Promote Fun -- Promote Profits
Promote Fun -- Promote Profits
"Direct Magazine" reports on online shoe merchant, Zappos.com's focus on the customer and their unique belief that a fun, eclectic culture will promote and drive great customer service.
From the article: “Co-workers will burst into song and dance at random intervals throughout the day,” writes human resources staffer Christa F. “Upon request, the CFO will groom your hair.”
She adds: “Parades. Why, you may ask? Why not!”
But, it's not all fun and games at Zappos.com. They also have the right attitude about enabling their customer service reps. "Zappos' call center reps are not scripted and have the power to do most anything they want to make sure the customer leaves the call happy.
“There's really nothing a manager can do that the rep himself or herself can't do,” Hsieh (Tony Hseih, CEO) says. “A customer should never have to be transferred for any reason, because the rep can pretty much take care of everything.”
Reps are even encouraged to recommend competitors' Web sites when Zappos doesn't have what shoppers are looking for. The reason: Next time these people are in the market for a new pair of shoes, they'll think of Zappos first."
And guess what, this fun, crazy, empowered environment is delivering success. "The company is on track to do $800 million in sales this year, up from $597 million in 2006. That's a good chunk of the total online footwear market for 2006, which totaled $2.9 billion last year, according to Forrester Research."
In my opinion, there are two key lessons to be gained from this case study:
1. Empowerment drives customer service. Let reps do the right thing for the customer and that company's earned a customer for life.
2. Make the corporate atmosphere FUN. Happy employees make for a better company, they really do. If someone has fun going to work (and, I personally think that a mid-day parade would be a great thing), they're going to be more productive. Heck, at Zappos, they even work for a lower wage!
I would love to see some of the stuffy Fortune 500 companies take on more of the Zappos attitude. I truly believe we'd see increased productivity and definitely more innovation. Plus, the world would be a lot more fun.
Promote Fun Promote Profits - To learn more about this author, visit Nancy Arter's Website.
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I have to admit, some of the antics that this article reports sound a tad bit wacky. Fun, yes, but definitely wacky.
"Direct Magazine" reports on online shoe merchant, Zappos.com's focus on the customer and their unique belief that a fun, eclectic culture will promote and drive great customer service.
From the article: “Co-workers will burst into song and dance at random intervals throughout the day,” writes human resources staffer Christa F. “Upon request, the CFO will groom your hair.”
She adds: “Parades. Why, you may ask? Why not!”
But, it's not all fun and games at Zappos.com. They also have the right attitude about enabling their customer service reps. "Zappos' call center reps are not scripted and have the power to do most anything they want to make sure the customer leaves the call happy.
“There's really nothing a manager can do that the rep himself or herself can't do,” Hsieh (Tony Hseih, CEO) says. “A customer should never have to be transferred for any reason, because the rep can pretty much take care of everything.”
Reps are even encouraged to recommend competitors' Web sites when Zappos doesn't have what shoppers are looking for. The reason: Next time these people are in the market for a new pair of shoes, they'll think of Zappos first."
And guess what, this fun, crazy, empowered environment is delivering success. "The company is on track to do $800 million in sales this year, up from $597 million in 2006. That's a good chunk of the total online footwear market for 2006, which totaled $2.9 billion last year, according to Forrester Research."
In my opinion, there are two key lessons to be gained from this case study:
1. Empowerment drives customer service. Let reps do the right thing for the customer and that company's earned a customer for life.
2. Make the corporate atmosphere FUN. Happy employees make for a better company, they really do. If someone has fun going to work (and, I personally think that a mid-day parade would be a great thing), they're going to be more productive. Heck, at Zappos, they even work for a lower wage!
I would love to see some of the stuffy Fortune 500 companies take on more of the Zappos attitude. I truly believe we'd see increased productivity and definitely more innovation. Plus, the world would be a lot more fun.
Promote Fun Promote Profits - To learn more about this author, visit Nancy Arter's Website.
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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