Abstract
Walmart is a chain of discount department stores located in the United States; there are locations in other countries, also. A public corporation, Walmart also owns a chain of warehouse stores operating under the name s “Sam’s”. Forbes Global 2000 named Walmart as the world’s largest public corporation based on revenue (Managementparadise.com 2014). Analysts feel the success of the company is due largely to the successful branding and customer relations techniques Walmart employs.
Walmart: An American Success Story.
Walmart serves customers in the United States and 15 other countries with 8500 stores (Managementparadise.com 2014). Analysts ponder the reasons for this success and the recurring pronouncements refer to intense focus on customer relations and pinpoint attention to branding. In the past, Walmart made a decision to change the branding associated with their stores with unsatisfactory results. The return to previous methods of operation reinforced the opinion these two elements are crucial for the desired revenue production.
The most obvious difference between Walmart and its competitors is the presence of the “Walmart greeter”. This was a method to show customer appreciation and has become associated with the stores nationwide. The greeter is generally a friendly senior citizen who assists shoppers at all entrances to the building, providing answers to questions and offering shopping carts. Dressed in a characteristic blue vest, their friendly faces also thank patrons as they leave. This branding is so successful, the term “Walmart greeter” has insinuated itself into American conversations to represent an unskilled labor that serves an important purpose; i.e. “What this store needs is a Walmart greeter.”
Several years ago, there was discussion about removing the greeters from the front of the stores. The response from the public and in the press was so adamant that after a very short time, the greeters were returned to their posts. Other businesses reliant on good customer service focus on a type of greeter by way of receptionist positioned at the entrance to the store. Restaurant employees are encouraged to greet and acknowledge the exit of patrons with cheerful phrases similar to, “Have a great day!” and “Thank you for coming!” But the Walmart Greeter remains the gold standard for customer service.
The second aspect of Walmart considered as a branding differentiator is the perception of significant discounts at checkout. Walmart and its subsidiary, Sam’s, attract retail shopper conscious of price savings. Understanding the mindset of this customer base, Walmart evaluates every aspect of their service to provide shopper satisfaction. Store design, range of merchandise, lighting, greeter, even bar coding in implemented only after intense scrutiny. No other retail chain boasts of the level of customer trust and loyalty present in Walmart shoppers.
Compared to competitors Kmart and Target, Walmart shoppers travel further to reach a location and spend more time in the store (Managementparadise 2014). The perceived difference between the companies is Walmart’s differentiation in value and inventory management. While customers understand they may not get the absolutely lowest price on every item they buy, the convenience of “one-stop shopping” overrides the slight difference in cost. Although keeping a large inventory is frequently the second most expensive aspect to operation, Walmart stores will stock approximately 200,000 items (Imsresultscount.com 2013). The amount of selection of in-stock items is the key differentiator for the chain, particularly in consumable and grocery items.
Walmart marketing decisions have not been without pitfalls. According to Money.cnn.com (2014), the company accepted the advice of its new advertising agency and deleted some vendors to decrease inventory and raised prices in an effort to move closer to the branding of the Target stores. Discounts were offered only on certain items.
Customers responded by dropping revenue abruptly. Walmart learned its lesson. Just one month after awarding DraftFCB a $580 million contract, Walmart fired both the agency and its head of marketing. Reverting to previous branding of high inventories and discounted prices was rewarded by a return to previous revenue generation.
This served as a strong reinforcement of the influence of previous marketing strategies.
Despite highly publicized problems with decisions concerning labor and expansion into international markets, Walmart continues to be the store brand more patronized by price-conscious shoppers in the United States. Perception of the customers of lower prices and superior customer service in the stores brings them returning regularly. Walmart understands the importance of branding in the marketplace.
References
Imsresultscount.com. (2013). Results Count everything else is conversation.: Walmart’s
Secret Sauce How the largest survives & thrives. Retrieved 4 December 2014, from
http://www.imsresultscount.com/resultscount/2013/03/walmarts-secret-sauce-how-the-
largest-survives-thrives.html
Managementparadise.com, (2014). Customer Relationship Management of Wal-Mart. Retrieved
4 December 2014, from http://www.managementparadise.com/forums/marketing-
management/213713-customer-relationship-management-wal-mart.html
Money.cnn.com. (2014). Wal-Mart, JetBlue, Home Depot-among-branding offenders - Mar. 19,
2007. Retrieved 4 December 2014, from
http://money.cnn.com/2007/03/19/news/companies/branding_blunders/index.htm
