Zappos
Delivering Happiness
Final Paper 8/22/2012
Zappos, an online retailer, is proving that an unfamiliar approach to business can also help grow revenue. Zappos revenue grew from $1.6 million in 2000 to $1.64 billion in 2010. How can a company focused on happiness be successful? Zappos corporate culture and focus on customer satisfaction has made it both successful and a model for other companies. Zappos focus on stakeholder happiness contributed to its success. Tony Hseih in his book Delivering Happiness says, “It’s a brand about happiness, whether to customers or employees or even vendors” (Delivering Happiness) In 2000, entrepreneur Tony Hsieh became the company’s CEO. Hsieh was 26 at the time and surprisingly was not sold on the idea of an Internet shoe store. He told Inc. magazine, “It sounded like the poster child of bad internet ideas… but I got sucked in.” (Delivering Happiness) After becoming CEO, Hsieh made an unconventional decision to keep Zappos going, proving his commitment by selling his own home to pay for a new warehouse. While the company was also struggling at first, his salary was set at $24. After the dot-com crash in 2002, Zappos was able to recover with sales of $32 million, but was still not profitable. In 2003, the company decided that in order to offer the best customer service, it had to control the whole value chain, from order fulfillment to delivery. In 2004 Zappos made the move to Vegas, in an effort to use the larger pool of experienced call center employees to its advantage. In 2007 the company generated its first profit after reaching $840 million in annual sales. Zappos also started to be recognized for its unique work environment and approach to customer service. Today because of social media everyone quickly gets to see the values and drivers behind a company. Marketers, managers, and all people in leadership positions need to change and adapt to this new world. When a company is able to deliver customers a certain
Final Paper 8/22/2012
Zappos, an online retailer, is proving that an unfamiliar approach to business can also help grow revenue. Zappos revenue grew from $1.6 million in 2000 to $1.64 billion in 2010. How can a company focused on happiness be successful? Zappos corporate culture and focus on customer satisfaction has made it both successful and a model for other companies. Zappos focus on stakeholder happiness contributed to its success. Tony Hseih in his book Delivering Happiness says, “It’s a brand about happiness, whether to customers or employees or even vendors” (Delivering Happiness) In 2000, entrepreneur Tony Hsieh became the company’s CEO. Hsieh was 26 at the time and surprisingly was not sold on the idea of an Internet shoe store. He told Inc. magazine, “It sounded like the poster child of bad internet ideas… but I got sucked in.” (Delivering Happiness) After becoming CEO, Hsieh made an unconventional decision to keep Zappos going, proving his commitment by selling his own home to pay for a new warehouse. While the company was also struggling at first, his salary was set at $24. After the dot-com crash in 2002, Zappos was able to recover with sales of $32 million, but was still not profitable. In 2003, the company decided that in order to offer the best customer service, it had to control the whole value chain, from order fulfillment to delivery. In 2004 Zappos made the move to Vegas, in an effort to use the larger pool of experienced call center employees to its advantage. In 2007 the company generated its first profit after reaching $840 million in annual sales. Zappos also started to be recognized for its unique work environment and approach to customer service. Today because of social media everyone quickly gets to see the values and drivers behind a company. Marketers, managers, and all people in leadership positions need to change and adapt to this new world. When a company is able to deliver customers a certain
Cited: Hsieh, T. (2010). Delivering happiness: A path to profits, passion and purpose. New York: Business Plus. Tony Hsieh, “Zappos: Where Company Culture is #1,” Presentation, May 26, 2010 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsLTh9Gity4 "What Is Delivering Happiness? Delivering Happiness." Delivering Happiness — A Path To Profits, Passion, and Purpose | by Tony Hsieh.Web. 20 Aug. 2012. .