Nordstrom's mission statement is "to provide outstanding service every day, one customer at a time. A further focus is provided to Nordstrom employees at all levels with this Nordstrom goal, which is also a management mission. We work hard to make decisions in the best interest of our customers and those serving them." The statement lays out all the strategic steps the company considers critical for its growth while at the same time ensuring its workforce remains highly motivated and recognised as part of the company's bigger agenda. Various characteristics emerge from this mission statement:
Providing the best services
Improving lives
Exceeding expectations
In the first component of the Nordstrom mission statement, the focus is on the kind of services the company provides to its customers. Nordstrom recognises the fluctuations, uncertainties, and potentials that characterise luxury stores owing to its historical experiences.
To stay secure and at the top level as the best destination of choice for all its customers, Nordstrom leaves nothing to chance where the quality of both the products and the services related to its operations are concerned. Nordstrom associates the quality of its services with the improvement of the lives of the customers it serves.
The company places a lot of emphasis on satisfying the needs of all its customers, including the tech-savvy ones, by constantly tailoring its stores to be friendly, reachable, and, most of all, suited for their shopping experiences. In fact, it takes pride in providing customers with platforms and stores that enable them to shop their way.
The third factor in the Nordstrom mission statement is a reflection of how diverse the company is in its operations. Rather than merely offering the products to the customers, Nordstrom values the concept of being customer-centric, which explains the presence of a variety of on-demand services such as shipping and customization for all its customers. The idea is to meet the needs of the customers in style and in the comfort of their homes.
Nordstrom Corporation is one of the top American companies that has carved its name in the history of luxury department store annals for its dynamic investment strategy.
Founded by John Nordstrom and Carl Wallin in 1901, this company has grown against all odds from a simple shoe store to a mega-chain of stores dealing with a wide range of inventories, including jewellery, clothing, fragrances, accessories, and many others.
As expected, companies can only thrive for so long with a strong management foundation led by a similarly progressive mission and vision statement, and this is what has positioned Nordstrom in its current position as a leader in its line of business.
The mission statement of a company is a concept that establishes routine operations that gradually trigger the growth of the business by meeting the set milestones. In the case of Nordstrom, the company’s mission statement emphasises bringing balance to how the company treats both its customers and employees as the central ingredient in the growth of this business. The approach to the mission statement gives way to the vision statement, which reveals where a business wants to be or the achievements it projects to have met in the long term.
The Nordstrom vision statement focuses on being a ‘to-go" and reliable company for all its customers while at the same time showcasing its prowess as a pioneer of modernised customer service approaches in its sector. Nordstrom's success so far has not been without the contribution of its core values, which ensure every employee remains committed and motivated to advance the company’s goals. In this way, the company has gradually been edging closer to its vision.
Vision Statement
Nordstrom's Vision statement is "to serve our customers better, to always be relevant in their lives, and to form lifelong relationships. And while serving our customers face-to-face is the foundation and hallmark of how we’ve historically served them, today's customers seek our service in new ways. Speed, convenience, innovation, and personalization have become cornerstones of the customer experience. Guided by these new needs, we continue to invest in the cross-channel experience, combining the accessibility of a pure online experience with the high-touch inclusivity of our stores." The vision statement is a composition of the critical elements the company must achieve to be the best in its business. It has the following major characteristics:
Relevance in customers lives through lifelong relationships
Dynamic service delivery through innovativeness
Enhancing experiences
As a chain store, Nordstrom ensures that it does more than just be a retailer; the company demonstrates its value for the customers it serves by establishing relationships with them, whether online or through its conventional stores distributed everywhere it operates.
This has tremendously improved the quality of its services. Closely related to this is the company’s continued efforts to meet the second component of this statement through an innovative, convenient, and easy-to-navigate site. Nordstrom has made significant efforts to satisfy the last major element of this vision statement, with Nordstrom Cares being one of the leading examples of the extent to which the company goes to leave an impact in the lives of its customers.
Core Values
Nordstrom's core values include "family, integrity, being honest, respectful, and communication." Essentially, these are the pillars accredited to the past, present, and continued fruition of the goals and objectives of the company. The values have these factors:
We’re family
Integrity
Be honest
Respectful communication
By valuing family bonds, Nordstrom creates a lucrative environment where both its employees and customers feel welcomed and can thrive together with the company.
The relationship that emerges here relates to the concept of integrity, which ensures everyone runs the operations of the company in a trustworthy manner, leading to worthwhile experiences. Nordstrom also emphasises the need for all stakeholders to be honest about both the mission and vision of the company.
In addition to this, the company values respectful and structured communication, as shown by the available channels through its customer service. It emphasises its importance as a value that keeps everyone together and focused on the vision of the company.
References
Analoui, F., & Karami, A. (2002). CEOs and the development of a meaningful mission statement Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society, 2(3), 13–20
Bart, C. K., Bontis, N., & Taggar, S. (2001). A model of the impact of mission statements on firm performance Management Decision, 39(1), 19–35.
Bartkus, B., Glassman, M., & McAfee, R. B. (2000). Mission statements: are they smoke and mirrors? Business Horizons, 43(6), 23–23.
Baum, J. R., Locke, E. A., & Kirkpatrick, S. A. (1998). A longitudinal study of the relation of vision and vision communication to venture growth in entrepreneurial firms Journal of applied psychology, 83(1), 43
Cady, S. H., Wheeler, J. V., DeWolf, J., & Brodke, M. (2011). Mission, vision, and values: what do they say? . Organisation Development Journal, 29(1)
Chun, R., & Davies, G. (2001). E-reputation: The role of mission and vision statements in positioning strategy Journal of Brand Management, 8(4), 315–333
Cochran, D. S., David, F. R., & Gibson, C. K. (2008). A framework for developing an effective mission statement Journal of Business Strategies, 25(2), 27
Kantabutra, S., & Avery, G. C. (2010). The power of vision: statements that resonate Journal of Business Strategy, 31(1), 37–45
Klemm, M., Sanderson, S., & Luffman, G. (1991). Mission statements: Selling corporate values to employees Long-range planning, 24(3), 73–78.
Morphew, C. C., & Hartley, M. (2006). Mission statements: A thematic analysis of rhetoric across institutional types The Journal of Higher Education, 77(3), 456-471
Mullane, J. V. (2002). The mission statement is a strategic tool when used properly. Management Decision, 40 (5), 448–455.
Russell, R. F. (2001). The role of values in servant leadership Leadership & Organisation Development Journal, 22(2), 76–84.
Schraeder, M. (2002). A simplified approach to strategic planning: Practical considerations and an illustrated example Business process management journal, 8(1), 8–18.
Shu-Hsiang, C., Jaitip, N., & Ana, D. J. (2015). From vision to action: a strategic planning process model for open educational resources Procedia-Social and Behavioural Sciences, 174, 3707–3714.
Stemler, S. E. (2015) Content analysis. Emerging Trends in the Social and Behavioural Sciences: An Interdisciplinary, Searchable, and Linkable Resource, 1–14
Zahradnková, L., & Vack, E. (2014). Scenarios provide strong support for strategic planning. Procedia Engineering, 69, 665–669.
