Your Company's Multichannel DNA
Here's what I did. I scanned the 2007 10-K statements of five publicly traded companies:
Within each document, I scanned terms, like STORES, RETAIL, MULTI-CHANNEL, CATALOG, ONLINE, INTERNET, WEB, MAIL ORDER, CUSTOMER, CONSUMER, E-COMMERCE, E-MAIL, and DATABASE.
After tabulating the results, I was able to rank each of the five brands on the basis of how often these terms were used. The terms reflect how the management team of each company views the world. Let's take a peek at the findings.
Stores / Retail: The results aren't surprising, with Nordstrom and J.C. Penney skewing heaviest to these terms. Clearly, these brands view themselves as retailers, not so much as direct marketers.
- Nordstrom = 68.1%
- J.C. Penney = 67.3%
- J. Crew = 56.4%
- Coldwater Creek = 53.3%
- Williams Sonoma = 51.5%
- Williams Sonoma = 14.9%
- Coldwater Creek = 12.5%
- J. Crew = 10.6%
- J.C. Penney = 5.6%.
- Nordstrom = 4.7%.
- Williams Sonoma = 11.6%
- J. Crew = 11.5%
- Nordstrom = 9.7%
- J.C. Penney = 8.1%
- Coldwater Creek = 7.8%
- Coldwater Creek = 3.0%.
- J. Crew = 0.9%
- Nordstrom = 0.0%
- J.C. Penney = 0.0%
- Williams Sonoma = 0.0%
- Nordstrom = 2.9%
- Coldwater Creek = 1.8%
- Williams Sonoma = 0.4%
- J.C. Penney = 0.3%
- J. Crew = 0.3%
- Williams Sonoma = 21.4%
- Coldwater Creek = 20.3%
- J. Crew = 19.8%
- J.C. Penney = 18.8%
- Nordstrom = 14.7%
- Coldwater Creek = 1.3%
- J. Crew = 0.6%
- Nordstrom = 0.0%
- J.C. Penney = 0.0%
- Williams Sonoma = 0.0%
Does Any Of This Mean Anything? Yes!
The management teams of each company speak publicly, in an official manner, once a year. When they speak, they signal to the public what they care about.
Nordstrom and J.C. Penney care about retail, though Nordstrom talks more about being multichannel than anybody else. Clearly, Nordstrom wants to use the direct channel to inspire retail growth, given that they don't talk about their catalog or online channels much.
Williams Sonoma management discussions are skewed toward catalog. Williams Sonoma speaks about the online channel more than anybody else as well. The DNA of this company is all about direct marketing. Even though this company has a veritable plethora of retail locations compared with somebody like Nordstrom, the way this company views the world is fundamentally different.
J. Crew has a direct marketing skew, though the skew is focused online. The web means something more to J. Crew management than to the companies that have a catalog focus.
Coldwater Creek has the most unusual DNA of the companies listed. Management appears to view channels from a marketing standpoint, mentioning catalog marketing, e-mail marketing, and the customer database more often than the rest.
The data qualitatively illustrate that the management teams, and in all likelihood the culture of each company, have a DNA that determines "who they are".
This view of "who they are" may determine how each company approaches the future. Companies with a catalog heritage will believe in catalog marketing as a solution. Companies that view the web as an integral tool will use it to drive future business. Companies that view stores as the core part of the business might use direct marketing to improve comps.
What is the DNA of the company you work for? How does your DNA shape how your company views the future?
Labels: Coldwater Creek, CWTR, J. Crew, J.C. Penney, JCG, JCP, JWN, multichannel, Nordstrom, Williams Sonoma, WSM