Macy’s Inc. website’s marketing mix

Macys. com has a very effective promotions strategy for its products and services through the internet. The company displays its vision and mission of delivering a differentiated shopping experience with unique merchandise, fashion brands, interesting stores, engaging online sites, excellent service and breakthrough marketing and special events in its company website (The Drive to Differentiate, 2008 ¶ 1).
Different modes of promotions such as advertising, customer activities, merchandising, and public relations activities were employed by the site to achieve the said objective, and eventually to gain brand recognition and profits in the future. This website is an open access to Macy’s products and information online which in turn paves the way for these internet users to do actual purchases of Macy’s products or services. Macy’s Inc. maximizes its online presence through the presence of electronically available consumer services in its website such as online registries, store maps, and the display of its complete product line.
Online registries such as gift and wedding registry and other home services make Macy’s Inc. convenient and reachable to the consumers. By just surfing the net at the comforts of their own home they could purchase different items and have them delivered right at their doorstep. The illustration of store locations is for the shopper who lives a life of conventional shopping: walking down the streets to get your hands on a new irresistible coat. Displaying its complete product line offers consumers more preferences on the products that they choose.

More products mean more chance for Macy’s that the consumers will buy at their stores and not at anybody else. Macy’s Inc builds strong customer relationships through its website by developing customer loyalties through implementation of personalized database of current patronisers thereby making them feel a sense of importance to them by the store. This is manifested through the use of consumer gift cards that are available in tangibly and electronically. The company is using the pricing strategy of less for the same.
By putting a clear emphasis on consumer discounts, customers are easily made to feel and believe that they will get more out of their money. The site’s facade clearly illustrates the numerous fringe benefits potential customers will have if they transact with them because of the unambiguous stress on sales, price reductions, and other value-based promotions. Macy’s, with the help of market segmentation, divided the market according to the different benefits that consumers seek from the product (Kotler and Armstrong, 2006, p. 191).
The site has evidently targeted consumers that define value according to the money they save. This, however, might be a little twisted towards the low-income segment. The effects of these could spoil Macy’s brand image since reduction in price is seen as a way of “cheapening” a product consequently also cheapening Macy’s image. Trust Based Marketing Strategy As consumers become more educated, price might become less and less important factor in influencing their purchasing decision. They will value the quality that the product or service can deliver more than the money they have to spend.
This shift might be a good strategy for Macy’s to focus more on the quality of the products that they choose to promote. As the trust based strategy line goes, The more value you provide, the more trust you build, the need to address not only the economical (e. g. savings) needs but also performance-driven (high-quality products) needs arise. Currently, Macy’s has a wide variety of products coming from different company names that could create an inconsistency with the brand image that Macy’s want to portray.
Conclusion Macy’s Inc. is effective in attracting more consumers through its adoption of innovative promotional tools such as the employment of a company website. By opening this website that exposes its products and services to more people, they are now more informative, accessible and convenient to purchase. As such, Macy’s should be selective in the products that they display in their product line, lest they want to confuse their consumers about the type of quality that they offer.
With this, Macy’s can create a strategic platform of the image that they want to portray to their customers, allowing it to focus more on the needs and wants of its specific type of consumers to gain their loyalties. References Kotler, P. and Armstrong G. (2006). In Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning: Buliding the Right Relationships with the Right Customers. Principles of Marketing. (p190). Singapore: Pearson Hall Macy’s Inc. (2008). The Drive to Differentiate. Retrieved December 16, 2008, from Macy’s Inc. Website: http://www. macysinc. com/AboutUs/Default. aspx