Zappos and the WOW factor
by Fred on 16/03/09 at 9:22 am
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One of the fastest growing companies in the world right now is a company called Zappos in the United States. Zappos is an online clothing store that started at the turn of the century and has grown to a $1 billion enterprise.
The story goes as follows: “founder Nick Swinmurn was walking around a mall in San Francisco, looking for a pair of shoes. One store had the right style, but not the right color. Another store had the right color, but not the right size. Nick spent the next hour in the mall, walking from store to store, and finally went home empty-handed and frustrated. Nick decided to quit his day job and start an online shoe retailer… and Zappos.com was born!”
The team at Zappos testify their success to one key element: customer service. They call it the WOW factor (possibly so named before it became a cliche).
I really like the team manifesto (picked up from the brilliant Church of the Customer blog):
- Deliver WOW Through Service
- Embrace and Drive Change
- Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
- Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
- Pursue Growth and Learning
- Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
- Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
- Do More With Less
- Be Passionate and Determined
- Be Humble
I think South African small businesses / retailers can pick up a few tips from these guys (whether online or offline).
Check out Zappos here and their story here, and the Church of the Customer article here.
Fred Roed is the marketing guy in the Ideate crew. He runs a web marketing company called World Wide Creative and loves writing about people out there doing marketing right. View more articles by Fred.
Tags: customer service
