Richard J. George, Ph.D.

Zappos Marketing Chief Offers Five Rules of Marketing

March 26, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
In an interview published on the Fast Company website, Aaron Magness, director for brand marketing and business development at Zappos, offered five principles that he believes are key to his company's success. What is your reaction to Aaron Magness' five marketing principles?      [more...]

I resonate with the all of the principles, especially the first principle, "Customer Service is the New Marketing." The only thing I would change is the term "customer service." I take my car in for service. I prefer the term "customer delight."

Customer delight has to be strategically integrated with other business objectives such as profitability, ROI, and market share. Customer delight should be a company's key competitive strategy.

The challenge is to make it integral, manageable, and measurable. It should not be viewed as an add-on or an after-the-sale phenomenon. Remember the words of Peter Drucker, "The only purpose of a business is to create a satisfied (delighted) customer."

Many companies "talk the talk" but few "walk the talk." The time and technology are now available. But is the commitment at all levels of the organization?