Bezos speaks

[fjtorres]

Why customer focus is key:

"If you have a customer-centric culture, that cures a lot of ills,” responds Bezos. “Let’s say you’re the leader in a particular arena, if you’re competitor-focused and you’re already the leader, then where does your energy come from? Whereas, if you’re customer focused, and you’re already the leader, customers are never satisfied.”
He continues, “If you’re customer-focused, you’re always waking up wondering, how can we make that customer say, wow? We want to impress our customers — we want them to say, wow. That kind of divine discontent comes from observing customers and noticing that things can always be better.”

Video of the interview linked at:
http://www.geekwire.com/2013/intervi...s-competitors/

[frahse]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Why customer focus is key:

Quote:
"If you have a customer-centric culture, that cures a lot of ills,” responds Bezos. “Let’s say you’re the leader in a particular arena, if you’re competitor-focused and you’re already the leader, then where does your energy come from? Whereas, if you’re customer focused, and you’re already the leader, customers are never satisfied.”
He continues, “If you’re customer-focused, you’re always waking up wondering, how can we make that customer say, wow? We want to impress our customers — we want them to say, wow. That kind of divine discontent comes from observing customers and noticing that things can always be better.”

It always confounds me when "leaders" spill the beans. Essentially, "here is the key to my success. Here is how I think."

Do they really want to appear on magazine covers, on Charlie Rose that much so as to give away their strategy and marching orders?

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by frahse

It always confounds me when "leaders" spill the beans. Essentially, "here is the key to my success. Here is how I think."

Do they really want to appear on magazine covers, on Charlie Rose that much so as to give away their strategy and marching orders?

Its marketing.

"We are customer focused. We will go the extra mile for the customer. The other guys are only in it for a quick buck. They are also too dense to imitate us so I can safely spill the secret sauce and nothing will change."

[crich70]

He's right though. If the customer isn't happy they'll let it be known in different ways. Bad advertising goes a lot farther than good does.

[Sregener]

There are no secrets in business. This isn't rocket science. The business that does the best job of making their customers satisfied is always going to come out on top. The business that does a poor job of keeping their customers happy had better be paying their lobbyists a lot of money to make sure the government grants them "favors" or they won't be in business for long.

[AnemicOak]

Bezos has been saying similar things for years. Doesn't seem to have inspired Amazon's competitors to have better CS.

[Penforhire]

I think it is correct that there are no secrets to excellence in business leadership. There are just so few leaders that "get it right." Far too many leaders say the words but don't walk the talk.

Most businesses seem accounting-focused. Their customers and their own employees do not have enough priority in their strategic planning. It is more important to hit metrics like increasing inventory turns or accounts payable days than to satisfy customers. That is the recipe for the sea of mediocrity I swim in daily.

[Fat Abe]

It could be that his real secret is hiring people who are clever and hardworking. The infrastructure which Amazon has built is amazing. Everything from the order entry system to the warehouse to the returns department. They got all the details right, and they execute. What motivates each employee? The customer.

[fjtorres]

Seems to be "Bezos the guru" week.
Now it the Motley Fool with 20 quotes:
http://www.fool.com/investing/genera...ever-said.aspx

A sample:

1. "All businesses need to be young forever. If your customer base ages with you, you're Woolworth's."

2. "There are two kinds of companies: Those that work to try to charge more and those that work to charge less. We will be the second."

3. "Your margin is my opportunity."

4. "If you only do things where you know the answer in advance, your company goes away."

5. "We've had three big ideas at Amazon that we've stuck with for 18 years, and they're the reason we're successful: Put the customer first. Invent. And be patient."

6. "I very frequently get the question: 'What's going to change in the next 10 years?' And that is a very interesting question; it's a very common one. I almost never get the question: 'What's not going to change in the next 10 years?' And I submit to you that that second question is actually the more important of the two -- because you can build a business strategy around the things that are stable in time. ... [I]n our retail business, we know that customers want low prices, and I know that's going to be true 10 years from now. They want fast delivery; they want vast selection. It's impossible to imagine a future 10 years from now where a customer comes up and says, 'Jeff I love Amazon; I just wish the prices were a little higher,' [or] 'I love Amazon; I just wish you'd deliver a little more slowly.' Impossible. And so the effort we put into those things, spinning those things up, we know the energy we put into it today will still be paying off dividends for our customers 10 years from now. When you have something that you know is true, even over the long term, you can afford to put a lot of energy into it."

I wonder if the media is going to adopt him as the "new Jobs".

[frahse]

Originally Posted by Fat Abe

-
It could be that his real secret is hiring people who are clever and hardworking. -

Donald Trump would add: "and then watch them closely."

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Bezos has been saying similar things for years. Doesn't seem to have inspired Amazon's competitors to have better CS.

To many companies "customer service" is just cost.

Most companies want you to buy stuff, and then go away, until you want to buy more stuff. These companies don't understand that this is not what makes a product or a company great.

A company becomes great if it reacts adequately to a problem/question, and resolves it promptly. In the end, it's the CS that will be remembered when buying other products.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

To many companies "customer service" is just cost.

Indeed, mediocre companies treat customer service as a cost center to be minimized instead of a core competence to be nurtured. That is one of the most common reasons that "shiny" doesn't last.

[cfrizz]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Indeed, mediocre companies treat customer service as a cost center to be minimized instead of a core competence to be nurtured. That is one of the most common reasons that "shiny" doesn't last.

Precisely! Give me good customer service when I have a problem and you will pretty much have me as a customer forever who will gladly spread the word about how good you are!

Many talk the talk but refuse to walk the walk. They will not get my money.

[Katsunami]

I've worked in customer support some time ago, as a job beside school.

The training is all about the customer, on how to read/listen to the requests carefuly, on how to phrase clear responses, so issues are promptly resolved and the customer does not need to mail / call / chat back again...

Then, the real world.

Mail: Faster! Send out 40 mails a day... no wait! Not enough. Do 50. Hey! Some people managed 57 mails... next week the target is 60 mails a day!

Chat: Hm... only one customer? That's nothing. You can handle two in one chat session. Or three. No wait, let's try four. If there's a slow one, pick a fifth!

Calls: What? 7 minutes?! A call should be shorter than 5 minutes! We actually want a target of 4:30. You must handle that faster. Huh, whaddayasay? OF COURSE you can walk 91 year old gramps with his 12 year old computer through that wireless printer setup in 4:30 minutes. Why wouldn't you be able to?

Result:

Don't read mails. Just read the subject and hope your canned response will work.
Don't read chats. Actually, don't chat. Tell them you'll mail them instructions.
Don't listen to customers: tell the you'll send them a mail, then hang up.

Copy/Paste canned responses like crazy: *send* *send* *send* *send* *send*...

Don't solve any problems, have hugely annoyed customers.