Skip to Content (press Enter/Return)
Essays
Topics
preview

Succeeding in Business: A Review of Billion Dollar United States Businesses

Best Essays
Open Document
Succeeding in Business:

A Review of Billion-Dollar United States Businesses

Businesses that hire during recession are rare. Businesses that create jobs while providing uncommonly exceptional customer service are even more obscure. That's what Zappos, Hewlett-Packard and USAA have been doing since the companies were created. The companies have been able to balance all of their duties while increasing their gross profit and keeping the customers happy with their service. This paper considers both the leadership and marketing aspects of these companies and answers the following questions:

1. How the company got started?

2. What leadership philosophies do they encourage?

3. What marketing tactics do they use?

4. Where can these companies evolve from here?

The paper finally ends with some suggestions for how each company can improve their current status in the market. Understanding how billion-dollar business manage and market their company during a recession can spawn other companies to improve their business practices.

Zappos: A company history

As a relatively new company that started in 1999, Zappos has grown from just a thought into a billion-dollar company in less than ten years. Its roots started with San Francisco entrepreneur, Nick Swinmurn, who was searching for a pair of quality shoes at the local mall. Swinmurn could not find any shoes that would fit his style or his shoe size. He had the same problem online because the online stores did not offer the selection that he desired. So, the businessman decided to start his own online shoe company that would curtail to varying shoe buyers who valued different brands, styles, qualities, and even pocketbooks.

So began the company that would revolutionize the onl...

... middle of paper ...

...are you?. New York Times. Retrieved February 23, 2011, from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/business/10 corner.html

Cass, M. (2009, May 4). Zappos Milestone: Q&A with Nick Swinmurn. Press center. Retrieved February 24, 2011, from http://about.zappos.com/press-center/media-coverage/zappos-milestone-qa-nick-swinmurn

Chessum, J. (2010). Tony Hsieh. Retrieved from http://www.inc.com/ss/how-to-make-customers-love-you#4

Fast Company. (2005, March 1). The Shoe Fits | Fast Company. FastCompany.com - Where ideas and people meet. Retrieved April 12, 2011, from http://www.fastcompany.com/fast50_05/ winners/8.html

Hsieh, T., & Chafkin, M. (2010, June 1). Why I sold Zappos. Inc. (New York, NY), pp. 100-104. Retrieved March 3, 2011, from http://www.inc.com/magazine/20100601/why-i-sold-zappos.html

Rich, M. (2011, April 8). Why is this man smiling? New York Times, p. ST1.
Get Access
Related
Get Access