How Amazon became a giant in the customer success world

Customer service, and customer success are two very different things. The main variable that separates the two is the fact that customer success is all about ensuring that the customer’s experience is a smooth one, even after the transactional has been completed on the customer’s side. Now it’s your turn as a customer success provider to make sure the customer’s every need is met, even before they make a request for it.

One company that has undeniably excelled in this field, is Amazon. It is a powerhouse that any startup should look to imitate, in order to grow massively.

While I could sit here and praise Amazon all day, I’m more excited to share the specific strategies it implements to produce the success we all see. The first strategy Amazon uses is:

Convenience:

I can not stress enough how much convenience plays a large role in the success of any company. We can all agree that the idea of using the drive-thru is much more appealing than actually walking into your favorite burger joint. Do you know why? It’s because it’s much more convenient. See? We as consumers value the ability to have an easy, and hassle-free shopping experience. Amazon does this by giving us access to a large catalog of the world’s most sought after items, and gives us the option to have them delivered the next morning for free.

In this new norm of living in a society which is new crippled with the fear of pandemics, more of us are forced to work from home and are fearful about going grocery shopping. Not surprisingly, Amazon’s stocks have increased by 60% during this time, with its new integration of same-day grocery delivery services. As we advance into the future, it’s safe to say that convenience will be an important component to any successful company.

Promise-keeping:

Have you ever shopped during the holiday season and realized that you bought an item that was priced lower at another store? It happened to me last year, and I simply took the item back to the store, and they matched the other company’s price. Two things happened at that moment: I saved money by getting the deficit refunded to me, and it made me purchase a second item from them. They were able to double their revenue from me because they upheld their promise on price matching. Another way Amazon provides me with a great experience is their promise of safe package deliveries, which they practice by notifying you as soon they successfully deliver it along with a confirmation photo. They also refund the entire amount you pay for an item if you’re dissatisfied, or simply do not want it anymore.

This is nice and all, but the most memorable moment I experienced with Amazon, was when I received a hair product that contained caffeine. I’m specifically allergic to caffeine and become very anxious, and experience panic symptoms when I ingest it. It was obviously not their fault, because I should have paid closer attention to the ingredients, but they made it their mission to rectify the issue. After a brief call with one of their customer success providers, they issued me a full refund, and gave me a voucher to get another hair product (which was caffeine-free) for free. I was thoroughly impressed and pleased with how caring they were regarding my health, and my needs. This is what customer success is all about: providing your customers with the feeling of being cared for, and appreciated.

Being the owner of 3 fast-paced businesses, I strive to put this skill into practice in my everyday life. One instance I can recall having successfully implemented this practice was when I had received an inquiry from a client I had photographed 5 years prior. She was distraught because the link to her photos had been deactivated due to years and years of inactivity. I felt her pain because I could clearly remember the both of us being outside on one of the hottest days of the year, capturing those images. I immediately sought out the reason for the error message. It took a few days, but I kept constant communication with her in order to reassure her that I was doing everything in my power to help retrieve her images. There definitely were a couple of moments in which I was ready to give up but decided to put myself in her shoes. Not too long after, I was able to restore her link as promised. Her reaction was priceless, and she even went as far as leaving a great review about my services, which increased my revenue for the remainder of the year. Being a great customer success provider is about putting your customers’ needs above yours, and making sure they are well taken care of. This is honestly the most valuable lesson I’ve learned from Amazon, and I couldn’t be any happier. This is why I believe Amazon has mastered the realm of customer success.