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?

Empowering Your Team to Join the Conversation

Often there are two types of organization scenarios when it comes to participating in the social media revolution: those who try and lock down their employees by banning access to social media sites, and those who unleash them - but in an unprepared way.

Neither of course are very effective. The former essentially proves just how much your firm doesn't "get" how marketing has turned into a conversation. The latter often leads to unintended consequences and messes to clean up.

What about (gasp!) an enlightened approach where you encourage your employees to build the firms' brand through effective social media interaction? What if you equipped them to represent your organization effectively on Twitter, Facebook and other communities?

IBM, not necessarily a company you would think of as progressive in the Web 2.0 world, has been a leader in this area. As far back as 2005, they got ahead of the curve and realized that a) their employees have a ton of value to contribute to the world, and b) they should probably just lay down a few guidelines that they are expected to adhere to when representing the company on blogs, message boards, etc.

Here is what they came up with.

It's fantastic. It's straightforward, connected to IBM's values, and empowering. Way to go Big Blue.

Get Yourself Together For Satisfied, Repeat Customers

According to a recent CMO Council study:

• 58% of the 480 executives surveyed said their companies do not compensate any employees or executives based on customer loyalty, satisfaction improvements or analytics
• 38% said their companies have no programs in place to track or propagate positive word of mouth among customers

• Only 29% said their companies rate highly in their ability to handle and resolve customer problems or complaints

The report goes on to share very informative, and scary, stats on just how poorly most companies are internally aligned to ensure strong customer experiences that lead to loyalty, repeat business and advocacy.

That's why at Mythology we continue to evangelize the "10 Pillars" approach to addressing the 80% of your marketing "iceberg" that is below the water so that the 20% that is visible to the outside world is accurate and effective. Without a serious focus on the foundational aspects of marketing - customer segmentation, deep intimacy with their functional and emotional needs, differentiated value propositions, intelligent engagement plans, etc. - ROI on marketing budgets will continue to disappoint.

In this economy, it's more critical than ever to develop discipline before developing the creative.