Zappos.com’s Success: Focusing on Company Culture and Passionate Employees

Re:SWOT Analysis of the Culture of Zappos. com Zappos. com is an online shoe store that was created in 1999 by a man named, Nick Swinmurn. Today it is a multi-billion dollar company thanks to its current CEO, Tony Hseih. One of the reasons Zappos. com has become such successful empire is because it got the economics and operations right. The management of Zappos. com is in my personal opinion, a necessity to a happy and thriving company. Their strategy is to find employees that are going to dedicate themselves to the environment and purpose of Zappos. com.

They rely on passion, purpose, happiness, and emotional connection. If you don’t fit right into this, they even offer a $1,000 quit-that-day bonus. They strive on “weeding out” the employees that don’t extend their positive energy to the company. Zappos. com has a lot of different strengths, all of which play a part in their major success. They are a company that focuses on company culture and hiring passionate employees. Which allows the company to run as Hseih designed it out to. Another strength that aids Zappos. com in success is their demand for effective communication.

They also believe the importance and impact of feeling good, for both the employee and customer, is key. Tony Hsieh quickly discovered that becoming successful did not begin with the intention to make as much money as possible. He realized then that he should work towards making it a passion instead of an income. "Passion and determination are contagious," he says. "We believe in having a positive and optimistic (but realistic) attitude about everything we do, because we realize that this inspires others to have the same attitude. " Which I believe is their biggest strength and most powerful.

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The weaknesses that affect Zappos. com are how the way their management affects their outside controls. Amazon just recently purchased Zappos. com for about $1 billion. One weakness they could experience is how Zappos. com’s fun and relaxed work ethic and environment collides with the way Amazon. com runs. Another weakness Zappos. com faces is the average salary a sales representative makes. Zappos. com main goal, and what most of its reputation is built upon, is customer service. To keep up with the high demand of customers seeking help and asking questions, Zappos has a large number of ustomer service representatives. Where this becomes a weakness is, Zappos. com pays their representative’s and average of $23,000 a year, three percent below the national average. This makes them vulnerable to other competitors. Zappos. com strategy is very unique in the fact that they focus on happiness. They want to make sure that not only the customers are satisfied, but their employees as well. They look for dedicated and passionate people to work hard and play hard. They a set of ten core values that the company lives by.

They are deliver wow through service, embrace and drive change, create fun and a little weirdness, be adventurous, creative, and open-minded, pursue growth and learning, build open and honest relationships with communication, build a positive team and family spirit, do more with less, be passionate and determined, be humble. They use a strategy of making sure the employees are in good spirits and enjoy their work place. It reminds me of the saying, “happy wife, happy life. ” If their workers are happy in their job then they will work harder for the company.

This strategy puts Zappos. com at a definite advantage over other companies that, say, pay a higher salary. I know that I would rather work in a laid-back, fun and enjoyable environment over a bigger paycheck. If you’re miserable in your job it will leak into other parts of your life. The first recommendation I would provide Zappos. com is to cover more area. Instead of their main focus to online retail, they could open up Zappo storefronts to up their sales. Continuing their up-keep with social media is also a high recommendation for Zappos. com.

They are a huge hit on Twitter, which allows their customers to see their every move and what exactly is going on with promotions and deals. They need to focus on their core values, especially the last of the ten, be humble. Earlier when there was a security breech in company, there were a lot of upset, confused, and concern customers. It takes a lot of patience to deal with that high volume of calls but if zappos. com sticks to the words they say they live by, they are going to continue to receive loyal customers who spread the word and their business.

Works Cited Bailey, Jean. "Happiness as a business strategy. " Massage Therapy Journal Winter 2012: 25+. Academic OneFile. Web. 22 Feb. 2013. Chafkin, M. (2009, May 1). The Zappos Way of Managing. Retrieved from ? http://www. inc. com/magazine/20090501/the-zappos-way-of-managing. html McDonald, Shelley. "Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose. " American Economist 56. 1 (2011): 127+. Academic OneFile. Web. 22 Feb. 2013. Reid, K, Carolina.. "SHOULD BUSINESS EMBRACE SOCIAL NETWORKING?. " EContent. 01 Jun. 2009: 34. eLibrary. Web. 22 Feb. 2013.

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