Zappos Proves Service is a Savvy Strategy

This article - from Advertising Age, of all places! - gives great insight into how passionate top-down customer service isn't an expense at all, it's a billion-dollar business strategy.*

The article is about Zappos, which the world just learned late yesterday is being bought by Amazon.com for just shy of a billion dollars.

http://adage.com/cmostrategy/article?article_id=138080


*****

For your convenience, here is Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh's letter to his own employees explaining the move, along with a short video by Jeff Bezos explaining the purchase from his end, trying to make his new Zappos employees comfortable with the move.

http://blogs.zappos.com/ceoletter

We'll see if this combination works. The only way it will is if Bezos truly does leave Zappos alone, as he says he will. I give 'em 50/50%. We'll just have to see.

I've long admired Bezos, and that's a word I rarely use. I really do think he's the real deal. His video is... well, I don't want to sound sycophantic, but it's brilliantly humble from someone who has no need to be.

I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed now that this potential showdown is settled - I saw Zappos buying Amazon in five years if they kept it up. But now I can be happy for two companies I enjoy; neither has to lose.