10/21/11
Myra Golden
THE ZAPPOS CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
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Zappos is powered by service
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Providing the best service and online shopping experience possible.
Free shipping both ways. 365-day return policy.
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Fast fulfillment. Expedited delivery. Fast, friendly & expert customer service.
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Best selection
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Over 1100 brands.
Over 150,000 styles.
3 million pairs of shoes.
Photographed in multiple angles.
Videos of many products.
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100% of products inventoried (no drop ship).
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Zappos is a service company that happens to sell shoes, clothing, handbags, eyewear, watches (and eventually a bunch of other stuff).
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Zappos is committed to WOWing each and every customer.
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Customers come…
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7.4M total purchasing customers (about 2.5% of US population)
3.3M have purchased in the last 12 months
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Customers come back…
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On any given day, about 75% of purchases from returning customers
Repeat customers order >2.5x in the next 12 months
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Customers come back, order more and order more often…
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Repeat customers have higher average order size
$111.98 – first time customers
$143.22 – returning customer
EARLY ON ITS LIFE, ZAPPOS MADE A DELIBERATE DECISION TO RE-DIRECT ITS
MARKETING BUDGET TOWARDS DELIVERING EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE WITH
A GREAT COMPANY CULTURE, q   q   q   encouraging customers to order as many products as they wanted in order to “ try them on, ” then offering free return shipping for a full 365 days only listing products on the site when stock was in their own warehouse (which actually lowered sales by
25% at a time when the company was still in the red) deciding to run their warehouse operation 24/7 to deliver super-fast turnaround on orders, despite it being an inefficient way to manage fulfillment
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EARLY ON ITS LIFE, ZAPPOS MADE A DELIBERATE DECISION TO RE-DIRECT ITS
MARKETING BUDGET TOWARDS DELIVERING EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE WITH
A GREAT COMPANY CULTURE, q   encouraging customers to call them about nearly everything.
Their call center takes 5,000 calls per day, and employees work independent of scripts, quotas, or call time limits. The longest call to date has been four hours. Zappos views the phone experience as a branding device, and speaks to virtually every customer at least once. q   deciding to invest in “ surprise ” (free) upgrades to overnight shipping for most customers. This means that most orders are delivered within 24 hours, despite the web site indicating it will take
2-5 business days.
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What customer’s see…
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CUSTOMER SERVICE:
WHAT CUSTOMERS EXPERIENCE
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Fast, Accurate Fulfillment
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Friendly, helpful “above and beyond” customer service
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Refer customers to competitors’ web sites
CUSTOMER SERVICE:
WHAT THEY DO INTERNALLY
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No call times, no scripts
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No sales-based performance goals for reps
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Run warehouse 24/7
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5 weeks of culture, core values, customer service, and warehouse training for everyone in Las Vegas
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Culture book
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Interviews and performance reviews are 50% based on core values and culture fit
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5-week training period that immerses employees in the company's strategy, culture, and obsession with customers
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Incubation Program to help new hires transition from training to call floor
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SELF MONITORING (FULL CIRCLE FEEDBACK)
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Launched a QA program a few years ago…
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Removing the fear of poor performance
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Rep selects a call and reviews
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Lead also selects a call to review
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Focus is on coaching and feedback
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Any employee can be a
Lead within 5 years
Promotions all based on skill set, skill set based on core values
Courses offered to develop skill sets, small raises for completing skill set courses
Professional Life Coach on staff
“Happiness” survey monthly
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Zappos history
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Professional development
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Career development
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Time management
Science of Happiness
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How to Write Emails
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Communication
Finance
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“Holiday Helpers” (outside of CLT)
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WOW
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HOW ZAPPOS DELIVERED WOW TO THE GOLDEN HOUSE
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Make emotional connections with customers
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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
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Do More with Less
Be Passionate and Determined
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Be Humble
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10 TIPS for building a service-focused culture
TIP #1
Commit to customer service.
Make it part of your mission.
It’s not just a department…
Be true to your mission when making hard (or easy) decisions.
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To Live and Deliver WOW
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Internally, they have a saying:
We are a service company that happens to sell
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shoes
and handbags
and clothing
and eyewear
and watches
and accessories
(and eventually a bunch of other stuff)
TIP #2
Come up with committable core values.
Do some soul searching.
Don’t come up with core values just because they sound good
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1.
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6.
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
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Do More with Less
Be Passionate and Determined
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Be Humble
TIP #3
Actively manage your culture based on your core values …
… for every single department
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TIP #4
Make “WOW” part of your company’s everyday vocabulary.
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TIP #5
Remember that customer service is an investment …
… not an expense.
Don’t hide your 1-800 number.
Don’t measure call times.
TIP #6
Trust and empower your customer service team.
Find people that are passionate about customer service.
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TIP #7
Create a culture book.
Tony Hsieh, CEO of online shoe merchant Zappos.com, asks each employee to write a 100- to 500word description of the company's culture every year for a book.
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very
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ZAPPOS STAFF AND VENDORS TREATED WELL
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Company pays 100% of insurance premiums
All 650 employees, from execs to warehouse workers, get a free lunch every day
Zappos has Intranet for vendors to see what products are selling and well what ’ s not
Every year Zappos holds a Vendor Appreciation dinner and Call Center staff are invited
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TIP #9
Make culture part of everyone’s performance review.
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TIP #10
Have the entire company celebrate great service.
Tell stories.
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Email me at myra@myragolden.com for:
Additional questions not answered today
Blog: www.MyraGolden.Wordpress.com
Web: www.MyraGolden.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/MyraGolden
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