Amazon.com celebrated its 15th anniversary a few days ago on July 16th. While 15 years is a short time, it is a considerable milestone in the digital space. It is one of very few companies that has evolved over the years and delivered for its customers, day in and day out. Surviving and growing over this time period is not an easy task. In celebration of Amazon.com’s 15th anniversary, here are a few lessons for media companies:
- Success takes time: Right now, the media landscape is an exciting place for everyone involved. Success is not overnight, nor will it ever be. Give digital media a chance. Amazon today is very different from the company it was 15 years ago.
- Growth takes time: 15 years ago, very few people purchased products online. Today, a vast majority do. Amazon.com is successful because it was there when no one else was. It might not have been profitable earlier on, but today Amazon.com is one of the largest retailers in the world.
- Variety: If you visit Amazon.com today, you can purchase anything from chewing gum to exercise bikes to clothes. That’s variety. Some people may purchase one thing, others might prefer something completely different. Offer variety.
- Compete: A lot of media companies, new and old, small and big are afraid to compete. With the Kindle, Amazon is competing aggressively against giants such as Apple, Barnes and Noble, Borders, etc. Surprisingly, they’re doing well. Competition has always been healthy.
- Open: Nearly all my media is purchased (DVDs, MP3s, movies, etc.) from Amazon.com. The same applies towards books. With Amazon’s Kindle platform, their media offerings are available on dozens of different devices. By providing an open platform, they’re making it easy for their customers and hence retaining business in the long run.
- Customer Service: If you’ve ever called Amazon.com, you’ll realize that their customer service agents are always helpful and courteous. Often times, the resolve problems instantly. Very few companies do that without making their customers feel like criminals.
- Risk: While risk is standard practice in the media space, Amazon.com manages risk well. They’re starting to roll out their buy-back program, where you ship your books/DVDs/games to them in return for Amazon.com gift certificates. Risky? Yes. Huge potential? Absolutely.
- Offerings: Amazon.com has realized that there are a few customers who purchase more products online than in stores (myself included). Therefore, Amazon successfully launched Amazon Prime years ago, making it easy for high-volume customers to purchase products more frequently. Offer premium products to your premium customers.
- Experiment: If a company was capable of making every product successful, it would do so. But, that’s rarely the case. Amazon.com has and continues to experiment across the board. Some of them pay off, others don’t. In the end, these experiments create better products for the company and better offerings for customers.
- Investments: Amazon.com has invested a lot of $$ by buying companies. Major names include Zappos.com and Audible.com. These investments might appear to be large, but Amazon tends to manage it’s investments well.
After nearly 15 years, Amazon is vastly different company than it was when it started. 15 years from today, it’ll be different again. Growth is not easy, neither is adapting to the changing landscape. Amazon knows that. Today, it may be their biggest reason for success.
