Most of the time, I like to write about things that I enjoy. Amazon.com is definitely something I enjoy, and seeing that my online purchases are in the $30,000 per year range, I think I have some experience with buying things online. The vast majority of these purchases are components for my clients.
From what I understand, "branding" started when cattle ranchers needed a way to differentiate their cattle from other ranchers' cattle. They did this by burning a symbol into their cattle with a hot iron poker. Amazon.com has been quite successful is creating a strong brand, and capitalizing on the associated recognition. It would be hard to surf the web for any significant amount of tine without coming across something associated with Amazon. The Amazon name is everywhere, and Amazon has capitalized on their brand name, as seen with the quick adoption of their Kindle e-reader. As a side note, I find it interesting that brand is considered an intangible asset for many companies, and is sometimes their most valuable asset.
Perhaps Amazon's most valuable asset is their reputation. The company has managed to establish an excellent reputation by providing fast, easy, and reliable services to customers consistently. One of the reasons I have recently shifted a great deal of my purchases to Amazon is because of their "Prime" program, offering free two-day shipping, and $3.99 next-day shipping on all items they stock (assuming that you pay the yearly subscription fee to the Prime program). This allows me to have faster turnaround and better cash-flow. Additionally, Amazon has one of the fastest, easiest ordering systems I have seen on the web. I can usually press a single button online to have an item at my doorstep the next day. For someone who spends at least an hour per day ordering parts online, this is valuable to me. I have had several instances where I need to return items, and Amazon excels at this as well. This is usually a very quick and painless process, which, most of the time, does not even involve speaking to a human (something I value). Amazon's reputation, for me, is hinged on these things - providing a quality product quickly, and supporting the product promptly if there is a problem.
In trying to understand the difference between a brand and a reputation, I find that the two are inextricably linked. Creating a brand seems to be about customer recognition and association with a symbol or name, but in order to have a stellar brand, you need to have a stellar reputation. Customers might come to Coca-Cola because of the brand, but the reason they come back is because of the product that Coca-Cola provides consistently. This is no different with Amazon. People might come to Amazon because of their ubiquitous name, but consumers come back only if they are pleased with the service that Amazon offers.
I agree with your argument that brand and reputation are linked. Without a good reputation, the brand would not exist.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of Amazon, do you use this site often in your online purchases? How does it compare to the other sites you use?
Before commenting on the substance of your note, let me observe that Amazon would not be so successful if not for the high proficiency achieved in the delivery market. Since my home office is right in front of our house, I get to see the UPS truck pull up (seemingly on a daily basis) to drop something at our front door. Sometimes it is FEDEX instead and sometimes it is USPS, though I believe Amazon has some sweetheart arrangement with UPS. In any event each company's success encourages the other to do well.
ReplyDeleteIn spite of the high volume of traffic of Amazon packages at my house, I expect that you top us in annual expenditure. I didn't know that was possible (only kidding).
Another student in his post confounded brand with trademark (for McDonalds he used the Golden arches), <a href="http://www.ip21.co.uk/2011/03/difference-brand-trademark-trade-mark/>This post</a> might help in thinking of that distinction. Brand is a super set of trademark. Likewise, reputation is a super set of brand. I think of Amazon as being incredibly easy to use for an eCommerce site that caters to repeat customers. The ease of use is part of the reputation, but not of the brand. The one-click purchase button is part of the brand. It is an instance of ease of use.
Also, so the world is not so universally one sided - I've got a new ultrabook that I use to teach the class. I've got the Kindle reader software on it so I can use the ultrabook as a replacement for my iPad (I have an original iPad). Unfortunately, in my view, the Kindle software only launches full screen. On my home PC, it launches in a Window, like every other app. I don't know if the fault is with Amazon or Windows 8, but for the first time I'm seeing chinks in the Amazon armor.
If it's the same ultrabook you use in class, you probably have the Kindle app for Windows 8. You need the Kindle desktop program - this will allow you to view the Kindle in windowed mode if that is what you prefer.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I gather from this statement, "Another student in his post confounded brand with trademark," I am assuming that I have done the same. I now understand a the distinctions a bit better.
In one of my other courses we talked about Amazon briefly in class. The professor mentioned that the CEO of Amazon is very focused on having lower priced items and services to drive out and beat the competition, and that for such a large company Amazon does not have a very large profit because of the CEO's focus. I thought that was interesting because the way the CEO is driving the company could play into giving Amazon the brand and reputation that they have.
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