The Zappos Experience : 5 Principles to Inspire, Engage, and WOW

The Zappos Experience : 5 Principles to Inspire, Engage, and WOW

by: Joseph Michelli



THE ZAPPOS EXPERIENCE: 5 Principles to Inspire, Engage, and WOW

Joseph Michelli

#1 New York Times Bestselling Author

"Delivering Happiness can help inspire the why of your business, THE ZAPPOS EXPERIENCE can contribute to the how."
From the Foreword by Tony Hsieh, Bestselling author of Delivering Happiness and CEO of Zappos.com, Inc.

BEHIND THE SCENES AT ONE OF BUSINESS'S MOST INNOVATIVE COMPANIES

What kind of company lets its employees dress up like garden gnomes? Under the direction of CEO Tony Hsieh, Zappos employees - "Zapponians" - hold cupcake competitions, form conga lines in the office, socialize outside the office with potential hires, and populate their cubicles with jungle stuff. Employees are pushed to be innovative and open. They're free to be weird and creative.

It's not just employees who benefit from Zappos-style inspiration. Customers are continually rewarded with all manner of perks, value-adds, and service benefits - from free overnight shipping and returns, to free books, handwritten thank-you notes, and VIP status. Employees are trained right at the beginning on the value of treating the customer well, and Zappos customers show an unparalleled sense of loyalty to the company. Here is evidence of a brand connecting with its clientele in a deeply engaged way.

Zappos is a corporate culture like none other. Under the playful and unconventional exterior, however, is a serious, billion-dollar company employing an attentive, layered, and unique customer experience as one of its key drivers for growth that has been heralded by the media and longed for by business leaders . THE ZAPPOS EXPERIENCE: 5 Principles to Inspire, Engage, and WOW (McGraw-Hill Professional; October, 2011; HC, $25.00), by Joseph Michelli, Ph.D., author of The New York Times bestseller The Starbucks Experience, distills the five primary leadership principles and core values that enhance the customer experience, increase employee engagement, and drive innovation. The more inspired you are to wow your customers and clients in an unconventional way, the more Wowed everyone becomes.

In his foreword to the book, Tony Hsieh states that whereas, his book "Delivering Happiness can help inspire the why of your business, The Zappos Experience can contribute to the how." With Hsieh at the helm, Zappos has expanded year over year, growing its international presence and undergoing a hiring spurt in what is currently a layoff economy. The company has boasted remarkable profits, and a consistent ranking on Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For. The company also launched "Zappos Insights," a program which allows leaders, managers, and employees from other companies study what makes Zappos work as a business model and how to bring key takeaways to their own industries.

What is it about Zappos that makes their customers so delighted? Michelli was granted full access to employees across the organization and writes about the big Wow. "Wow and caring are celebrated at Zappos, whether they are delivered to customers or to members of the internal Zappos family," he writes. "The more that wow and caring are seen and acknowledged, the more joy will be experienced by all stakeholders."

The book has been "Zappified" using the Zapponian combination of technology, service, and a heaping dose of humor. There are 17 QR codes throughout the book, taking you from an epic Nerf battle at Zappos headquarters to Facebook page devoted entirely to "Delivering Happiness." (Check out the "Do Not Click Here" QR code on pg. 90.)

The motto of Zappos is simple: "We are a service company that happens to sell _____." With delighted customers and contented employees, the company has used Wow to increase profits and loyalty. Here are the five principles your business can use to focus on both your customers and your employees using innovation and delight.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Joseph Michelli is an internationally sought-after speaker, author, and organizational consultant. His book, The Starbucks Experience: 5 Principles for Turning Ordinary into Extraordinary, published by McGraw-Hill, regularly achieved bestseller status on The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, and USA Today bestseller lists. He has conducted hundreds of radio and print interviews, as well as major media broadcast appearances.

Read more about the book at http://www.zappified.com/.

PRAISE FOR THE ZAPPOS EXPERIENCE:
"If you're looking for an inspirational path for creating a likable, trustworthy, and wow! organization, you've hit the mother lode."
-Guy Kawasaki, former chief evangelist of Apple and author of Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions
"This book provides a roadmap to a successful business by taking inspiration and examples from one of the most innovative, progressive companies of our time. Don't just read it; use it."
-Tony Hawk, professional skateboarder and author of HAWK -Occupation: Skateboarder and How Did I Get Here? The Ascent of an Unlikely CEO
"In your hands is a manifesto on how Zappos completely blew away the standard of delivering a consumer-centric experience and a revolutionary company culture. Joseph helps us all understand how to achieve a little more of that Zappos magic."
-Eric Ryan, method cofounder and person against dirty
"Thanks to Joseph Michelli, you can learn exactly how Zappos hit it big and how you can too. By using the five principles Joseph has distilled, you can supercharge your efforts and start down the path to legendary success."
-Mark Sanborn, President, Sanborn & Associates, Inc., and author of The Fred Factor and You Don't Need a Title to Be a Leader

FIVE QUESTIONS ABOUT ZAPPOS WITH Joseph Michelli:

Q. THE ZAPPOS EXPERIENCE is really quite revolutionary. Can you talk about why this approach to business is so incredible?
A. Having spent a lot of time in business schools and board rooms around the world, I can attest to a zeal for business strategy and tactical approaches to sustainable success. Leaders are often looking for solutions to short-term problems at the expense of grooming service cultures that could help address both short and long-term challenges. Zappos has flipped the formula. The company's revolutionary leadership has defined and stewarded a service culture like no other business I have come across. The company's growth, dynamism, employee engagement, customer passion, and playful spirit are refreshing in a sea of sameness across the global business landscape.

Q. When you love what you do, work can often seem like play. How does this figure into Zappos' principles?
A. Many people have written about that loss of time, place, and even self that comes when you are fully absorbed in purposeful activity. That state of being is at the height of living one's calling and it is a place of great innovation and joy. Zappos is a company committed to helping staff find purpose and happiness in their work. From my perspective, the playfulness of their culture is part of the foundation for a relaxed and purposeful workplace. That fun is also a byproduct of people who are spontaneously enjoying their calling.

Q. Some employees are removed from direct interaction with their end-users. How do you advise them to inspire Wow on their jobs?
A. If you are not directly serving a customer, my hunch is you are serving someone who does. If you serve your teammates "wowfully," you increase the probability that they will pass that Wow service forward. Zappos and other great businesses do not make distinctions between customers, prospects, co-workers, leaders, shareholders, or vendors. Their core value is to "deliver wow through service." From that world view, CEO Tony Hseih should wow me as a consultant and author, and I should try to wow readers of the Zappos Experience with an impassioned, thoughtful, helpful, and engaging look into Zappos. In the end, it's more about serving that it is the label we place on the person being served.

Q. Under that playful, fun exterior at Zappos is a company that takes several elements of the business quite seriously. What are they?
A. Let's start with the oxymoron - taking fun seriously. They're also serious about being weird, serving excellently, delivering happiness, being good stewards of their resources, building an enduring corporate culture, being one of the best places to work in America, and constantly growing people/products/profits. They are a quintessential learning organization, a leader in effectively creating customer intimacy through all channels especially social media, and they happen to drive extremely enviable and monetizable levels of customer loyalty as well as evangelism.

Q. What's the absolute craziest thing you saw at Zappos headquarters?
A. I saw a man on a Zappos tour almost giddy with enthusiasm. You would have thought he had met the president of the United States or his favorite celebrity. When I asked him why he was so euphoric, he answered my question with question, "Come on man, don't you know where you are? This is Zappos? I buy from them all the time, I tweet about them constantly. This is Tony' Hsieh's place. This is where they are changing business today. Why am I happy, come on I am finally at Zappos!"

In my history of working with and writing about world class businesses this was the first time I met a customer who had made such a connection with a company. Of course to paraphrase him, "Come on, it's Zappos."

THE ZAPPOS EXPERIENCE: 5 Principles to Inspire, Engage, and WOW, by Joseph Michelli.
October, 2011; Hardcover, $25.00; ISBN 978-0-07-174958-9; MHID 0-07-174958-6

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