is the title of this excellent article in Advertising Age and the five lessons learned it describes are relevant to online travel companies as well.

• CUSTOMER SERVICE IS MARKETING.
• YOU DON’T NEED A BIG AD BUDGET TO BUILD A BRAND.
• BE A SOCIAL COMPANY, NOT A SOCIAL-MEDIA MARKETER.
• DON’T FEAR THE ALGORITHM.
• DO DEALS THAT MAKE SENSE CULTURALLY.

Critics might claim that there are key differences between the business Amazon is in and selling travel services online but that argument is not valid in the context of these lessons. They are universal and apply to any industry. Culture, customer service, being social, being relevant to your customers, are not factors tied to industries but cover all and represent fundamental elements for success, especially in the tough market environment of today.

Looking closely at and learning from Amazon by analyzing the factors that have made it a success story and one of the few survivors of the original dotcom bubble is a useful effort for anyone engaged in E-Commerce today. It is definitely more worthwhile than focusing on the hottest must have cool tools and jumping on the latest bandwagon of hype. Sound strategy still precedes the deployment of even the smartest tactics if the objective is long term success.