Jeff Bezos Says Amazon Customers Are Always 'Dissatisfied' And Crave Something Better — Even When They Don't Know It

Amazon.com Inc. Founder Jeff Bezos, the second-richest man in the world, turned an online bookstore into a global e-commerce titan. As CEO, Bezos shared a letter with shareholders each year that offered more than just company updates — it was a glimpse into the core ideas propelling Amazon forward. 

In the 2016 letter, Bezos delved into the concept of averting a stagnant Day 2 scenario, which he described as a pathway to "irrelevance … painful decline … [and] death."

Bezos shared his thoughts on staving off the dreaded Day 2 by maintaining the vigor and innovative spirit synonymous with Day 1. He underscores the importance of a "true customer obsession," which forms the bedrock of sustaining the Day 1 vitality. "Customers are always beautifully, wonderfully dissatisfied, even when they report being happy and business is great," he wrote. 

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Bezos's insights may extend beyond global corporations and resonate with the startup ecosystem. Investing in startups is often about betting on the future, embracing innovation and responding swiftly to market trends — essentially a dive into a perpetual Day 1 scenario. Bezos's customer-centric approach and his emphasis on swift decision-making can be a guiding light for investors eyeing opportunities in the startup landscape.

According to Bezos, dissatisfaction is not a pitfall but a springboard for innovation. The quest for alleviating customer dissatisfaction galvanizes organizations to concoct solutions even when customers aren't expressly demanding them. For instance, the inception of the Amazon Prime membership wasn't a response to customer requests, but it was a service they desired.

Diving deeper, Bezos cautioned against the allure of proxies that might detract companies from their customer-centric ethos. He highlighted how processes, if unchecked, can morph into proxies, veiling the actual objectives and stifling innovation in the process. 

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"A common example is process as proxy," he wrote. "The process becomes the proxy for the result you want. You stop looking at outcomes and just make sure you're doing the process right."

Bezos also advocated for embracing external trends swiftly to avert being shoved into a Day 2 dilemma. He cited the emerging realm of machine learning and artificial intelligence as trends that have been integral to enhancing operations at Amazon.

He also accentuated the essence of high-velocity decision-making, urging organizations to make high-quality decisions swiftly to maintain the dynamism inherent in Day 1. 

"Most decisions should probably be made with somewhere around 70% of the information you wish you had," he wrote. This not only accelerates the decision-making process but also nurtures a culture of agility and adaptability.

By investing in startups that hold onto the Day 1 spirit, investors are not just pushing for new advancements but also helping create solutions that address what customers really want, leading to better products and services. Platforms like StartEngine, the biggest equity crowdfunding platform in the U.S., are key in making this happen by opening access to capital and letting everyday people invest in and help grow startups and early-stage companies​. 

Through these investments, people have the chance to get in on the ground floor of the next breakthrough innovation, maybe even finding the next Amazon and being a part of its journey to success.

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