How to Grow from $0 to $1.2 Billion

Zappos was founded in 1999 to sell shoes online. At that, time shoes had never been sold online and most experts believed that the shoe market was one that would never go online. People like to try on shoes, right?

In 2009 Zappos was acquired by Amazon for $1.2 billion, which is $1,200,000,000. Lots of zeroes…in just 10 years.

What did they do so right?

Zappos

(yep, that’s actually a picture from inside Zappos headquarters)

  1. Put Values First – Zappos has 10 core values ranging from “Create Fun and a Little Weirdness” to “Deliver WOW Through Service.” 50% of performance evaluations are based on how well employees live the values. Their hiring practices ensure that anyone who gets hired “fits” the Zappos culture (we’ll do a full blog on that later). Just in case a bad fit slips through the interview process, they pay new hires $2,000 to quit after their orientation. They find that weeds out people who are just there to make a living. 97% don’t take the offer.

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  2. Set HUGE Goals – In 2002, Zappos set their sights on achieving $1B in sales and getting on Fortune’s list of The Best Companies to Work For. At the time, they had under $10M in sales. Just six years later, Zappos hit the $1B mark. By the next year they debuted at number 23 on Fortune’s “Best Places to Work” list. Great companies set seemingly impossible goals and find ways to make them happen.

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  3. Put Customers First – Most companies say they do this, but trip over themselves when they realize that putting customers first can actually cost them in the short term. You see, most companies are set up to reward short term results, not long term growth. Zappos backs up this “Deliver WOW Through Service” in many ways.

Most online companies hide their 1-800 number about 30 pages deep in their website. Zappos is the only online company that encourages their customers to call. Their number is prominently displayed on every page of their website. They never track the amount of time that customer service reps spend on calls. They only track customer satisfaction. They automatically upgrade customers to next day shipping just to surprise them. They offer free return shipping on anything you bought for 365 days after you bought the item! And that is just a few of the things they do to make customers feel the love.

Is your organization doing these three things? If not, TODAY is the day to get started if you want to grow your business and be a fantastic place to work!

And you if are in the market for some new shoes or any of the other items Zappos sells now, go on over to www.zappos.com. Don’t forget to call the customer service line. It is truly an amazing experience. Last time I called, I got a $20 gift credit, an autographed copy of Tony Hsieh’s book, and a copy of the Zappos Culture book! Give them a try. Even if you don’t buy something, you’ll get a great lesson in customer service.

It got them to $1.2B in 10 years. It’s got to be worth a try!

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Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/techcocktail/5340970018/

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