Zappos: How To Build A Brand That Matters.

Tony, baby. You had me at overnight shipping.

When I need my Naughty Monkeys, I need them now. I wore my favorites when Zappos’ CEO Tony Hsieh spoke at the recent WOMMA Summit and I will admit to flashing my stilettos at him as he walked by my table. I wanted him to see customer delight in action.

For Tony Hsieh, it’s all about owning Z. Over the years, the brand has done a masterful job of appropriating Z’s, from engaging dubious celebs in creating Z comic book characters on The Apprentice to pioneering a new Customer Service phenomenon to boldly revolutionizing employee training.

While the rest of the world is trapped on hold with some call center in the Philippines or scouring Help pages for signs of humanity, Zappos‘ 9-million happy customers find an 1-800 number on every single page. Along with this 24/7 real living-breathing person access, they get free shipping, free return shipping and a 365-day return policy.

But Zappos doesn’t stop there. In its mission to build a brand that matters, the company tapped into a customer-centric toolkit of social media tools, transforming the customer service industry forever. From the 440+ Zappos employees who tweet (lead by @Zappos, CEO Tony Hsieh) to blogs to innovative rep training plus a corporate culture book that sets the tone, the thriving retailer is authentically a service company that happens to sell shoes.

To build a brand that matters, Tony outlines these key things:

• Vision: Whatever you’re thinking, think bigger. Chase the vision not the money.
• Repeat customers: Great product, great service or low prices. Choose and focus on two of the three.
• Transparency: Be real and you have nothing to fear.Zappos is real everywhere, from its blogs to Twitter to ZapposTV to its real human being customer service agents. (Click here for an amazing story.) Tony even blogged when the company sadly had to reduce its workforce.

Zappos mandates that all employees be a good fit with core values and company culture. Interviews and performance reviews are in fact 50% based on this blend — and Tony has actually fired C-level executives who while talented and experienced, did not fit the culture. Here are some Zappos’ values to live by:

Committable Core Values

• Deliver WOW through service
• Embrace and drive change
• Create fun and a little weirdness
• Be adventurous creative and openminded
• 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.

Guru’s Note: Having been inside countless corporations over the years, I’ve been privy to numerous positioning statements, rules to live by, business mantras and the like. Some of these do become deeply embedded in corporate culture (I can pick out an Ogilvy alum the moment they utter ‘Where’s the Big Idea?) others are merely the latest blather from On High. (You know who you are) What makes Zappos’ Core Values meaningful is the link between the ‘emotional’ and ‘functional.’ If the customer service agent hadn’t been able to act on her instinct to send flowers (see Amazing Story link above), then all the WOWS and DELIGHTS mean nada.