Brand Spotlight: How Amazon Won Us All Over

Ever since the retail industry has gotten a digital facelift, only a handful of brands have experienced unbeatable growth. Today, Amazon is a top-of-mind digital company that consumers are browsing all day long – and has quickly become THE retail giant.

Consumer behavior in the retail industry has changed entirely within the past decade. Most customers choose to make purchases from the within the safe walls of their homes via online retailers such as Amazon. Gone are the days when customers browsed stores relentlessly hoping to find what they’re looking for. While malls still exist (and thrive), every customer is aware of the option to purchase something online – usually at a fraction of the cost.

Online retailers like Amazon have caused the retail industry to shapeshift, now providing instant gratification and convenience to customers. Over the past few years, this has forced many brands to hop onto the e-commerce trend and in some cases, close their physical brick and mortar stores to survive. Here’s how.

When it comes to Amazon, every aspect of their business model is perfectly crafted to provide convenience and a state-of-the-art experience for the consumer. Let’s not forget, they were the first company to introduce the integration of robotic technology into their fulfillment centers to help their human workers!

There is no denying that Amazon has won many of us over, with their forward-thinking business model and ability to enhance our experiences with the infusion of technology into retail.

Here are a few hacks that Amazon lives by when it comes to customer experience, that serve as learning lessons for the rest of us.

Customer experience training is a part of the Amazon onboarding process.

Amazon hires all kinds of employees, from product managers to customer service representatives. No matter what their role at Amazon entails, their onboarding process will similarly have a special focus on customers. It is essential for Amazon employees to complete call center training within their first few weeks on the job, to better understand consumer needs and interactions. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos strongly believes in this tactic to build an overall importance around customer satisfaction within all levels of the business.

Instilling customer experience as an end goal for all employees is a great way to keep priorities aligned from beginning to end. Amazon relies on its customers to stay prominent as an e-commerce business and continue to thrive as one of the most innovative tech companies in the world.

Understanding that your customers determine your success is an important part of building strategies for growing your business.

The customer sits in on meetings.

Jeff Bezos is known for his savvy business tactics, one of which is his recurring habit of rolling in at least one empty chair into important business meetings. He then informs everyone else at the meeting to consider their customer as the occupant of the empty chair, whom he is known to claim the most important person in the room. Bezos has gained immense popularity as a leader, especially for implementing such habits that have amplified the course of Amazon’s success. This is a top-down way of ensuring that customer satisfaction is considered while making impactful decisions to move the business forward.

At the end of the day, Amazon’s success relies heavily on digital conversions and overall satisfaction. Bezos’ ability to instill this thoughtfulness in his employees while strategizing new projects ensures the basis of their business isn’t jeopardized. During these meetings, Bezos is strictly aligned with what customers want (convenience, personalization, choice, etc.) and don’t want (delays, poor experience, lack of personalization, etc.).

As a CEO, he is known to obsess over customer wants and needs, and often makes headlines for going above and beyond in this regard. But his efforts have surely paid off, as Amazon is known to be ranked in the top percentile of companies on the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

The customer journey is seamless (and if you disagree, you know who to call).

If you’ve ever shopped at Amazon, then you know to expect e-mails and alerts regarding your purchase and overall experience. This is called the customer journey and Amazon does an excellent job of ensuring the journey doesn’t end at checkout. They will send you status updates of your shipment, and will send you surveys regarding your thoughts on the product.

Many other e-commerce websites are using this tactic to ensure the customer feels valued and looped-in on their purchase. This also helps Amazon gain data points on their customer to help better personalize their Amazon experience when they return for another visit.

For anyone that encounters an issue with their Amazon purchase, the customer service number is easy to find with a quick Google search or on their website. The best part: You can contact their customer service department 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They are always available to help you, and will ensure the problem is resolved efficiently and quickly.