Creating word of mouth buzz for free – Nordstrom style

Last week, we were in Target looking at fall home decor when we a fellow shopper lamented that she was frustrated that Christmas had already taken over Home Depot and Costco. We get annoyed every year that Christmas items hit retailers earlier and earlier, with Christmas officially beginning in August, a huge annoyance. By the time the holiday rolls around, it’s hard to care about candy canes and jolly trees.

Digital media author, Jackie Huba said, “Nordstrom has a long tradition of bucking this trend and promoting their holiday wares after Thanksgiving. Result: people talk about this suprising stance offline and online. (This sign is from 2009 but it is getting alot of play on Twitter and Facebook recently). Lesson: To create word of mouth, zig when the rest of your competitors are zagging.”

We love Nordstrom’s take on the topic and hope others follow suit, but while others scramble to figure out why Nordstrom stands out yet again for superior customer service, we’ll do our part to spread the word by stating our gratefulness to the company we have remained loyal to for years, for this very reason.