Mythology - The Meaning Behind the Marketing

What Does Zappos.com Sell, Really?

Zappos.com of course is the legendary online retailer. It's probably most famous for selling shoes and its rabid commitment to customer service. It has since gone on to sell many items, such as clothing, accessories, and bags.

Zappos.com's legend grew during a time when buying online was still quite a hassle. Who hasn't felt a twinge of uncertainty over buying something (especially clothing) online knowing that if you didn't like what you thought you bought, the hassle of returning it was far greater than stopping by a local store (a fact that many bricks and mortar retailers have leveraged in their ecommerce strategies).

You know the rest: How Zappos.com inserted a postage paid return envelope and a package in your shipment in case you didn't like it. How they encouraged people to buy it, try it and return it. How their customer service reps are encouraged not to follow call scripts, and how they have no time limits on their customer interactions. How they train their call center reps for weeks before turning them loose to spread Zappos.com joy. How they advertise free ground shipping, but most orders get shipped overnight...further surprising their customers with unexpected value.

So what is Zappos.com selling, really? What is their value proposition? It's customer joy, of course. They are selling a surprising, "wow" kind of emotional jolt. Let's be honest, it feels good to be treated extraordinarily. It's awesome to get someone on the other end of the phone who wants to help you, no matter how long it takes.

Some may counsel Zappos.com to stay focused, to stay in their retail niche. But customer joy is a powerful, extensible kind of value proposition. You can think of many industry niche scenarios where Zappos.com core value could improve things dramatically.

They are already monetizing their unique expertise and passion for customer joy by inviting other companies in to receive training on their model (is Zappos.com the next Disney Institute in this regard?). Their CEO has said, perhaps in jest - perhaps not, that he wouldn't rule out a Zappos.com airline someday.

Hmmm...An airline that brings customer joy. Sign me up.

Marketing Manager as Community Organizer

Hey, if "community organizer" is a stepping stone to the presidency, why not as a qualification for Chief Marketing Officer? As more and more marketing tasks are shifted to the community (The latest? Get your community to design your logo.), a key issue has been drawn out in regard to hiring marketing talent: What skills are really needed? 

In the past, a thorough understanding of traditional media planning was required. Who can we find who understands reach and frequency? Who knows solid direct marketing tactics that generate ROI? 

These days, more companies are embracing the fact that they need community organizing skills within their marketing department. It's not enough to spread the "message" through Twitter and Facebook, which are just tools; you have to understand how to build true community through those tools.  

Here's a list of a just some of the skills for a good community organizer, whether it's organizing on the streets or online:

• Building coalitions, including among those who may have felt powerless
• Mobilizing large numbers of people
• Training and empowering leaders
• Effective listening skills
• Effective questioning and messaging skills

The Marin Institute, an alcohol industry watchdog and a resource for solutions nto community alcohol problems has developed their own community organizer self-assessment test to help determine whether this is a good career choice.

Perhaps we need to adopt these kinds of organizing skill assessments for hiring marketing professionals?

Is your Team ready to live your Brand?

Is your team ready to live your brand?

Most organizations make significant investments in marketing. These investments represent a commitment to reaching out to the marketplace and engaging potential customers. If the campaign or activities are successful, the potential customers begin to engage with your products or services and with your team.  It is important that at every point of customer interaction, your brand gets reinforced positively. Internal alignment empowers your organization to consistently live up to the promises you make to your customers. It is important to consider the internal readiness of your team to deliver on the promise of your brand and continue to build belief across both customers and your team. 

How do I know if my team is ready?

One important step is to conduct some type of an assessment of your team before you engage the market with a new campaign.  You can do a fairly simple assessment of your team by asking them some basic questions about your organization or you can look a little deeper by examining knowledge and skills related to key areas such as customer service and products.  Once you have understanding of your team's readiness, you can then look for ways to address the gaps.

How does this work?

In 2007 Sony Electronics Inc. conducted a survey that looked at employees engagement and feeling of empowerment in three areas, industry benchmarks, cultural factors that influence employee perception, and consensus on management effectiveness, behaviors, and strengths. Among the findings they found that 3 in 5 employees were fully engaged and 10 percent were not. (Read the full article here.) This data provided them the opportunity to address their weaknesses in an effective manner.  As it mentions in this article, levels of empowered and engaged employees correlate significantly with many key business metrics, such as turnover, sales, efficiency, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty.

How can I provide my Team Support?

There are many effective ways to support your team.  If the assessment indicated that your team is weak in how to clearly communicate your message you can provide specific opportunities for practice in-house. It is important that these are active and engaging activities and not a classroom lecture on the company communication policy. It is also very effective to provide a lot of information via your internal website. Internal blogs and wikis can support the flow of information and allow various departments to ask specific clarifying questions across other typically remote internal departments.

When you are marketing your company, remember to be sure your team is ready to live the brand!