What Amazon's success can teach healthcare execs: 4 takeaways

Alyssa Rege -

Amazon saw its market valuation top $1 trillion Sept. 4, making it the second U.S. company to do so.

While the company has had its share of issues in the past, the company's ascent to new heights in recent months, along with its foray into different markets like healthcare and tech, has garnered a new appreciation from entrepreneurs across the nation.

Forbes' Tom Taulli spoke with five entrepreneurs about what they believe helped Amazon achieve its massive success. Their thoughts, ranging from the company's ability to disrupt any industry it enters to how it maintains customer loyalty, may be incorporated into the healthcare industry to improve organizations' relationships with their customers and encourage big-picture thinking among industry executives.

Here are four things healthcare leaders can take away from Amazon's success:

1. Take the big risks. One entrepreneur told Forbes one of the biggest reasons behind Amazon's success is the tenacity of its Founder, Chairman and CEO, Jeff Bezos. Mr. Bezos left a successful Wall Street job to take the much bigger risk of starting his own company.

"[Mr. Bezos] is famous for thinking the much bigger risk was to live with the regret of not taking the leap. Great founders are different in that way — they have enough confidence in themselves to know the biggest risk is in not swinging the bat," the individual said.

2. Frictionless commerce. Amazon learned early on that the ability to make transactions smoother would lead to customer loyalty. To keep customers coming back, businesses must learn to provide value beyond the purchase, either by lessening pain or enhancing brand experience. Those "extras" keep the customer coming back and move the brand-consumer interaction from one transaction to the creation of a trusted relationship.

"Amazon's start as an online bookstore was initially introduced as a complementary solution for established brick-and-mortar booksellers, who hadn't yet moved into the e-commerce space. ... The idea is to look for a gap in the incumbent's offering and create something that will augment and make it better," one entrepreneur said.

3. Give your all when branching into multiple markets. Since its creation, Amazon has branched out from a simple online bookstore into a leader in other retail markets, like cloud computing and pharmacy. Those transitions would not be possible if the company was not completely committed to excellence across each and every space it enters, another entrepreneur told Forbes.

4. Be decisive. One entrepreneur told the publication that no matter what, industry leaders should stick by their decisions and remain vigilant about the current market and the direction of the company. Startups, especially, should invest in a trusted leadership team to help make strategic investments where it matters, he said.

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