the northern part of Maine there are only Sam’s Club/Walmart stores, and Target stores that are “close” to where I live. An hour or so drive to get to any of them so the trips are few and far between when I am at home. The closest Costco would be a four-hour drive. The first time I went to a Costco I was skeptical of what to expect because of all the times I had spent in Sam’s club and Walmart stores. It was different than what I was used to but so similar to the other stores. My first trip to Costco was this year before I started college at Nichols. So yes, I have shopped in Costco before but, I don’t think is is better or worse than any other cut price warehouse store. The only difference I could see was that they carried some …show more content…
Think of it like this, how many commercials do you see advertising a Bentley, or a Rolls Royce? None. That is because people buy the product is quality. It is the same aspect that Costco is putting into place. They don’t feel the need to advertise for the company because it is quality they are trying to provide. Then word of mouth spreads on how the quality of the store is and the membership would increase if it is up to spec for the current members. Costco’s focus is on having its employees be the advertising ambassadors. It is virtually free advertising for the company. Costco pays its employees higher than average, hoping to keep them happy in the work place, and in turn they speak about the company to others. It’s could be a win for the employees, if referrals are an incentive along with higher than average pay, and it’s always going to be a win for the company bringing in another member to the Costco community. I would rate Costco like this because of how it is trying to differentiate itself from other low-priced stores, and because of the focus it gives to each of it stores which in return focuses on the customers that it has around the location of the