Adidas Telstar. List price on Zappos: $59.95.
I get to see these shoes at every possible angle.
I get reviews.
I get contact options that include "click here for live support".
The Zappos MLS
There are three million products in the Zappos database from over one thousand different shoe brands. Eight years ago this company didn’t exist. It was born from frustration. Born from the limitations shoe retailers built into their model.
Zappos’ founder believed in a vision. A vision many are attempting to bring to real estate. That one day, most Americans will shop online. And the companies that succeed will be those that deliver the greatest selection and the best customer service.
In 1999, Zappos launched, defined by these two words – Selection and Speed. A brand was born.
Selection and speed. The two critical components in delivering high-end customer service. That’s their differentiation. It defines their business.
Revenue:
1999: Almost nothing
2000: $1.6 mm
2001: $8.6 mm
2002: $32 mm
2003: $70 mm
2004: $184 mm
2005: $370 mm
2006: $597 mm
2007: $800 mm (projected)
Today, every one of Zappos’ 1,300 employees are run through of a rigorous four-week stint at the company’s customer loyalty boot camp. Service is not some credo plastered on their website. It’s not a term that holds a different meaning for each employee, expressed 1,300 different ways. It’s not relegated to just one department. Zappos is powered by service from top to bottom.
Speed and selection. Two words that should define a real estate search.
Selection = Every home for sale in the marketplace.
Speed = Instant access to someone incredibly prepared to help you buy one.
Every Zappos transaction concludes with a customer feedback survey.
It gives meaning to their brand.
It tells the customer that the things they stand for are real.
It says my opinion matters.
Real estate is filled with over a million wannabe brands. All share similar mission statements, similar brand markers, slogans and tag lines. Most mean nothing to the consumer. Over the last ten years business flourished despite it. Today, many are in the red because of it.
Zappos believes if they “continue to focus on providing the absolute best service and the absolute best shopping experience,” they will grow as a company.
Do you believe this would hold true for real estate?
– Davison
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Short answer…yes. Long answer…the challenge within the real estate industry is different, and much more difficult to surmount, than the challenge in the footwear industry that Zappos has clearly met.
Your shopping experience with Zappos is one of almost endless choices…many more than you would find at any of their competitors.
The problem with our industry isn't as simple as a "lack of selection." It's the low level of service delivered by the great majority of agents for what consumers define as a very high price.
This market dissonance is further complicated by NAR TV spots that showcase agents in a light few consumers ever experience. As I write this, there are hundreds and probably even thousands of agents busying themselves memorizing scripts that communicate how they are "proactive" and different from the great majority of "those other agents." But there is a major credibility gap between those scripted words and the typically mundane actions that usually follow.
So if a brokerage is willing to define "absolute best service" and "absolute best shopping experience" truthfully (And no one ever had their "best shopping experience" if they end up feeling as if they've been ripped off at the end of the transaction) then this is definitely a recipe for success in real estate. Just as soon as the great majority of us stop talking about authenticity and start believing in it.