COSTCO at Canberra Airport resembles a factory more than a traditional retail. Bulk goods are stacked on industrial pallets and there are no signs to guide shoppers. A first time visitor can easily get lost navigating the wide, unmarked aisles. COSTCO never advertises and apart from a burst of pre- opening publicity, the store never makes the Canberra media. In fact the whole COSTCO approach to marketing seems counter intuitive.
Yet while Australian stores watch online sales erode profits, Canbera shoppers head to COSTCO for necessities, lifestyle products and the occasional luxury item. And they gladly pay annual fees to do so.
A recent CNBC TV report investigated COSTCO's global marketing which attracts three million customers each day. The 28 minute program showed consistency, value and surprise play key roles in COSTCO's success.
The combination of value, consistency and doing the unexpected invites people to talk about their COSTCO experience with passion and keenly recommend it to others.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if others we routinely deal with, used the same highly effectively marketing mix to generate positive word of mouth.
2 comments:
Yea thats true, for a new shop, have to do pre publicity but costco hadn't do pre-publicity and customers can visit a shop..But what I suggest, for a better marketing strategy, one should organise rewards program and loyalty program so every one must know about this site or shop.
Thanks for the comment Loyalty Program. Loyalty and rewards program can stimulate traffic but do you think they actually encourage loyalty? Get the basics of quality and service right and loyalty will follow.
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