Here are some of the keys to Zappos success:
- Free shipping for purchases or returns
- New hires go through a intensive five-week training program where they are trained in the call center and warehouse regardless of the position they are hired for. This gives the new hire a sense of what the company culture is like.
- The company publishes online customer product reviews which creates a level of trust and provides information for shoppers
- Most of their sales come via word-of-mouth advertising so they have more money to invest in improving their service instead of using money for expensive print advertising.
I love this part of the article:
“We’ve just always believed that investing resources and money in improving customer service would eventually yield greater reach than an advertisement in a fashion magazine,” Hsieh says. “We didn’t build this business overnight, and there were times early on where we thought about going under every day. Yet slowly but surely our investment in a culture of service began paying dividends.”
Patience is truly a virtue!
Maria, I got to this post through Tom Vander Well and I'm glad I had a chance to read it - ironically we just made our first purchase from Zappos last week! Got our shoes right away, and loved the free shipping. What a great service philosophy! Looks like I'll be buying more shoes from Zappos. All the best.
Posted by: Starbucker | October 6, 2006 2:31 PM | Permalink to Comment