3 Reasons Amazon Keeps Beating Everyone

Originally sent exclusively to The Letter subscribers on May 12th. Want to be the first to get my personal newsletter in your inbox every Monday at 7am? Subscribe for free here.

Have you heard of Jeff Bezos? Of course you have.

Every day, we all make him a little richer. We can’t help it.

We’re obsessed with services that are easy, cheap, and trusted.

They outdo everyone else.

They really are the everything store, and that’s exactly what Mr B wanted.

Mission well and truly accomplished.

This bloke doesn’t seem content with taking over the e-com world—Jeff also wants to get out of this world with his spaceships.

Amazon is part of most of our lives. Its convenience is more addictive than sugar.

I see piles of their gear arrive at my venues as my staff tap away with ease - and with every effortless “buy now” tap, my bank account shrinks in Jeff’s direction.

On my trundle home, I wonder what makeshift assault course will be piled on my front door from José, our Amazon delivery guy.

I see him more than my own family these days.

My wife is so well known to Amazon, they’re considering us as a distribution hub. 

Surely there’s a fact out there stating Amazon must be the world’s largest buyer of packing tape? But not just any packing tape - oh no, captain.

Theirs is laced with dental floss, leading me to wonder: am I the only one who ponders why that weird string inside makes it feel like cracking into a safe?

Is it really necessary?

And no, I don’t want to fetch a knife or a pair of scissors - my impatient need to get into the box far outweighs a trip to the kitchen knife rack!

That all said, Jeff is a good public speaker, and I’ve studied him being interviewed on YouTube. Smart chap. Good thinker. Incredibly likeable.

I watched him share his recipe for success in business. I’ve taken his words and added some points of my own for you to ponder.

After all, success leaves clues - and for a self-made guy who’s regularly in and out of the world’s richest man pile, it’s worth studying this titan.

One particular talk laid out his four rules for success, and I’d like to share them with you - with my spin.

1. Customer obsession over competitor obsession

Jeff says: focus more on being obsessed with your customers than your competitors.

We’re all guilty of watching what everyone else is up to - the latest craze, what the business next door is charging, and what we need to do to beat them. Jeff’s right. The real way to beat your competitors is by making your customers love you so much, they don’t even notice the competition. That bald-headed wotsit is absolutely spot-on.

2. Average order value over turnover growth

This one’s mine. We obsess over growing revenue - we can’t help ourselves. But what we really need to obsess over is how much each individual spends with us. That’s a far better metric. Track your average order value every day and watch your profits flourish. It’s far easier to get more money from existing customers than new ones.

3. Innovate or evaporate

Jeff talks a lot about innovation, investing, and long-term thinking. I prefer my own saying, which is ingrained in my company’s zeitgeist: “If you don’t innovate, you evaporate.”

Think in ten-year chunks, not yearly ones, and success will welcome you.

4. Retail is all about detail. Take professional pride in operational excellence.

1% improvements every day compound into excellent results over time. Forces work against you when it comes to improving operations for your team, it’s funny how we look for ease in ops that have a fatal flaw - but do your customers like the changes to make your business ops easier?

I think about catering here, and the trend of restaurants limiting menus. Operationally, I know - as a business serving millions of pounds’ worth of food each year - that a small menu makes service and operations easy and efficient.

But what if your customers want more choice?

Have you been too efficient?

They may tolerate a small menu on one visit - but will they come back?

Will the allure of somewhere else with more choice be more tempting?

The real trick, like Amazon has done, is to offer unlimited choice with operational excellence.

It pains me to say this, but Amazon are so flipping good.

They win because they offer:

• Excellent Prices

• Excellent Range

• Excellent Convenience

Price, range, and convenience. Nail those three things and you’ll win.

In other news:

I used to be a sarcastic high jump coach.

Get over it.

To your continued success,

James

PS. Our big 2 day Business Masterclass is coming up in September. Have you secured your seats? The prices increase in 7 days, get your tickets here.