No, that's not a typo. I would never have written 1899, though, unless I'd had the chance to listen to Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh's keynote address, "Delivering Happiness," at this year's SXSW Interactive conference. Do yourself a favor and listen -- you'll be pummeled by common sense (even his slides are interesting).
If you've been paying attention to Web 2.0 over the past few years, you know all about Zappos. They're the "shoe guys" who are wiping the floor with their competitors, moving over $1 billion in merchandise in 2008. And they're selling a lot more than shoes these days (they're evolving just like Amazon did). They have big plans to make the Zappos brand synonymous with superior customer service, whatever they happen to sell.
Back to 1899. According to Hsieh, what's Zappos' top customer service tool? What social media option gives them the most mojo for their brand? Here are your options:
A) Twitter
b) Facebook
c) blogs
d) the telephone
If you guessed a), b) or c), you're wrong. Sure, Zappos does use new social media methods to connect with customers, but Hsieh insists that d) the telephone is far and away the most effective. He considers every customer call a customer service opportunity, and he believes that customer service opportunities are synonymous with marketing and branding opportunities.
His reasoning? Hsieh points out that a customer service telephone call is initiatied by the customer, so you have a captive, focused audience. They want to talk to you about their experiences with your company -- whether good or bad. It's therefore your best opportunity, in that 5 or 10 minutes, to make sure they leave with a positive impression of your brand and want to shop with you in the future. Compare that to a direct mail piece that often ends up unread, or an email newsletter caught in a spam filter.
Hsieh is clear that such customer service calls aren't intended for hard sells or even upsells, but to show the customer that Zappos puts a priority on putting the customer first. Not surprisingly, word-of-mouth advertising has played a key part in Zappos' growth. Oh, and Zappos gets a lot of business from repeat customers -- those same customers who tend to shop more often and spend more money than one-off customers.
The telephone is taking something of a backseat to new forms of social media these days, but it might be time for you to make "old school" new again. Why not pick up the phone more often and talk to your customers? When's the last time they heard your voice?
After all, social media wasn't invented this decade -- and it was never intended to make your company anti-social.
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