Zappos.com
launched in 1999 with a plan like that of many dot-coms birthed in the
tech bubble: to be an online shoe company without ever touching a shoe.
Customers would order footwear on its website, it would transmit the
orders to vendors, and vendors would ship them from their own
warehouses.
“On paper, it was a great idea,” CEO Tony Hsieh says. But in
practice, it wasn't. Four years after its launch, Zappos.com wasn’t
profitable, it couldn’t raise funding, and retail shoe sales nationwide
were only just recovering from the 2001 recession. To survive, Hsieh
realized, the company needed to stop selling sneakers and start selling
something more valuable: A Customer Service Experience.
It worked. Customers were happier. Workers were happier. And gross
merchandise sales grew to $2 billion, driven by repeat customers and
word of mouth. “Our customers do the marketing for us,” Hsieh says.
And, in November 2009, Amazon.com bought the company in an agreement
worth $1.2 billion at closing.
If you keep on selling food as opposed to delivering a memorable dining experience, you are just the same as any other restaurant or hospitality establishment.
Are you secretly failing with your business? Call 310-266-9463 for your FREE CONSULTATION TODAY.
Andre Plessis
restaurant/Hospitality Consultant
Customer Service Expert
tel: 310-266-9463
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