I’m one of those people who is commitment-phobic when it comes to signing up to monthly fees on anything. If I can pay something off without being stuck in a contract for months / years then I will. There’s nothing worse than continuing to pay for a service I don’t use and don’t like any more.
So signing up for Amazon Prime was really not on the cards when I decided to use the trial on the run up to Christmas: Mostly to take advantage of the Free next day delivery. I also thought a month of Amazon Prime Instant Video would not go amiss either so I figured what the heck? – I can always cancel come January.
But I didn’t.
Not because I missed the cancellation date but because I ended up loving the service. There’s a lot to be taken away from this as an online marketer, internet shopper and a useless bloke.
Sold on One Day Deliveries & Amazing Customer Service.
You know how it is: You order something, it takes nearly a week to get there. I’m a total bloke when it comes to ordering anything: I leave it until the very last minute and when it’s a present I am up the proverbial creek without a paddle, having to apologise that the package has not arrived in time for the special occasion.
It would be great to be a bit more organised but sadly I’m not when it comes to buying things in time. The next day delivery was a saviour on the run up to Christmas and birthdays since then… But a funny thing happened: As a result of the quality service and delivery times, I’ve ended up ordering an awful lot more than I ever would have.
Post-Christmas I’ve had everything from snowboots, jewellery for my Fiance’s birthday, a dehumidifier, more flash disks / memory cards / HDD’s than you can shake a stick at… A Car Dash cam and a whole lot more. It’s arguable whether I really NEEDED any of these items but knowing thy would be with me quickly and at the price I saw with no additional fees somehow convinced me that I should buy them! The one issue I did have was actually with the delivery company so I requested a call back from Amazon who phoned me immediately (Within 20 seconds!) and dispatched the item again which was with me the next day.
Having a company whose emphasis on customer service is genuinely positive was a bit of a shock. I’ve had nightmares with EE, DPD and numerous companies in recent months so the level of care blew me away. For the first time in a long time it seemed like a big company actually gave a damn.
Added Bonus Incentives.
Fundamentally, I have signed up for the year for the free next day postage and lower prices but I’m impressed with Amazon’s “Prime Instant Video” – I’ve even cancelled Netflix now. I’m happy enough to make the one off payment which works out about the same as Netflix when you even it out but considering it’s just a little bonus to everything else, I’ve been quite chuffed with the range of films and series.
There’s also unlimited photo storage if you want it for backing up your pictures. Having lost a few hard drives in my time, I tend to use cloud storage a lot for this sort of thing and though I’ve yet to use this service, it’s just a nice value added extra.
So basically for under £80 a year, I’m getting cheaper prices on products, free next day delivery and tracking, a decent streaming video service and free online storage. All in all: not bad.
How All Online Business Learn From This
Clearly, no small business can offer streaming services, free online storage and free next day delivery for £79 per year. But Amazon highlights how a working business model will always have room to improve. Personally I’ve always favoured eBay but the next day delivery & lower prices on Amazon has meant that as a consumer, I’ve made more purchases based on knowing I will receive a good service.
Aside from the perks of Amazon Prime membership, it’s built something that is truly important and that is trust in the brand. When I order using Prime I know I will get what I want, when I want it with great quality customer service if something does happen to go wrong.
Many businesses tend to firefight issues as they happen and have no real customer service to speak of. All buyers appreciate feeling cared about and valued as a customer so if something does go awry then they should be dealt with quickly and efficiently as it tends to spill over into social media or reviews which in this day and age can be very damaging.
They key really it trust. A customer will always come back if they are happy with the service they are getting. The added extras are just fluff at the side of having faith in a company and knowing you are going to be treated as you’d like to be.
