Have you heard of Zappos.com? If not, you need to start paying attention. Zappos is a rising (well, risen) star in the ecommerce space. They’re selling an insane amount of shoes and clothing, and it’s due in no small part to their fantastic outlook on customer service, employee training and support, and word of mouth referrals. I bought my first pair of sneakers through them recently (Nike AirMax 360, of course) and was quite impressed with the service. They emailed me shortly after I placed my order to inform me that they had upgraded my shipping to be overnight. Very cool.
At BlogWorld Expo this past weekend, I stumbled across a Zappos bookmark giveaway that included 10 principles they they live their corporate lives by. Nice and simple, and #6 is one of my own personal mantras too.
- 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 & Determined
- Be Humble
Interestingly, the Zappos.com site is… less than impressive. The design leaves a great deal to be desired and much of the usability was marginal at best. Where are they spending their money? On their people.