The Evolution of a Brand

by Scott JeffreySep 15, 2010

Evolutions of BrandsAt the 2009 Retailing Smarter symposium, CEO Tony Hsieh broke down the evolution of the Zappos brand:

1999: Selection (of shoes)
2003: Customer Service
2005: Culture and Core Values as their Platform
2007: Personal Emotional Connection
2009: Delivering Happiness

Several key take-aways for smart business people:

  1. A strong brand is constantly evolving, but not changing directions. This is critical. You probably don’t want or need to re-invent your brand, but you also can’t be stagnant. (It’s also interesting to see how a brand’s logo can evolve over time.)
  2. Strong brands tend to move up Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs. Zappos continues to move in a more humanistic direction. They’ve always been about people, but now they are moving upward to a more meaningful connection with their customers and employees. Delivering happiness is a tall order, but simply holding that intention will create new opportunities to wow their customers and employees and lead to greater loyalty.

For anyone interested in the power of brand loyalty and how to build a business for the long-term, Zappos is an ideal company to study. Zappos demonstrates that many of the intangible qualities of business like values, culture and willingness are more important than many transactional-oriented executives care to believe. Otherwise, why would anyone care about a shoe e-tailer? And how could they grow by approximately 7,800% annually for the last nine years?

Connecting to a Higher Purpose

by Jenny LeeFeb 08, 2010

Many companies believe that fostering employee satisfaction and retention is achieved by offering stock ownership plans that help employees feel like part owners. However, as we know, a slice of the profits is just not enough.

Peter Senge, Founding Chair of the Society for Organizational Learning (SoL) wrote in his book, The Fifth Discipline, about the need for a shared vision in organizations. Senge writes, “One of the deepest desires underlying shared vision is the desire to be connected to a larger purpose and one another.”

At online retailer Zappos, CEO Tony Hsieh’s vision is grand and clear. Hsieh says, “At Zappos, our higher purpose is delivering happiness. Whether it’s the happiness our customers receive when they get a new pair of shoes or the perfect piece of clothing, or the happiness they get when dealing with a friendly customer rep over the phone, or the happiness our employees feel about being a part of a culture that celebrates their individuality, these are all ways we bring happiness to people’s lives.”

When your employees are aligned to a larger, shared vision, they’ll be more satisfied and loyal. When you commit to a higher purpose, you also commit to making the world a better place in the best way you know how.

For more on Zappos’s happiness philosophy, take a look at this slide show presentation delivered by Tony Hsieh at the 2009 SXSW Interactive Festival.

Zappos – SXSW – 3-14-09
View more presentations from zappos.