My Zappos Encounter

If you're into buzz marketing, you can't help noticing Zappos.com. Their entire new web environment (zeta.zappos.com) embraces their social culture, filled with reviews, video, blogs and other hidden surprises. The company has a fanatical customer service approach...and they don't just say it's important, they live it daily. Zappos' approach has been so successful that word of mouth referrals are still their biggest source of new customers. They also have one of the highest customer retention rates of any retailer; a solid 75% are repeat buyers.

The company CEO, Tony Hsieh, has adopted an open leadership approach, sharing random thoughts and posting the most mundane activities on Twitter. His "followers" -- over 12,000 of them -- include most of the Zappos crew. Many of them have hundreds of their own "followers" making this a substantial network of Twitterers.

I've only recently started using Twitter myself, watching people like Tony (@Zappos) share random activities and photos while meeting other fascinating people or traveling to exotic places places like Beijing and the Google Zeitgeist. Prior to a recent trip to Las Vegas (near Zappos' world headquarters) I wondered just how friendly this Twitter society really was. So, I sent a Tweet directly to Tony.

"Heading to Las Vegas for shop.org next week -- can I stop by for a tour?"
The next morning I receive a reply:
"Yep, someone from our helpdesk will be emailing you re: tour, thanks!"

Apparently another component of the Zappos culture is to provide tours to just about anyone, so I'm glad I asked. The director of the help desk, Donavon (@Zappos_Drob), contacts me to arrange the shuttle from the airport. When I arrive, a bright yellow SUV emblazoned with the Zappos logo is waiting at the curb. One of the customer service representatives, Angela (@Zappos_Achege), is the driver -- they all take turns picking guests up from the airport.

With a pleasant welcome and cold water bottles, we're off to Henderson. Angela is inquisitive and friendly, asking about my trip and where I'm from. I ask her if the rumors are true about the odd interview process. She says they are "interesting" -- interviewed by six different directors she was finally asked, "what is the strangest thing you can do." The short trip takes us through a few nice neighborhoods until we arrive at a modern, clean office park. I've wondered what the Zappos campus would be like, and as we approach I see the first glimpse of some ultra casual workers taking a smoke break outside. I'm greeted with a "hello, welcome to Zappos" by almost everyone...although it doesn't sound contrived. Everyone seems genuinely happy that customers come to visit. The lobby is a hive of activity, with small bar stools poised against the reception desk to make me more comfortable as I sign in and receive an honorary name tag. A large sign on the wall reads, "Zappos.com -- Powered By Service." Pam is the first to greet me at the counter, with my name tag already filled out and a large "special guest" flag in her hand. The tour starts at a glass case with the founder's original pair of shoes (the ones he couldn't find and inspired the idea), along with the original business plan. That humble memento is juxtaposed near the crystal Bank of America award congratulating Zappos on it's first $6,000,000 line of credit. Several bookshelves contain the favorite books of the management team with titles like "Blueprint to a Billion," "Branded Customer Service," "Tribal Leadership," "Citizen Marketers," and many others. The books are handed out freely to employees and customers.

Down the first hallway I can tell that employees are used to seeing guests. They all manage to give some happy greeting and then keep working like it happens all the time. Turns out that as many as 20 trips are taken back & forth to the airport each day. Pam explains the importance of their technology group, talks about the marketing & creative talent, shows me the wall with recent boot camp graduates (everyone must attend training at the Kentucky distribution center), and lets me sample a small strawberry ice cream cone. Everything (except the Red Bull) in the break room is free to employees. And if folks can't get enough of the Internet, there are sub-stations set up for personal use. The upper floor houses most of the merchandising and customer service representatives. Somewhere between Couture and Shoes is a jungle-like atmosphere with palm fronds and leaves hanging from the ceiling. This is where Tony sits. I missed him on this visit -- he left for Orlando ten minutes earlier. Many of the sections of cubicles are missing the fabric panels. Workers walk right through the blank frames in defiance. There are shoes everywhere. Branded displays that you might see inside a normal shoe store are propped up in various places throughout the building, close enough so the reps can grab one to tell a customer more about it. At one stop on the tour I am gleefully greeted by someone named Dr. Vik, former chiropractor turned life coach. Before I realize what's happening, I find myself crowned (literally) and seated at a big red throne under a big "I'm Royalty at Zappos" sign in his office. My polaroid is added to the wall amid thousands of others. Under his desk are several boxes more, and he comments that he needs a bigger office now.

With all the commotion in the workplace, my nerves are calmed a bit when I see the relaxation room. Inside are several tranquility pods; plastic cocoons to escape from the hectic surroundings. Before I leave, I'm asked to take as many books as I'd like -- a sign that this company's passion and customer service philosophy should be shared with everyone.

On the way out the door, I'm asked to contribute to a beach ball-sized conglomeration of all the stickers from all the visitors that have gone before me. Somehow I know I'll be back some day.

A Social Brand: Before There Was Internet

It started with a simple message... "i love VB! :)"

On November 13th, 2007, at 3:34pm...the Vera Bradley page on FaceBook was born.

When the marketing team at Vera Bradley brainstormed ideas for the 2007 holiday season, suddenly it felt like the right time to engage fans online. After all, customers had been creating their own communities and chatting on blogs like LiveJournal and MySpace for months. Just a few years earlier the attitude was, "why would anyone spend time talking about handbags on the Internet?"

There have always been followers of this American success story...and they were talking about their special bond with the product long before Al Gore invented the Internet. The Vera Bradley brand has grown as if the company was deliberately using a direct selling model. But people weren't being paid for having home parties...they just shared their love affair with their favorite handbags whenever they got the chance. They shared their collections, gave gifts, and treated themselves to a little happiness in a colorful quilted bag.

Now they get together online.

"What bag did you use today," Sarah asks. The answers reveal a companionship with the product...."this one's going to class with me, but later I'm taking this one to work..."

Another post, "Is there anything you wish Vera Bradley made?" just gave the product development team the kind of information that used to take hours of brainstorming and cost thousands in research.

Over 36,000 FaceBook fans, 2,000 discussion topics and 1,200 wall posts later, this really should come as no surprise. After all, the company has featured its friends and family in catalogs since the beginning. Friends and family work for the company. New employees often comment how "everyone is just so nice" when they start their new jobs. Friendly, approachable, fun...authentic. It's the culture that makes this brand a no-brainer for social media. And with product names like "Java Blue" and "Raspberry Fizz" why wouldn't people want to talk?

The discussions aren't always so nice; questions about manufacturing or quality pop up and are debated. The biggest fans are brutally honest sometimes. People want to know why a certain color was retired, just when they started to like it. The new colors are stellar, or a total disappointment. No matter the topic, the loyalists will debate their position and share how they really feel. Like every relationship, sometimes you have to air your concerns -- it's the kind of authenticity and transparency people expect from their favorite brands.

If Vera Bradley were to stay away from the social crowd...only feed the craze with traditional media like ads, catalogs and mailers...would the brand continue to grow? Possibly. But as the brand evangelists continue to carry her products and tell her story, Vera Bradley would risk losing a new era of consumers who expect to hear a real voice. The images on the page would appear contrived; models staged for a photo shoot just to sell more quilted cotton handbags. Just another advertisement from a manufacturer trying to make money.

If the only brand elements a customer touches and sees are on cold paper, the company is saying that it doesn't want to have a real conversation with its customers. "Just buy our products and we'll keep making them." That wouldn't be logical, and would be contrary to the brand promise.

The communication paradigm shift may be painful to some execs and old-school marketers, but brands must constantly rethink how to engage customers in conversation, considering the high expectations and power of the crowd. For this company, it all started with a gift, and it is very fortunate to have sustained a social following that other companies can't buy.

Community Brands

The tree planted in my back yard comes from the Plant Center down the road. My wife saw a "tree sale" sign and couldn't resist, so I borrowed a neighbor's trailer and picked it up. It's a big tree.

The way I was treated at the Plant Center motivated me to share my story with everyone. They gave me advice because they wanted me to enjoy the tree and wanted to make sure it would last. They loaded the tree carefully into the trailer for me and provided instructions how to place it in the ground, even though I saved $100 by picking it up myself. And when I asked for some top soil to finish my landscape project, they charged half price even though I had just purchased a discount tree...without delivery.

Do you think I'll recommend this place to my entire neighborhood?

Now my neighbor has a tree planted in his back yard just like mine.