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Famous Last Words : Jeff Bezos, Genius!

September 2010 By Denny Hatch
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As long-time readers know, I am a fierce advocate of studying what others do and then "stealing smart."

The true Internet pioneer—the guy absolutely worth stealing from—is Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com. I became a customer early in the game and discovered s-m-o-o-t-h customer service. Or what I call CRM—customer relationship magic.

Bezos makes it easy to find products, makes it easy to order and treats customers as though we are gold (which we are!). When I first ordered a book from Amazon.com, I got an instant acknowledgment of the order. Soon after, Bezos would send me a disposition message—either the thing had been shipped (and here's how to track it) or there was an expected shipping date if it was not in stock and on order.

Back in 1997, Bezos introduced 1-Click order. See a book you like, click once and it's on its way to you. Wow!

However, this idea is not for stealing. On Sept. 28, 1999, Amazon.com received a business method patent for 1-Click; whereupon, it sued BarnesandNoble.com for patent infringement for its "Express Lane" one-click system. The courts upheld Bezos' claim on Dec. 13 of that year, totally screwing B&N out of a lot of Christmas business.

The Kindle
The 1-Click order system also set the table for Bezos' e-reader, the Kindle. I bought an early model and I love it!

In the June 18, 2009, issue of my Business Common Sense e-newsletter, I wrote up my experience as a Kindle owner and called Bezos the most important figure in book publishing since Gutenberg. I'll stand by that assessment. The rest—Nook, iPad, Sony Reader and others—are all knock-offs. "Imitation is the sincerest form of collective stupidity," said my late friend Bill Munro.

 

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Most Recent Comments:
Tom Smith - Posted on September 04, 2010
Denny:

I used to be a raving fan of Amazon.com but some of their marketing practices are misguided.

I think Jeff is taking his eye off the ball:
Consumer Insights on a Retailer not Thinking (http://bit.ly/ccALct) and Consumer Insights on Amazon.com's Absence of Customer Service (http://bit.ly/bafAfW).

This is very disconcerting since I'm a shareholder.

Tom
Click here to view archived comments...
Archived Comments:
Tom Smith - Posted on September 04, 2010
Denny:

I used to be a raving fan of Amazon.com but some of their marketing practices are misguided.

I think Jeff is taking his eye off the ball:
Consumer Insights on a Retailer not Thinking (http://bit.ly/ccALct) and Consumer Insights on Amazon.com's Absence of Customer Service (http://bit.ly/bafAfW).

This is very disconcerting since I'm a shareholder.

Tom