Zappos and Customer Service

It may sound obvious, but customer service should be just as important to a brand's marketing plan as the advertising. Maybe more so.

We tend to think of marketing as just the advertising and promotion, but truthfully a strategic customer service plan is probably more important. Nothing shapes perceptions around a brand more than the real interactions with company personnel.

Zappos knows this only too well. Customer service is at the heart of its brand proposition, and in fact it was their commitment to best-in-class customer service that put them on the e-commerce map.

This year's advertising campaign, the first for the brand in a very long time, highlights Zappos customer service as its key brand differentiator.

With puppets created to look like real company representatives, actual customer service conversations are re-enacted to prove the brand's commitment. Of course only the most dramatic and entertaining are featured, but that's part of the allure. If the brand is able to handle these customer service requests, then surely they will be able to handle the simpler issues.

So smart of the brand to put customer service at the center of the brand's promise, and to communicate it loud and clear. Particularly when it competes in a category of sameness (consumers can pretty much get this merchandise at loads of places online).

If you'd like to see one of the spots, click here.

What's your experience? Jim