Customer Intimacy- Home Depot

Question 1
Home Depot represents the customer intimacy section of market discipline. Which is a marketing strategy ,where a service supplier or product retailer gets close to their customers. The reason they go with this marketing strategy is because they give you solutions, advice , and ideas. I pulled a direct quote from home depots corporate page that ensured me that it is not by luck people will receive this service it is by simply being a customer. “By providing answers, solving problems, and making home improvement dreams come true.” -(“investor relations”The components making up Home Depot’s external environment are “short handed staff, undifferentiated products & service, and competition.”- (“SWOT analysis”) They address these problems by having and developing a well trained staff, great not good customer service, having a upper hand over competition when it comes to costs, and implementing new products and services.
Home Depot constantly wants to “continue to lead, change, and grow in ways that will benefit our shareholders, customers, associates, communities, and suppliers for years to come. A socio-demo external factor is to Market to women. While women consumers make 60% of the purchasing decisions in regards to home improvement purchases, HD does not specifically target market this group. More than ever, women today are more independent, have more financial resources and are more familiar with technology. With the recent announcement by competitor Lowe’s to specifically target women, HD may want to consider a strategy to maintain/increase this market share.”- (HomeDepotINC.(1)[HDI],2006) The most important internal environment components are that they continue to change, grow, and innovate not duplicate. Stake holder conflicts can occur in many places from the suppliers, employees, corporate offices, and most importantly the consumers. It is important to manage all conflicts and not to let anything linger, the quicker it is dealt with the quicker it is solved.

Question 2
The RDM process consists of “ defining the situation/decision to be made, identify important criteria for the process and result, consider all possible solutions, calculate consequences of these solutions versus likelihood of satisfying the criteria, and chase the best option.”-( decesion-making-confidence). This is important because, a “rational decision making model provides a structured and sequenced approach to decision making. Using such an approach can help to ensure discipline & consistency.”-( (“the happy manager”) Ensuring these two key strategies into yourself or the people throughout a company can keep it more then afloat it will run like a well oiled machine. While giving the company a minimum level of standards and expectations when a decision comes their way instead of having to climb the corporate ladder to look for answers. Home Depot incorporates the RDM into their company through their employees as they are the ones facing the problems first and having to give solutions to consumers and higher ups directly. As it is part of their job it is what they are made by providing the best advice, options, and overall best solution that fits the consumers needs.
Works Cited
Listed in order as used
“investor relations.” corporate home depot. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Aug 2013. .
“SWOT analysis.” HomeDepot. N.p.. Web. 29 Aug 2013. .
“Home Depot Inc..” . HDI, n.d. Web. 29 Aug 2013.< https :// corporate.homedepot.com/ HDI promise.pdf>.
. rational management model. decesion making confidence , n.d. Web. 29 Aug 2013. .
“the happy manager.” rational decesion making model. The Happy Manager. Web. 29 Aug 2013. .