What is the key to Amazon’s success? Many people say it's their customer focus, which is no doubt a contributing factor. But this is only part of the story. Amazon also:

Sacrificed profitability to build infrastructure and economies of scale that rivals have struggled to imitate.

Locked customers in with Prime — a revenue model innovation — and by creating ecosystems around products like the Kindle.

Relentlessly entered new categories, like web services, where they thought they could win, regardless of whether it fitted with their core business.

Take risks and are willing to fail in public, in ways that few other businesses of their size are.

Opened up their infrastructure to create a marketplace, and benefitted from the network effect of bringing together buyers and sellers.

Ventured outside of their digital channels and into physical retailing.

Did a u-turn and started advertising like crazy in recent years to build more awareness.

What we also learn from Amazon then, is that brands should be willing to take risks and fail, think laterally, change direction, play a long game, build moats, and use structural means not just value creation to retain customers. Most importantly perhaps, that the whole system of a business creates its success, not any one part of it.

See this post on LinkedIn