Zappos.com
Encyclopedia
Zappos.com is an online shoe and apparel shop currently based in Henderson, Nevada
.
In July 2009, the company announced it would be acquired by Amazon.com
in an all-stock deal worth about $1.2 billion. Since its founding in 1999, Zappos has grown to be the largest online shoe store.
s at his local mall. That same year, Swinmurn approached Tony Hsieh and Alfred Lin
with the idea of selling shoes online. Hsieh was initially skeptical, and almost deleted Swinmurn’s voice mail. After Swinmurn mentioned that "footwear
in the US is a 40 billion dollar market and 5% of that is already being sold by paper mail order catalogs," Hsieh and Lin decided to invest $500,000 through their investment firm Venture Frogs. The company was officially launched in June 1999, under the original domain name "ShoeSite.com."
A few months after their launch, the company's name was changed from ShoeSite to Zappos (a variation of "zapatos," the Spanish word for "shoes") so as not to limit itself to selling only footwear. In January 2000, Venture Frogs invested additional capital, and allowed Zappos to move into their office space. During this time, Hsieh found that he "had the most fun with Zappos" and came on board as co-CEO with Nick Swinmurn. After minimal gross sales in 1999, Zappos brought in $1.6 million in revenue in 2000.
. Advertising costs were minimal, and the company grew mostly by word of mouth
. It was around this time that Hsieh and Zappos executives set long-term goals for 2010: achieve $1 billion in sales and receive inclusion on Fortune
’s list of The Best Companies to Work For.
In 2003, Zappos reached $70 million in growth sales and abandoned drop shipping, which accounted for 25% of their revenue base. The decision was based on supplying superior customer service, as Hsieh says "I wanted us to have a whole company built around [customer service] and we couldn’t control the customer experience when a quarter of the inventory was out of our control." In 2004, Zappos did $184 million in gross sales, and received their first round of venture capital, a $35 million dollar investment from Sequoia Capital
. That same year, they moved their headquarters from San Francisco to Las Vegas
.
Over the next three years, Zappos doubled their annual revenues, hitting $840 million in gross sales by 2007. They expanded their inventory to include handbags, eyewear, clothing, watches, and kids’ merchandise. Hsieh summarized this transition, saying "back in 2003, we thought of ourselves as a shoe company that offered great service. Today, we really think of the Zappos brand as about great service, and we just happen to sell shoes."
In 2008, Zappos hit $1 billion in annual sales, two years earlier than expected (one year later, they fulfilled their other long-term goal, debuting at #23 on Fortune’s Top 100 Companies to Work For).
In 2009, Zappos started exploring an acquisition to Amazon
. Within Zappos’ board of directors
, two of the five—Hsieh and Alfred Lin—were primarily concerned with maintaining Zappos company culture, whereas the other three wanted to maximize profits in a down economy. Initially, Hsieh and Lin planned to buy out their board of directors, which they estimated would cost $200 million. In the midst of this, Amazon executives approached Zappos with the proposition of buying Zappos outright. After an hour-long meeting with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos
, Hsieh and Lin sensed that Amazon would be open to letting Zappos continue to operate as an independent entity, and started negotiations. On July 22, 2009, Amazon announced that it would buy Zappos for $940 million in a stock and cash deal. Owners of shares of Zappos were set to receive approximately 10 million Amazon.com shares, and employees would receive a separate $40 million in cash and restricted stock
units. The deal was eventually closed in November 2009 for a reported $1.2 billion.
In 2013, Zappos will move their headquarters from Henderson, Nevada
to the old city hall
in Downtown Las Vegas
. According to Hsieh, "I want to be in an area where everyone feels like they can hang out all the time and where there’s not a huge distinction between working and playing." The move was lauded by Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman
who said "this will be a game changer for Southern Nevada. This move will bring about a critical mass of creative persons to the inner core of Las Vegas in addition to causing a significant shot in the arm for the economy and for new jobs."
, Ugg boots
, and Steve Madden
heels. They also serve the niche shoe markets
, including narrow and wide widths, hard-to-find sizes, American-made shoes, and vegan shoes
. In 2004, they launched a second line of high-end shoes called Zappos Couture.
In 2007, Zappos expanded their inventory to include clothing (including petite
, big and tall, and plus sizes
), handbags, eyewear, watches, and kids’ merchandise, which currently account for 20% of annual revenues. Zappos expects that clothing and apparel will bring in $1 billion worth of revenue by 2015, as the apparel market is four times the size of the footwear market. Hsieh states that "our whole goal is we want to build the best brand of customer service. Hopefully, 10 years from now, people won’t even realize that we started selling shoes."
and relationship marketing
. The primary sources of the company's rapid growth have been repeat customers and numerous word of mouth
recommendations. Of its customers, 75% are repeat buyers
.
The company's customer service reputation has been augmented through viral
spreading as well, as customer service expert Micah Solomon noted in 2010: "Shoe merchant Zappos has benefited from Internet wildfire. When Zappos offered special return shipping assistance, beyond their company policies...the good word about the company spread quickly throughout the blogosphere."
Zappos has a stated goal to offer "best service in the industry." Their service promotes
such benefits as:
and core values
. Hsieh's belief is that "if we get the culture right, then everything else, including the customer service, will fall into place." The company publishes an annual 480-page "Culture Book," which is composed of two to three paragraph entries from employees describing Zappos' company culture. The entries are unedited, and a copy of the Culture Book is given to all employees (although anyone can receive a copy of the book upon request).
Zappos applicants must go through two interviews: one for their professional aptitude and one for their personality, both equally important. In the personality interview, they are asked questions to see if they would fit in with Zappos culturally, like "how weird are you on a scale from 1-10" and "what is your theme song?" All newly hired employees except those at the Kentucky Fulfillment Center, even executives, are required to undergo a 4-week customer loyalty training course, which includes at least 2 weeks of talking on the phone with customers in the call center. After training, the new employees are offered $2,000 to quit, which weeds out people who would jump ship anyway and allows those who remain to make a public statement of commitment to their new employer. Over 97% turn down the offer.
Employees enjoy free lunches, no-charge vending machines, a company library, a nap room, and free health care. Each department has its own decor, ranging from rainforest
themed to Elvis themed, and employees are encouraged to decorate their work spaces (for example, Hsieh’s desk, which is in the middle of a cluster of cubicles, features jungle vines and an inflatable monkey). Employees often lead spontaneous office parades, occasionally accompanied with cowbells, and managers are required to spend 10-20% of their working hours "goofing off" with employees outside of the office.
Zappos has ten core values, which define their culture, brand, and business strategies. They are:
possible." On average, Zappos employees answer 5,000 calls a day, and 1,200 e-mails a week (except in the holiday season, when call frequency increases significantly). Call center employees don't have scripts, and there are no limit on call times. The longest call recorded was over five hours long.
Zappos employees are encouraged to go above and beyond traditional customer service. In particular, after a late night of barhopping and closed room service, Hsieh bet a Skechers
rep that if he called the Zappos hotline, the employee would be able to locate the nearest late-night pizza
delivery. The call center employee, although initially confused, returned two minutes later with a list of the five closest late night pizza restaurants. Inc. Magazine notes another example when a woman called Zappos to return a pair of boots for her husband because he died in a car accident. The next day, she received a flower delivery, which the call center rep had billed to the company without checking with her supervisor.
Even though their website states that delivery will take between 2-5 business days, Zappos gives "surprise" free upgrades to overnight shipping for most customers.
All the social networks are complementary for Zappos; none of them can be avoided. However, the "real" social media remains the telephone and the email, which are essential to get the best customer service.
In 2007, Zappos acquired 6pm.com, which has bargain shoes, clothing, and accessories. In May 2010, 6pm accidentally priced all their merchandise at $49.95, including items like GPS navigators. They honored the pricing glitch, taking a $1.6 million loss.
Zappos sponsors the "Zappos Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon and ½ Marathon," which draw 28,000 runners each year. They also sponsor the Zappos WCC
basketball championships. During the tournament, Zappos hosts "Kidz Day," which outfits local Las Vegas kids with a new pair of shoes and an event t-shirt.
, USA Today
, CNN
, The New York Times
, Inc. Magazine, The Washington Post
, CBS News
, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, and Forbes
. They were named #23 to Fortune’s list of “Best Companies to Work For” in 2009, #15 in 2010, and #6 in 2011.
Henderson, Nevada
-Demographics:According to the 2000 census, there were 175,381 people, 66,331 households, and 47,095 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,200.8 people per square mile . There were 71,149 housing units at an average density of 892.8 per square mile...
.
In July 2009, the company announced it would be acquired by Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
in an all-stock deal worth about $1.2 billion. Since its founding in 1999, Zappos has grown to be the largest online shoe store.
Inception
Zappos was founded by Nick Swinmurn in 1999. The initial inspiration came when he couldn’t find a pair of brown AirwalkAirwalk
The airwalk is a skateboarding trick invented in 1983 by Tony Hawk, who performed it on ramps and half pipes. In 1986, Rodney Mullen invented the Ollie Airwalk, a flatground version of the Airwalk. The name Ollie Airwalk is often mistaken by the Ollie Airwalk trick in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater...
s at his local mall. That same year, Swinmurn approached Tony Hsieh and Alfred Lin
Alfred Lin
Alfred Lin is a venture capitalist at Sequoia Capital and currently sits on the board of Stella & Dot. Alfred focuses on consumer internet, enterprise and mobile companies. He was born in Taiwan and moved to New York City at the age of six or seven....
with the idea of selling shoes online. Hsieh was initially skeptical, and almost deleted Swinmurn’s voice mail. After Swinmurn mentioned that "footwear
Footwear
Footwear consists of garments worn on the feet, for fashion, protection against the environment, and adornment. Being barefoot is commonly associated with poverty, but some cultures chose not to wear footwear at least in some situations....
in the US is a 40 billion dollar market and 5% of that is already being sold by paper mail order catalogs," Hsieh and Lin decided to invest $500,000 through their investment firm Venture Frogs. The company was officially launched in June 1999, under the original domain name "ShoeSite.com."
A few months after their launch, the company's name was changed from ShoeSite to Zappos (a variation of "zapatos," the Spanish word for "shoes") so as not to limit itself to selling only footwear. In January 2000, Venture Frogs invested additional capital, and allowed Zappos to move into their office space. During this time, Hsieh found that he "had the most fun with Zappos" and came on board as co-CEO with Nick Swinmurn. After minimal gross sales in 1999, Zappos brought in $1.6 million in revenue in 2000.
Growth
In 2001, Zappos more than quadrupled their yearly sales, bringing in $8.6 million. In 2002, they opened their own fulfillment center in Shepherdsville, KentuckyShepherdsville, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 8,334 people, 3,177 households, and 2,363 families residing in the city. The population density was 791.3 people per square mile . There were 3,402 housing units at an average density of 323.0 per square mile...
. Advertising costs were minimal, and the company grew mostly by word of mouth
Word of mouth
Word of mouth, or viva voce, is the passing of information from person to person by oral communication. Storytelling is the oldest form of word-of-mouth communication where one person tells others of something, whether a real event or something made up. Oral tradition is cultural material and...
. It was around this time that Hsieh and Zappos executives set long-term goals for 2010: achieve $1 billion in sales and receive inclusion on Fortune
Fortune (magazine)
Fortune is a global business magazine published by Time Inc. Founded by Henry Luce in 1930, the publishing business, consisting of Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated, grew to become Time Warner. In turn, AOL grew as it acquired Time Warner in 2000 when Time Warner was the world's largest...
’s list of The Best Companies to Work For.
In 2003, Zappos reached $70 million in growth sales and abandoned drop shipping, which accounted for 25% of their revenue base. The decision was based on supplying superior customer service, as Hsieh says "I wanted us to have a whole company built around [customer service] and we couldn’t control the customer experience when a quarter of the inventory was out of our control." In 2004, Zappos did $184 million in gross sales, and received their first round of venture capital, a $35 million dollar investment from Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital is a Californian venture capital firm located on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California. The Wall Street Journal has called Sequoia Capital "one of the highest-caliber venture firms", and noted that it is "one of Silicon Valley's most influential venture-capital firms"...
. That same year, they moved their headquarters from San Francisco to Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
.
Over the next three years, Zappos doubled their annual revenues, hitting $840 million in gross sales by 2007. They expanded their inventory to include handbags, eyewear, clothing, watches, and kids’ merchandise. Hsieh summarized this transition, saying "back in 2003, we thought of ourselves as a shoe company that offered great service. Today, we really think of the Zappos brand as about great service, and we just happen to sell shoes."
Acquisition by Amazon
In 2009, Zappos started exploring an acquisition to Amazon
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
. Within Zappos’ board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
, two of the five—Hsieh and Alfred Lin—were primarily concerned with maintaining Zappos company culture, whereas the other three wanted to maximize profits in a down economy. Initially, Hsieh and Lin planned to buy out their board of directors, which they estimated would cost $200 million. In the midst of this, Amazon executives approached Zappos with the proposition of buying Zappos outright. After an hour-long meeting with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos
Jeffrey Preston "Jeff" Bezos is the founder, president, chief executive officer , and chairman of the board of Amazon.com.-Early life and background:...
, Hsieh and Lin sensed that Amazon would be open to letting Zappos continue to operate as an independent entity, and started negotiations. On July 22, 2009, Amazon announced that it would buy Zappos for $940 million in a stock and cash deal. Owners of shares of Zappos were set to receive approximately 10 million Amazon.com shares, and employees would receive a separate $40 million in cash and restricted stock
Restricted stock
Restricted stock, also known as letter stock or restricted securities, refers to stock of a company that is not fully transferable until certain conditions have been met. Upon satisfaction of those conditions, the stock becomes transferable by the person holding the award.One type of restricted...
units. The deal was eventually closed in November 2009 for a reported $1.2 billion.
In 2013, Zappos will move their headquarters from Henderson, Nevada
Henderson, Nevada
-Demographics:According to the 2000 census, there were 175,381 people, 66,331 households, and 47,095 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,200.8 people per square mile . There were 71,149 housing units at an average density of 892.8 per square mile...
to the old city hall
City hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall or a municipal building or civic centre, is the chief administrative building of a city...
in Downtown Las Vegas
Downtown Las Vegas
Downtown Las Vegas is the central business district of Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the original gambling district of Las Vegas, prior to the Strip, and the area still incorporates downtown gaming.-Tourism:...
. According to Hsieh, "I want to be in an area where everyone feels like they can hang out all the time and where there’s not a huge distinction between working and playing." The move was lauded by Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman
Oscar Goodman
Oscar Baylin Goodman is an American lawyer and politician. He was the mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada from 1999 to 2011. Mayor Goodman is an Independent and a former member of the Democratic Party.-Biography:...
who said "this will be a game changer for Southern Nevada. This move will bring about a critical mass of creative persons to the inner core of Las Vegas in addition to causing a significant shot in the arm for the economy and for new jobs."
Products
Zappos’ primary selling base is shoes, which accounts for about 80% of its business. There are currently about 50,000 varieties of shoes sold in the Zappos store, from brands like NikeNike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
, Ugg boots
Ugg boots
Ugg boots are a unisex style of sheepskin boots, made of twin-faced sheepskin with fleece on the inside and with a tanned outer surface, often with a synthetic sole....
, and Steve Madden
Steve Madden
Steve Madden is the founder and former CEO of Steve Madden Ltd., a footwear company.Born in Far Rockaway, Queens, Madden grew up in adjoining Lawrence in Nassau County, New York....
heels. They also serve the niche shoe markets
Niche market
A niche market is the subset of the market on which a specific product is focusing; therefore the market niche defines the specific product features aimed at satisfying specific market needs, as well as the price range, production quality and the demographics that is intended to impact...
, including narrow and wide widths, hard-to-find sizes, American-made shoes, and vegan shoes
Artificial leather
Artificial leather is a fabric or finish intended to substitute for leather in fields such as upholstery, clothing and fabrics, and other uses where a leather-like finish is required but the actual material is cost-prohibitive or unsuitable....
. In 2004, they launched a second line of high-end shoes called Zappos Couture.
In 2007, Zappos expanded their inventory to include clothing (including petite
Petite sizes
In fashion and clothing, a petite size is a standard clothing size designed to fit women of shorter height, typically or less.-Changes in pattern measurements and design:...
, big and tall, and plus sizes
Plus size clothing
Plus size clothing is a general term given to clothing proportioned specifically for overweight people. Also called Outsize in some countries , this term has been losing favour since the 1990s...
), handbags, eyewear, watches, and kids’ merchandise, which currently account for 20% of annual revenues. Zappos expects that clothing and apparel will bring in $1 billion worth of revenue by 2015, as the apparel market is four times the size of the footwear market. Hsieh states that "our whole goal is we want to build the best brand of customer service. Hopefully, 10 years from now, people won’t even realize that we started selling shoes."
Business model
Zappos uses a loyalty business modelLoyalty business model
The loyalty business model is a business model used in strategic management in which company resources are employed so as to increase the loyalty of customers and other stakeholders in the expectation that corporate objectives will be met or surpassed...
and relationship marketing
Relationship marketing
Relationship marketing was first defined as a form of marketing developed from direct response marketing campaigns which emphasizes customer retention and satisfaction, rather than a dominant focus on sales transactions....
. The primary sources of the company's rapid growth have been repeat customers and numerous word of mouth
Word of mouth
Word of mouth, or viva voce, is the passing of information from person to person by oral communication. Storytelling is the oldest form of word-of-mouth communication where one person tells others of something, whether a real event or something made up. Oral tradition is cultural material and...
recommendations. Of its customers, 75% are repeat buyers
Customer lifetime value
-Definition of Customer Lifetime Value:In marketing, customer lifetime value , lifetime customer value , or lifetime value is the net present value of the cash flows attributed to the relationship with a customer...
.
The company's customer service reputation has been augmented through viral
Viral marketing
Viral marketing, viral advertising, or marketing buzz are buzzwords referring to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses...
spreading as well, as customer service expert Micah Solomon noted in 2010: "Shoe merchant Zappos has benefited from Internet wildfire. When Zappos offered special return shipping assistance, beyond their company policies...the good word about the company spread quickly throughout the blogosphere."
Zappos has a stated goal to offer "best service in the industry." Their service promotes
Promotion (marketing)
Promotion is one of the four elements of marketing mix . It is the communication link between sellers and buyers for the purpose of influencing, informing, or persuading a potential buyer's purchasing decision....
such benefits as:
- Free shipping both ways
- A 365-day return policyMoney back guaranteeA money-back guarantee is essentially a simple guarantee that, if a buyer is not satisfied with a product or service, a refund will be made....
- A 24/7 call center
Company culture and core values
Zappos places great emphasis on company cultureOrganizational culture
Organizational culture is defined as “A pattern of shared basic assumptions invented, discovered, or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration" that have worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore, to be taught to...
and core values
Value system
A value system is a set of consistent ethic values and measures used for the purpose of ethical or ideological integrity. A well defined value system is a moral code.-Personal and communal:...
. Hsieh's belief is that "if we get the culture right, then everything else, including the customer service, will fall into place." The company publishes an annual 480-page "Culture Book," which is composed of two to three paragraph entries from employees describing Zappos' company culture. The entries are unedited, and a copy of the Culture Book is given to all employees (although anyone can receive a copy of the book upon request).
Zappos applicants must go through two interviews: one for their professional aptitude and one for their personality, both equally important. In the personality interview, they are asked questions to see if they would fit in with Zappos culturally, like "how weird are you on a scale from 1-10" and "what is your theme song?" All newly hired employees except those at the Kentucky Fulfillment Center, even executives, are required to undergo a 4-week customer loyalty training course, which includes at least 2 weeks of talking on the phone with customers in the call center. After training, the new employees are offered $2,000 to quit, which weeds out people who would jump ship anyway and allows those who remain to make a public statement of commitment to their new employer. Over 97% turn down the offer.
Employees enjoy free lunches, no-charge vending machines, a company library, a nap room, and free health care. Each department has its own decor, ranging from rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
themed to Elvis themed, and employees are encouraged to decorate their work spaces (for example, Hsieh’s desk, which is in the middle of a cluster of cubicles, features jungle vines and an inflatable monkey). Employees often lead spontaneous office parades, occasionally accompanied with cowbells, and managers are required to spend 10-20% of their working hours "goofing off" with employees outside of the office.
Zappos has ten core values, which define their culture, brand, and business strategies. They are:
- 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
- Do More With Less
- Be Passionate and Determined
- Be Humble
Customer service
The Zappos website states that "we've been asked by a lot of people how we’ve grown so quickly, and the answer is actually really simple... We've aligned the entire organization around one mission: to provide the best customer serviceCustomer service
Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.According to Turban et al. , “Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer...
possible." On average, Zappos employees answer 5,000 calls a day, and 1,200 e-mails a week (except in the holiday season, when call frequency increases significantly). Call center employees don't have scripts, and there are no limit on call times. The longest call recorded was over five hours long.
Zappos employees are encouraged to go above and beyond traditional customer service. In particular, after a late night of barhopping and closed room service, Hsieh bet a Skechers
Skechers
Skechers is an American shoe company headquartered in Manhattan Beach, California, founded by CEO Robert Greenberg. Greenberg started Skechers in 1992 after he left LA Gear which he also founded. Skechers was started with his son as a distributor for Doc Martens; they launched their own shoe line...
rep that if he called the Zappos hotline, the employee would be able to locate the nearest late-night pizza
Pizza
Pizza is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings.Originating in Italy, from the Neapolitan cuisine, the dish has become popular in many parts of the world. An establishment that makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria"...
delivery. The call center employee, although initially confused, returned two minutes later with a list of the five closest late night pizza restaurants. Inc. Magazine notes another example when a woman called Zappos to return a pair of boots for her husband because he died in a car accident. The next day, she received a flower delivery, which the call center rep had billed to the company without checking with her supervisor.
Even though their website states that delivery will take between 2-5 business days, Zappos gives "surprise" free upgrades to overnight shipping for most customers.
Social media
In 2009, Zappos was awarded for the "best use of social media" by Abrams Research . CEO Tony Hsieh indeed encourages his employees to use social media networks to put a human face on the company and engage with customers, which especially coincides with core value #6: "Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication.". Zappos employees maintain an active presence on:- Twitter: Zappos run its own Twitter microsite for its 500 employees registered on Twitter. Among them, Tony Hsieh is one of the 185th most followed person on Twitter with 1.85 million followers.. Employees do not use their Twitter accounts to offer promotions or marketing pitches, but instead to show followers a little bit of the Zappos culture and to humanize the company. As an example, before going onstage for a tech conference, Hsieh tweeted: "Spilled Coke on left leg of jeans, so poured some water on right leg so looks like the denim fade." He also encourages customers to use Twitter to give positive as well as negative feedbacks.
- YouTube aims to show how people works at Zappos. It helps its employees to “Create Fun and A Little Weirdness” (Zappos Core value number 3) and to “Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit” (Zappos Core value number 7). Zappos has increased its channel views five-fold to reach today 230K views. More than 2500 people have suscribed to the
- Facebook allow to provide very rich contents -videos, photos, “behind the scene stuff”- to its 152,000 fans. Facebook helps fans to interact more easily than with the other networks (post some videos, comments, pictures). Zappos creates contests to get fans even more involved by giving away some products.
- Corporate blogs: Zappos runs several covering all topics related to its business: CEO blog, COO blog, Couture blog, Fashion Culture blog, Inside Zappos blog. This blog culture allows even more the employees to show their passion and dedication to their job and helps customers to get Zappos' culture.
All the social networks are complementary for Zappos; none of them can be avoided. However, the "real" social media remains the telephone and the email, which are essential to get the best customer service.
Additional ventures
In 2008, Zappos launched Zappos Insights, which aims to help other businesspeople refine their company culture and customer service. For $40/month, participants are offered access to a subscription video service that lets companies ask questions to Zappos employees. Zappos Insights also offers a two-day bootcamp where participants visit the headquarters and have meetings with Zappos executives.In 2007, Zappos acquired 6pm.com, which has bargain shoes, clothing, and accessories. In May 2010, 6pm accidentally priced all their merchandise at $49.95, including items like GPS navigators. They honored the pricing glitch, taking a $1.6 million loss.
Zappos sponsors the "Zappos Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon and ½ Marathon," which draw 28,000 runners each year. They also sponsor the Zappos WCC
West Coast Conference
The West Coast Conference is an NCAA collegiate athletics conference consisting of nine member schools across the states of California, Oregon, Utah and Washington....
basketball championships. During the tournament, Zappos hosts "Kidz Day," which outfits local Las Vegas kids with a new pair of shoes and an event t-shirt.
Recognition
Zappos has been featured in most world publications, including The New YorkerThe New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Inc. Magazine, The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, and Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
. They were named #23 to Fortune’s list of “Best Companies to Work For” in 2009, #15 in 2010, and #6 in 2011.