Zappos will seek to create value for its target market, such as young and adult fashion lovers with medium income levels in the U.S. and abroad, by offering a wide selection of clothing and home product categories online. The pride of place will be given to over twenty categories of shoes, ranging from aerobic/athletic models to eco-friendly boots and the Zappos Couture line, followed by accessories (bags and eyeglasses), the various items of clothing for both women and men, and houseware. Using zappos.com, Zappos will deliver retail and customer care services, including informational support, product shipping, operating a day-and-night call center, coming up with individualized delivery solutions for customers, and implementing a client-friendly return policy. The business plan’s success is likely due to its realistic nature and adaptability to the ever-changing retail market environments stemming from utilizing a flexible and decentralized Holarctic structure.
Mission/Vision Statement
Zappos’s mission centers on providing the best possible quality of customer service in shoe/clothing retail and creating ‘wow’ experiences. The company’s vision revolves around bringing true happiness to stakeholders, including clients, vendors that the service collaborates with, and employees.
Core Values
Zappos has selected ten core values to inform service delivery. The values of “delivering WOW through service,” creating “fun/weirdness,” and being adventurous were chosen to support the clientele’s desire for self-expression by offering endless styles and options (Askin & Petriglieri, 2016, p. 7). Embracing change, being passionate, pursuing growth, and “doing more with less” were emphasized to maximize the organization’s productivity and wisdom in resource allocation decisions (Askin & Petriglieri, 2016, p. 7). Finally, promoting honest relationships, building a positive team spirit, and staying humble were selected to embrace Zappos’s ethical excellence when reaching the vision.
Team & Org Structure
Tony Hsieh, Zappos’s CEO, will bring valuable takeaways from his experiences at Link Exchange to ensure the enterprise’s profitability, and his expertise in fostering connectedness will help Zappos to create positive team environments. Alfred Lin, the chairman and the business’s CFO, will apply his business acumen, experiences in the food industry, and profound knowledge of statistics to promote Zappos’s financial growth and stable returns on investments. Except for the executive leadership team, Zappos will be structured as a Holarctic entity with temporary non-fixed functional roles, with the HR department consisting of lead links, compensation appraisers, and mentors responsible for process guidance, employee development, and salaries, respectively (Askin & Petriglieri, 2016). Flexible circles consisting of lead links, rep links, and facilitators will be established to proceed with the business’s functional tasks.
Products and Services Line
Product Offering(s)
- Shoes – branded footwear items of various types to offer aesthetically pleasing solutions to protect the feet.
- Accessories – branded eyewear to enhance vision and offer protection from excessive insolation: handbags/cosmetic bags to carry daily essentials and self-care products.
- Clothing – branded head-to-toe apparel that offers physical protection, comfort, and the variability of styles.
- Houseware – branded aromatherapy products, toys, holiday decorations, and other non-essential items to create a festive atmosphere.
- Zappos Couture – high-end fashion products to offer exceptional footwear and clothing styles for the pickiest customers.
Service Offerings
- Online shop and parcel delivery – offering convenient online shopping and order tracking experiences.
- Returns – emphasizing client-oriented, earning customers’ trust, and increasing profits in the long-term perspective.
- Customer support/call center – differentiating Zappos from the competition, providing clients with assistance in purchasing, addressing preventable disputes/conflicts, and offering customized service.
Pricing Model
With a cost-based pricing model, branded products’ prices will be determined on an individual basis depending on each item’s purchase price and operating costs. The cost of customer services, including call center representatives’ wages ($11 per hour at a minimum) and shipping, will be included in each product’s price. The markup on products will be at least 50% since the business should account for the expensive overnight and international delivery services (Askin & Petriglieri, 2016).
Market Analysis: Target Market
Zappos is an e-commerce company that targets and retains online consumer providing an excellent service and a wide range of clothing, shoes, accessories and houseware. It targets male and females, 20-40 years old, from middle class, predominantly with children as they have a substantial purchasing power and offered product lines are aligned with their preferences and demands. The shop is visited by millions of consumers every month.
Buyer Personas
Zappo’s typical customer is an American middle-class woman, 25-45 years old, educated, married, and highly likely with children who lives in an urban or suburban area. She may be regarded as the company’s “happy hunter,” or a regular buyer, and Zappos was recommended for her by other women. Although she is looking for the most affordable prices, impulsive purchasing stimulated by sales and special offers is typical for her as well. All in all, a customer is looking for the best combination of customer service, low prices, and comfort that presupposes the availability of free shipping and return.
Location Analysis
Zappos is an online business and this format is associated with multiple benefits. The company’s headquarters and the majority of employees are located in Vegas as the peculiarity of this city is its well-developed service industry (Zappos, n.d.). However, as Zappo’s website is available all over the world and it delivers products in many countries, it provides an opportunity to target as many customers as possible.
Competitor Analysis
As a matter of fact, Zappos operates in a highly competitive environment. According to Porter’s Five Forces, competition may be created from new entrants, already existing rival sellers, substitute products and services, customer bargaining power, and supplier bargaining power (Thompson et al., 2021). In relation to Zappos, the main forces of this company are already existing rivals and customer bargaining power. In other words, it is forced to apply new strategies for competitive advantages as other companies offer similar products and services. In addition, it should constantly consider customers’ preferences and expectations to ensure their loyalty.
References
Zappos. (n.d.). Where we’re located. Web.
Thompson, A., Peteraf, M., Gamble, J., & Strickland, A. (2021). Crafting & executing strategy: The quest for competitive advantage: Concepts and cases (23rd ed.). McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Marketing Plan
Positioning Strategy
[Why are potential buyers going to be interested in your product? How will you address your buyer persona’s biggest challenges and goals? How will you use a website to your advantage?]
Acquisition Channels
[What are your main customer acquisition channels (e.g., search engine marketing, event marketing, blogging, co-marketing, paid, etc.) and what do you plan to prioritize this year?]
Tools and Technology
[What systems will you equip your marketing team with? Will you use a CMS, marketing automation software, or blogging software? If so, list it here.]
Sales Plan
Sales Methodology
[How will you reach and engage with new leads? Are you pursuing an inbound or outbound sales strategy? Why does your prospecting strategy make sense for your business?]
Sales Organization Structure
[Who will be in charge of selling your products and/or services? How will sales and marketing work together? How will the breakdown of roles look?]
Sales Channels
[What will you utilize to sell your products? Will you sell online, in stores, or through sales reps? Are you going to sell at your own store or distribute to other stores?]
Tools and Technology
[Describe the sales tools you will utilize – such as live chat, website and ecommerce sales integrations, your CRM software, and call software – and how they will help you hit your goal.]
Legal Notes
Legal Structure
[What type of legal structure will your business be?]
Legal Considerations
[What legal considerations does your business need to keep in mind for its core operating procedures? List all government registrations, permits, health codes, insurance requirements, and zoning laws you need to address and how you have addressed/will address them.]
Financial Considerations
Startup Costs
[Outline each of your startup costs as a line item, followed by a total cost. You may also want to provide a more detailed list of costs – including vendors and payment dates – in the appendix].
Sales Forecasts
[Provide your sales forecasts for the next several quarters or years. You may want to summarize the forecasts and point to a bottom-line metric, then point to a more detailed spreadsheet in your appendix.]
Break-Even Analysis
[Share at which point in time and after how many dollars/units in sales are reached before you break even. You may want to attach a more in-depth break-even analysis in the appendix if this section gets too convoluted.]
Projected P&L
[Explain your profit and loss projections for at least one year. If you’re expected to turn a profit shortly after one year, include that date in this section. If not, point readers to the full projected P&L in the appendix.]
Funding Requirements
[What funding will you need in the immediate future to make your business a success?]
Appendix
[The following sections are each optional – feel free to include, exclude, or add any charts or information you think is appropriate.
- Floor plans
- Patents
- Org chart
- Financial charts]