Agreeing With Porter

I agree with Porter about the “Good Relationships Should Impact Your Bottom-line” article on the Diva Marketing Blog. Relationships absolutely win out over pricing. Just as Porter experienced this as true in his internship, I experienced it in my job as a Nordstrom sales representative. Nordstrom is a fairly high-end department store. It is more expensive than Macy’s, but not on the same level as Sak’s or Neiman’s. Based on those comparisons, it is safe to say that Nordstrom has good quality merchandise that is relatively pricey. At first glance, it seems incredible that an expensive store has such a huge following. However, behind the scenes, it is obvious that Nordstrom is devoted to their customers. To aid in the relationship building, Nordstrom uses CRM software called Personal Book in which basic and purchase information are kept on each customer. Nordstrom employees further build relationships by providing excellent service after the sale, such as by sending thank you notes and calling to follow up on delivery of a product. Obviously, customers return to the store for the great products, but also because they have relationships with the salespeople. It is a wonder to me why more stores, such as Bloomingdales, don’t use the same strategy as Nordstrom. Bloomingdales has even more expensive merchandise than Nordstrom, so if it were to train their salespeople as Nordstrom does theirs, I am positive Bloomingdales would be doing a lot better than it is now.