Walmart Marketing Strategies and Retail Relationship Building
This paper examines Walmart's marketing strategies as the world's largest retail chain, analyzing how the company builds and sustains customer relationships through loyalty programs, personalized service, and electronic communication. It explores the role of technology and innovation in transforming the retail-consumer relationship, including electronic banking, mobile technology, and point-of-sale systems. The paper also identifies actions Walmart can take to capitalize on evolving consumer trends, such as leveraging data analytics and rethinking product assortments. Finally, it applies a six-step strategic planning framework to Walmart, covering organizational mission, ownership, objectives, consumer characteristics, broad strategy, and control processes.
- Introduction to Walmart's Retail Operations: Overview of Walmart's scale and product range
- Building and Sustaining Customer Relationships: Three key actions to grow customer loyalty
- Strategic Planning and Relationship-Building Success: How Walmart leads rivals in relationship strategy
- Technology and Innovation in Retailing: Technology tools transforming the retail experience
- Adapting to Consumer Trends in the Evolution of Retailing: Three actions to capitalize on shifting consumer behavior
- Applying Strategic Planning and Ownership Characteristics to Walmart: Six-step strategic planning framework applied to Walmart
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What makes this paper effective
- Grounds each marketing recommendation in a specific, real-world Walmart practice—such as store greeters for personalization—rather than speaking in abstractions alone.
- Moves logically from relationship-building tactics to technology innovations to consumer trends, creating a coherent progression of ideas across sections.
- Uses a numbered six-step strategic planning framework in the final section, which organizes complex business concepts into a clear, reader-friendly structure.
- Consistently connects general retail management theory (drawn from Berman and Evans) to Walmart's specific operational context.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates applied business analysis: it takes established retail management frameworks and theories from academic sources and systematically maps them onto a single real-world case study. Rather than simply describing Walmart, each section asks what the company should do or does well, grounding recommendations in cited literature and observable business practices.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a brief profile of Walmart's scale and product range, then moves through four thematic analytical sections—relationship building, competitive positioning, technology/innovation, and consumer trend adaptation—before concluding with a stepwise application of strategic planning principles. This structure mirrors a standard retail management consulting framework: situation overview, relationship strategy, differentiation, innovation, trend response, and formal strategic planning.
Introduction to Walmart's Retail Operations
Walmart is ranked as the number one retail chain not only in the United States, but also in the world (Farfan, 2016). Starting out as a single store, Walmart has grown to become the biggest company in the world by revenue. The business undertaken by Walmart encompasses restaurants, superstores, retail stores, and warehouse clubs. The company also conducts e-commerce through Walmart.com. In terms of retail products, the merchandise sold in Walmart's stores includes baby products, healthcare products, household goods, electronics, books, automotive products, clothing, furnishings and décor, alcohol, grocery items, paper products, and much more (Walmart Website, 2016).
Building and Sustaining Customer Relationships
In order for a retailer to become successful, the organization must apply the concepts of value and relationship-building so that consumers believe the retailer offers good value for money and will therefore choose to shop there more often than with rivals. Wholesalers, too, will wish to do business with a retailer when they know consumers frequent its stores. For retailing relationships to function effectively, it is necessary to maintain long-term, continuing relationships with other members of the supply chain as well as with consumers. More and more retail companies, such as Walmart, have come to recognize that a loyal customer base is the foundation of their business operations. Building and maintaining consumer relationships in the retail world involves three key factors: the customer base, customer service, and customer satisfaction (Berman and Evans, 2012).
One action Walmart can take to build and sustain relationships is to offer loyalty reward programs to its best customers—those with whom the retail chain seeks a longstanding relationship. To succeed, this effort must complement a comprehensive, value-driven retail strategy. Through analysis of customer defections, Walmart can learn how many consumers it is losing and understand why they stop visiting or shopping there (Berman and Evans, 2012).
Another action is to send consumers a monthly electronic newsletter containing relevant and beneficial content that connects the company to its clients and prospects. This demonstrates to consumers that Walmart genuinely cares about their business and values their time by providing useful information. Importantly, the emphasis should not be placed on sales but rather on industry and product information that also carries entertainment value (Edge, 2003).
A third proposed action is for the retailer to seek ways to assist its clients and prospects beyond its own immediate capabilities. This includes providing references to other quality vendors, connecting consumers with individuals who can help them, and sharing information relevant to their needs. This approach will go a long way toward strengthening Walmart's relationships with its consumer base (Berman and Evans, 2012).
Strategic Planning and Relationship-Building Success
Considering both its physical stores and its website, Walmart is currently the most successful retailer at strategic planning and relationship-building. The retail chain employs four components in relationship-building, ensuring that its consumer relationships are personalized, targeted, meaningful, and interactive.
With respect to personalization, Walmart employs greeters who offer customers a handshake and a smile as they enter the store, immediately personalizing the interaction. Second, Walmart invests in sustaining relationships with existing consumers, fostering longstanding loyalty among its most dedicated shoppers. Third, Walmart greeters work to create a positive emotional impression on shoppers during each visit. Finally, regarding interactivity, Walmart greeters make it a point to learn the names of customers who frequently shop at the store. This not only makes customers feel valued but also provides a simple mechanism for gathering both positive and negative feedback (Edge, 2003).
References
Berman, B., & Evans, J. R. (2012). Retail Management: A Strategic Approach. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Edge, D. (2003). Relationship Marketing King Walmart Still No. 1. Marketing Profs. Retrieved from http://www.marketingprofs.com/3/edge2.asp
Farfan, B. (2016). World's Largest U.S. Retail Chains in 2015: Walmart, Costco, Kroger, Home Depot, Target. The Balance. Retrieved from https://www.thebalance.com/largest-us-retail-chains-2892857
Interbrand Design Forum. (2012). Game-Changing Innovation to Stay Ahead of the Rest. Chain Store Age. Retrieved from http://www.chainstoreage.com/sites/chainstoreage.com/files/Interbrand2012_Top100_LR.pdf
MacKenzie, I., Meyer, C., & Noble, S. (2013). How retailers can keep up with consumers. McKinsey & Company. Retrieved from McKinsey & Company.
Walmart Website. (2016). About Walmart.com. Retrieved from https://help.walmart.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/6
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