Tactics Versus Strategy: Two Retailers Face Off
, Juan Martinez recently wrote an interesting article, “ Customer Loyalty Strategies Determine the Department Store Champion .” Basically, the article compares Sears and Walmart, focusing on the marketing approaches of these two retailers. After reading it, I had a few of my own thoughts.I would have expected bit broader list of department stores for evaluation if we are looking for a ‘loyalty champion.’ I understand picking on Walmart and Sears because their financial performance has not been stellar. And their business and marketing approaches differ widely, so it is interesting to highlight those differences. But I think it might have been more interesting to look at who is doing well and what differentiates them from those that aren’t. Maybe Target, Nordstrom, Macy’s or one of several others should have been included.
More important, the article looks at tactics and the execution of certain tactics such as email, ecommerce and direct mail. While channel tactics and execution are important, the most interesting aspect to me is the difference in the loyalty model and strategies being employed.