Here's a memo out today from Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh about his commitment to keeping his business-as-usual approach, and at the same time using Amazon to take Zappos to the next level.
The deal between the two online retailers was finalized over the Halloween weekend. If you missed it earlier last month, here's a link to my ten-question interview with Tony in TechRepublic.
OK, let's dig in our heels and get Q4 off to a great start. Tony Hsieh of Zappos has some valuable insights to offer us that point to his success with Zappos as a result of a simple focus on great customer service, and not being distracted by comparisons.
Whether or not you're selling millions of pairs of shoes and partnering up with Amazon, delivering customer happiness is a goal all of us in business ought to be shooting for. Frankly, this economy demands it. Link here to read the full interview in today's TechRepublic.
Being a web 2.0 business has become synonymous with using the internet to become more "open and transparent." Does transparency in commerce mean that your community discussions are live, spontaneous, interactive and accessible?
For a hyper-individualized, billion-dollar company like Zappos that is built on service and also happens to sell shoes (and other neat stuff), it seems to come with the territory. For other businesses, it may still be safely diluted down to discussions that are recent, honest but controlled, and filtered by qualifying criteria.
What about the federal government? Can it follow a business-collaboration meme? In this C-Span clip, White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs weighs in on how questions coming from Facebook and Twitter give the new Town Hall meetings a sense of openness and transparency. (Chip and Helen are not buying it.) I have a feeling Helen Thomas wins the transparency award no matter which side of the aisle you're on.
