Project included: ability to post news and photos from iPhone, image gallery, class descriptions

Getting dropped off by Zappos shuttle

In January I toured the Zappos head office in Las Vegas. I had read Tony Hsieh’s book, Delivering Happiness, and was eager to see the concepts he’s talked about in-person.

Wow. I am blown away.

Zappos.com is the world’s largest online shoe store, but they’re probably better known for their amazing corporate culture. During my tour, I was able to experience that culture first-hand.

Highlights

Strong values

Zappos has some very strong corporate values. They’re posted everywhere; I even found them in the bathroom. Unlike many corporate statements, the employees at Zappos are actually passionate about their core values. They can recite them off by heart. Even more important: I could see them living the values through their actions, and through the way they treated each other and their guests.

Positive people

I couldn’t find a negative person at Zappos: from the friendly guy who picked me up in the shuttle, to my tour guide, to the developer I spoke to afterwards, everyone was positive and upbeat. You can tell that they genuine enjoy their work. How are they getting all their people to be so gosh-darned nice? Well, it’s #7 on their values list: Build A Positive Team And Family Spirit.

Their office is a creative cornucopia

The office decorations at Zappos are insane! Every team is allowed to decorate their space the way they’d like. There is stuff everywhere: streamers hung from the ceiling, Christmas lights strewn over dividers, and handmade posters on the walls. I found it inspiring. Employees feel a freedom to express themselves, and actually enjoy being at the office.

It’s not a gimmick

Before my visit to Zappos I wondered if their company culture was just a gimmick used to attract new employees. But I’ve seen it in action: have a strong set of corporate values, and a strong goal (delivering happiness to customers) really works.

Photos

Photos from my tour of the Zappos HQ in Las Vegas, Nevada!

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The 3 things your visitors want to see:

While I can’t speak for every audience, generally, a website visitor wants to do the following:

1. Find your contact information: This is often overlooked.  The web is the new phone book.  When people are looking for a company’s contact information, they’ll head to your website.  For most businesses, this means you should have your phone number, email or address right on your homepage.  This has an added benefit for mobile users: they can click on your address and get directions, or click on your phone number and call you immediately. Your “contact page” should also be easy to find, and prominently featured on your main menu.
2. Find out who you are, and what you stand for: what’s your story?  Who are your staff people?  Why are you in business?  Cut the corporate-speak and use your relational voice to describe your business.  Use 1-3 paragraphs to describe your business, and your history.  After that, introduce yourself and your staff with a short bio.
3. Hear your expertise: this is where blogging comes in.  One of the greatest gifts you can give your visitors is good information. Share your expertise in your field.  Answer questions like: “what are common mistakes consumers make?”, or “what to look for in a service provider.”  The owners of 37signals have this axiom: people trust those that teach them. The best way to do this is to start a blog, and post between 1-4 times a month.

[In business] you shouldn’t swim upstream.  Don’t try to change people’s behavior.  Go to where your customers are. – Ramit

Like Ramit, I learned this lesson the hard way.  Growing up in a small town, I always wished there was a small, local shop I could visit to buy clothing, skateboards, and snowboard equipment.

Years later, after graduating from university, I decided to make it happen.  Together with two partners, we launched The Real Deal: a local skateboard shop in a small town.  Our mantra was: “You don’t need to go to the city to shop, you can shop local!”

And our shop was awesome.  We really cared about our customers.  We had a well designed store interior.  We stocked the best brands.

Here’s the problem: the city was only 40 minutes away. Everyone in our small town was already used to driving to the city.  They would make a day of it on Saturday or Sunday.  With a whole day of shopping, they could visit multiple shops, with a bigger selection than we could ever have.  Our customers weren’t shopping local.

We thought we could change their behavior. We launched “shop local” campaigns, we developed relationships, and we offered competitive pricing.  We also sponsored local athletes, put on shows, and even launched our own magazine.  But none of that mattered, because local consumers liked going into the big city for shopping.

Don’t ever lose track of the idea that a business needs to make money.  In retail, that means lots and lots of traffic.  If there’s no traffic at your proposed location, in doesn’t matter how awesome your shop is or how good your idea is, it’s not going to fly.  This applies to other businesses as well: you can’t change the way an entire market operates.

The questions we need to ask are: what are my potential customers doing right now?  How do they shop for my proposed product or service? How can I go to “where they’re at?”