BRAND CURRENCY

An ex-Amazon executive with a background in advertising discusses his former employer’s business success.

In this debut business book, Susi describes the practices that have made Amazon a leader in e-commerce and other fields, “the one brand I believe has earned the highest honors in the disciplines of money, information, loyalty, and time.” The book’s angle is a brand-focused approach, evaluating all activities from the perspective of developing a customer’s relationship with the brand, which Susi defines as “a story written mentally by the customer at every touchpoint.” Although the book’s primary emphasis is on Amazon, there are also discussions of other successes, like mattress company Casper and Dollar Shave Club. But the reader will be left with no doubt that Amazon, according to Susi, is the one company doing nearly everything right and winning over customers at all levels. The book’s focus is more philosophical than practical, though Susi does leave the reader with several concrete recommendations; e.g., collect as much information as possible, but make the customer’s privacy paramount. Other recommendations include frugality, strong hiring practices, and asking “why?” repeatedly to determine the root cause of mistakes. The book is less concerned with the mechanics of running a customer-focused brand than with explaining to the reader the importance of doing so, making it a good fit for readers who already have a strong understanding of business operations. Susi opens many of the book’s chapters with historical or biblical accounts related to the concepts covered here, including metal seals from Bronze Age India, an Aztec human sacrifice, and Jacob’s theft of Esau’s identity. (Citing Robert E. Lee as a case study in loyalty strikes a rare discordant note.) These examples are interesting, illustrating a strong, engaging prose style, but they add little substance. Readers will find the book a good source of thought-provoking one-liners (“Saving your customer time is the ultimate sign of respect”) and inspiration for rethinking brand strategy.

An informed, Amazon-centric study of brand loyalty that’s heavy on smart strategies but a little light on concrete how tos.