UnMarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging

Chapter 31. Zappos

UNMARKETING IS ALL about engagement at every point of contact with your market. If you believe that every employee in your company has a role in marketing, then you have to look at how they engage with your customers on a day-to-day basis. As an example of how to do this right, you don't have to look any further than Zappos.com. This company empowers every member of its team to create an environment where each employee has the ability to really put the customer's needs first.

There are few things that I have personally noticed that make Zappos.com stand out. Most importantly, the company has a brand based on excellent customer service. If you asked someone to define Zappos.com in one word, he or she will not say "shoes" or even "online store," that person will say "service." How many of you reading this chapter now can say that about your company? That your company's quality of service is so good, so well known, that service is actually what you're known for?

One of the ways that Zappos.com made this happen is by having a generous return policy. The company started out by selling shoes as an online vendor. It faced a huge hurdle going against classic shoe stores to earn its customers. The market was used to trying shoes on. Zappos.com had to bridge the trust gap and convince customers that they could buy shoes online, without trying them on. What was the first question people had for them? "If they don't fit, can I return or exchange them?" Zappos.com said "yes" ...