Zappo´s Case Study

For Tony Hsieh, the Zappos brand is less about a particular type of product and more about providing a good customer service. This means that he largely cares about the welfare of his employees and customers. An evidence of him being such an altruist leader was when the blog search engine Land called him “the

The threat of new entrants into the online shoe/apparel market is relatively small due to the fact that Zappos is such an established brand and has specialized their business model. It would be far too expensive for a new company to copy the characteristics of Zappos including their next day delivery and large overhead. The fact that Zappos was losing money initially illustrates this difficulty. Another issue that would create a high barrier to entry is Zappos commitment to the consumer through overnight shipping. Zappos stated that the overnight shipping caused them to leave their warehouses open for the entire day. Any other company would

Brand loyalty is “when a consumer display a steadfast allegiance to a brand by repeatedly purchasing is”. (Text Book pg. 316) Every industry in the world benefits from brand loyalty because without consumers there is no industry. It is tremendously important for Aline Polo to identify areas in its brand that can improve and create loyalty with their consumer. The changes can be simple with little cost to the company. For example, a change in the current return policy from 20 days to 30 days can create peace of mine with the consumer. Comscore.com is a global media measurement and analytics company states; “consumer now expect free returns with 82% respondents saying they would complete the purchase if they could return the item to a store or have free return shipping, and 66% said they view a retailer’s return policy before making a purchase”. Aline Polo is a website based company with no physical store location. Frist time customer can be hesitant in purchasing product because they cannot physically touch the marital and become even more hesitant because of the return policy. When a company is attempting to create brand loyalty with consumer they must be aware and sensitive to their consumers' concerns. By adapting key aspect in the company that eases their consumers concerns they are able to make a relationship with the company and consumers who are brand-loyal typically exhibit less sensitivity to

Satisfaction: We believe in 100% customer satisfaction and hence, if our customers are not satisfied, we have refund policies too.

Zappos has made the online shopping experience very safe and easy. The marketing strategy used by Zappos has to be one of the best one in any market. Zappos took was given to them and turn the focus to the customer experience. The entire idea was to make the shopping experience better so that customers would return. The promotion of a fun and hip culture for the employees is a big reason this strategy is working. Employees are in good moods and so this passes on the customer. The Zappos atmosphere is fun. There are no sales goals for employee because Zappos wants the relationship between the employee and customer to be genuine.

Zappos’ customers are largely based on repeat customers that drives their growth. Zappos differentiates itself through the extensive network that delivers ordered items quickly and efficiently to customers. Furthermore, shipping costs are absorbed and there is a 365 day, no questions asked returns. Zappos places high trust in their customers to not take advantage of this service. Zappos only sells the physical quantities available in their warehouses unlike rival firms that chose the tactic of placing the items on out of stock. This shows that Zappos is being honest in their quantity where they place huge emphasis on fast delivery of products to their customers.

Zappos was founded in 1999 during the dotcom boom by Nick Swinmurn [ (Twitchell, 2009) ] on a quest to buy a pair of sneakers at a local mall. It has grown in to a 1.2 billion dollar subsidiary of Amazon.com and a leading on-line provider of everything from shoes to couture handbags. They have done this with a simple motto: “Powered by Service”. Providing all of their customers with free (sometimes next day) shipping and returns, Zappos has invested in the power of word of mouth to fuel their business.

Zappos is not about the glitz and the glamour, they are strictly about getting the job done no matter what it takes or how long it takes to do so. For these same reasons are why the money that they do not use for advertising is put towards executing and enhancing their customer relations experience; which includes tracking customer spending behaviors and training their employees for seven weeks to be the best at their jobs (Blackiston, 2017). In general, the expectations of a typical customer service representative or the service customers receive are usually not high, and customers have become accustomed to accepting mediocre service. But Zappos is not willing to stoop to this level, in fact, they excel in all aspects of this area. In addition to training their representatives for such a long period of time, Zappos do not outsource their customer service to other countries like many other companies may do, and both of these simple strategies are what makes all the difference (Blackiston, 2017).

The answer that Jeff Bezos gave was that Amazon was interested in Zappos because of the unique culture of the company. The other reasons may be:

In the year 1999 “Zappos” an online sales company was formed. A company formed from exhaustion and frustration, yet has stood the test of time. For almost a decade, the company’s structure, its core values, business ethics, style and goals are cutting-edge.

Zappos.com is an online shoe and clothing store based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. The company was founded in 1999 by Nick Swinmurn, and officially launched under the name “Venture Frogs”. They began selling footwear for all ages, and expanded to niche markets accommodating to customers with hard-to-find sizes, including narrow and wide-width feet. In the same year, Tony Hsieh and Alfred Lin joined the team and changed the name to “Zappos” (similar to Spanish-term for shoes, “Zapatos”) with a vision of selling more than just shoes. Today, Zappos sells clothing, accessories, eyewear and more than 50,000 brands of footwear, yet their products are not the only focus of their reputation. Zappos is known for their unwavering commitment to customer service and creating one of the most successful company cultures that many organizations aspire to replicate.

High return rates: the return rates of product from customers as hing as 35 percent, very often the outer packaging hadn¡¦t even been opened by the purchasers.

I chose this option because Zale focuses on the jewelry industry only. They are a large firm that continues to grow internally and externally. However, the provide services to a very wide variety of clients. For example they cater to rich, poor, and middle class consumers. It seems as though Zale’s cliental is very broad ranged.

From personal experience I know they stay true to their values. The do deliver WOW through their FREE expedited shipping on all items; most of the items qualify for FREE overnight shipping as well. Fun, adventures, and creativity is obvious from their website and operating practices. Growth and learning is constantly rewarded and requested. They take consideration from employees and customers. Zappos has continued to operate while staying true to their core values. The next time you’re in the market for a new pair of shoes, heels, etc. give Zappos.com a shot, you won’t be disappointed.

Zappos’ has placed a great deal of emphasis on consumer satisfaction which has contributed to their profitability (Ferrell & Hartline, 2014). Consumer satisfaction is the key to consumer retention (Ferrell & Hartline, 2014). Fully satisfied consumers are more likely to become loyal consumers, even advocates for the organization and their products (Ferrell & Hartline, 2014). Satisfied consumers are less likely to explore alternative suppliers and their less press sensitive (Ferrell & Hartline, 2014). Therefore, satisfied consumers are less likely to switch to a different competitor (Ferrell & Hartline, 2014). Satisfied consumers are more likely to spread positive word-of-mouth about the organization and their products (Ferrell & Hartline, 2014). However, the way the consumers think about satisfaction