Interactive Shopping: Nordstrom’s 2: Macy’s 2

Interactive Shopping, Social Media and Customer Service — these topics are closely related, because the most critical elements of success for a brand are:

1. Relevance: Do you matter to your customers? Can your product or service create superior value for them?
2. Engagement: Do you reach out to your customer? Do you have methods and platforms for marketing, positioning, listening, transacting?
3. Authenticity: Are you consistently true to yourself and to others?

Five months ago, I blogged “Interactive Shopping: Nordstrom’s 1: Macy’s 0.” This was my most successful post to-date for multiple reasons. The post has had 700 page views, which makes it #6 in the most-popular-ever Pop Art blog posts. (Pop Art’s most popular blog post by Scott Vandehey has been read at least 10 times more often). But besides quantitative metrics, there are also qualitative metrics from social media that drive business value. Executive-level customers told me they related to my blog post on shopping at Nordstrom’s and Macy’s!

It was my most successful blog post because it resonated with the daily lives of my target readers; people could easily relate to it, and it spawned conversations.

Many readers of the recent Pop Art e-mail newsletter also praise our story about our electronic billboard that mashed-up Twitter and Flash for news about the NBA Playoffs.

I thought my target audience wanted to read about CMO Leadership of Agencies and Holistic Approaches to E-Business. I was wrong; they wanted topics relevant to their professional lives, topics that are about work, but without sounding like it.

E-Business=boring.
Interactive Shopping=fun.

Leadership of Agencies=boring.
NBA Playoffs Flash Mash Twitter=fun.

So, a little follow-up is warranted to my Nordstrom’s/Macy’s thread.

The general manager of the Downtown Portland Nordstrom’s store called me up to thank me for my blog post! That shows that Nordstrom’s is paying to attention to its online brand presence, not only its web site’s, but what its customers are saying about it online. Score one for Nordstrom’s!

Also, I recently had a very positive shopping experience at the Downtown Portland Macy’s; so, it is only fair if I give Macy’s some props. (My previous poor Macy’s experience was at the Lloyd Center Macy’s.) Not only was the Downtown Portland Macy’s staff friendly and attentive, they also referred me to Macys.com for further research on my purchase.

Still, I feel like we are approaching the end of the first period, and the score is only 2-2. Think basketball, not hockey. In the evolution of interactive brands, Nordstrom’s and Macy’s are both falling behind other retail brands like REI, Target, Amazon and Patagonia. Those are companies with growing brands; they are able to develop successful communities on their own web sites as well as 3^rd party social media sites. For Nordstrom’s & Macy’s to excel, they must take advantage of their core expertise in merchandising and customer service while rapidly reaching out to the interactive platforms of tomorrow.

It matters less on which social media web sites your brand participates. What matters more is that you authentically relate and engage your customers, in-store, on your site, and other social spaces.