Zappos

I don’t think I’ve ever brought here the name of the fountain I drank from, and still drink from today, when I think about humanized service and management models. This case is one of the main sources of inspiration for me to run SCOOTO.

For those who haven’t heard or read me talk about it, here’s the thread…

One of the greatest examples in the market when it comes to customer service is Zappos. Zappos is an American e-commerce company that for a long time was known as the happiest company in the world.

Tony Hsieh, the founder of Zappos, was the first to propose and execute the strategy of focusing all marketing efforts on customers. The decision was a great experiment for the entire market and, well, in 2010 Zappos was bought by Amazon for around US$1 billion. I guess it all worked out, huh?
For Tony, the main objective was to win over the customer at all costs, which is why the focus is entirely on customer service.

From anticipating delivery times to sending flowers to a customer who had lost a relative, Zappos is dedicated to the experience.
Basically, Zappos’ marketing philosophy was to use all the financial investment they would have made in advertising and traditional branding and put it into the customer experience. The idea was that the customers themselves would create the marketing buzz for the company, and they did.

Before long, Zappos’ buyback rate was 75%.
What Tony’s team did at Zappos changed the way the entire market sees customer experience.

If this topic interests you and you’d like to know more about this case, I recommend the book Satisfaction Guaranteed, written by Tony Hsieh himself.