He was asked about the importance of actually being on the internet, yet Bezos response remained the same. It didn’t matter where they were whether online or in retail, their primary goal was their customers satisfaction. From the start, they’ve focused on creating a positive customer experience by having a good selection for their growing audience, lower prices than many retailers, and more information so the customer can make decisions they feel confident in. 

The interviewer repeated his question again regarding Amazon’s play to be on the internet, adding in the fact that they had all this real estate with distribution centers and high costs (I’m talking, in 1999, Amazon had about 4 million square feet of distribution centers around the world!!). But Bezos kept coming back to what mattered: his customers and the belief that all of this was setting them (Amazon) up to provide the best experience for the customer.

When the interviewer mentioned the expense of it all (again), Bezos politely corrected his point of view saying, You’re misunderstanding and you’re not looking at the math correctly. There’s one goal for Amazon. We obsess about our attention to the user experience. Our goal, our only goal, our only thing that we’re looking to do is to provide the best customer experience we possibly can for our customer.

That’s their model. It’s that simple. 

He went on further to explain that in 1999, when comparing the cost for retail stores versus the internet model with distribution centers, they believed it was being done incorrectly.

If someone were to go and buy a lease in a high traffic area, the cost per square foot for one of those retail operations would be anywhere from like $6-$8 a square foot. But these distribution centers could be 30 cents a square foot. So if he has 4 million square feet at 30 cents a square foot versus these retail stores that are paying $6-$8 a square foot in these high traffic areas, the math is completely different. And the beauty is that they’re able to generate their sales 100% online and then distribute those products in a timely matter to their customers because of their multiple center model and create a good user experience.

Bottom line: Amazon figured something out early on that no one else really focused on. People.

What remained constant in this entire interview was the importance of obsessing over your customer, caring about your customer, and making sure that they have a good user experience. 

When Bezos was asked if it was corporate arrogance that Amazon thought they could just jump into all these different industries and become the corporate leader overnight when you have so many other companies that have been doing this for a very long time, his reply was no, I don’t think so at all. He said in 1995 they started selling books and everybody said, these guys are computer guys. They don’t know anything about books. And ultimately he said, yeah, we don’t know anything about books but we actually care about our customers.

Amazon obsesses over their customers. Their goal is the customer experience, which trumps products every time. If you want a lifelong customer that trusts you to provide value and service, obsess over them! Give them an experience unlike any other. WOW them through the entire process (even when they don’t buy). 

Even when they didn’t know much about books, they focused on the people that would buy the books. And then over a period of time they got a little bit better at selling books, became a little smarter and now they are THE place to get books! It’s essentially how they built every “niche” in their marketplace, and it all begins with knowing their customers and giving them an experience that makes them feel important and cared for. 

When Amazon gets into a space they don’t know, they go for it anyway. Instead of getting hung up on what they don’t know, they have mastered resourcefulness. They find the experts in each respective industry and hire them to run that part of the business. They focus on what their customer wants and solving the problem, whatever it takes. They focus on the WHO not the HOW, with Russell Brunson (co-founder of ClickFunnels) talks about all the time! 

Now, it’s 20 years later and Amazon is one of the biggest companies in the world, taking over the world with their ease of access and service. Amazon’s entire model was around caring about the customer and it worked. 

Yours can too. 

I will leave you with this…

Obsess over your customers.

Based off of looking back at what Jeff Bezos knew in 1999 is if you’re running a business today, there are all kinds of things that you can do to optimize your business. However, the most important thing is to take care of your customers. Treat your customers like the most important thing in the world, because they are. They are the lifeline of your business. If you want to be successful, if you want to drive your business to the next level, think about ways that you can increase the customer experience of whatever it is that you’re selling and how you can improve their experience. Make them feel how important they are while providing a solution to their problem and you will have a customer for life. 

So that’s what I am committed to… serving YOU and providing you with the most value I possibly can. Please comment below and let me know your thoughts. And if you have anything you’d like to know about entrepreneurship, affiliate marketing, or anything business related, let me know. 

Chat soon.

Eric Beer