Google became the centerpiece of the Internet world, toppling Microsoft from its position, which was the centerpiece of the Software world. By and large, the axis had only shifted from computer (software) to internet so hence there had to be new winner. Google and its parent Alphabet may be doing a lot of things in the world and yet again trying to change the world but none of the acquired products can be as big as the products developed on your own. In Google’s case, it was the SEARCH, which made it the champion in the Internet world.
After Internet, Smartphone became the centre of the axis of the puzzlery of the emerging tech world, the grounds of which have to shift every decade or so. Somehow or the other, Amazon has become the centre of it. Even though neither they had built the software or the hardware of the smartphone or perhaps the network, which ultimately runs the smartphone. But then more searches are run on Amazon than on Google, when the heir apparent is challenged at their own game in a different way, that is when we know the new King has arrived but not been anointed yet.
Google is trying to reach to do as many things as possible to stay the centerpiece of the Internet (Consumer) world. Tech world is always emerging, always evolving, it is really difficult to pinpoint, when and how, until it encapsulates us.
I have been scratching my head to understand, what is the difference between Google and Amazon, when Amazon is only offering a service, which again requires an army of minimum wage workers to deliver packets across the world.
Google focus has always been Consumer as they helped us realize the power of Internet. Amazon is always focused on Customer, it is only with the availability of Smartphones that a user wants things and stuff at the speed of App Downloaded.
When Google failed to understand what to do with the mountains of data collected on Consumer, Amazon knew all the way what to do with the Customer Data. Google is growing within the market size and Amazon has yet to build a market size. Just like Google, the market size (digital advertising) did not exist for Google in 2001. The best part is Amazon understands its market size and yet the rest of the world is floundering to just build a report on market size.
Let’s book at the meaning of basic terms of Consumer – Customer, we are referring to Google here. Google gave a primary line and a subset line of both words:
Consumer means
- a person who purchases goods and services for personal use.
· a person or thing that eats or uses something.
Customer means
- a person who buys goods or services from a shop or business.
· a person of a specified kind with whom one has to deal.
Primary definition of both the words, remains the same. Of course, we are not here to understand the basics of English. But the subset meaning tells us the difference, Consumer is somebody who consumes, Customer is a person with a specified kind.
Consumer is somebody who consumes, whether or not he/she is pays. Google’s consumers are not paying anything to Google. Yet Google earns billions of dollars as consumer navigates World Wide Web through Google. Google cannot control the engagement experience. While Amazon deals with Customer whose engagement is controlled by the Amazon’s technology, Amazon understands. Or I would say the service, which they have built of physical assets and then it is manned and run by people. Amazon is in tearing hurry to try and dismantle the assets and fire all the people and trying to do the unthinkable.
While the world is thinking, how to do something like that, Amazon is already at work. Google follows the Consumer, Amazon leads the customer. Primary difference as to how different they are, or perhaps Google should not be trying to understand, what Amazon does? Google is always working for somebody as it takes commission from suppliers and Amazon is working for itself, all the money spent on Amazon reach Amazon and it reimburses the suppliers.
Consumer is embedded in the DNA of Google. Customer is embedded in the DNA of Amazon.
Let’s look at the example of Video/Music streaming as Amazon and Google, both are present in this business. Google owns the world’s largest online music/video player in the world, Youtube. Amazon’s Prime Music/Video is just about entering the market. Yet how quickly Amazon had captured this place through Prime. Google has ten times larger consumer base than Amazon’s customer base. Amazon operates in few countries at best while Google playground is wherever there is Internet, which is not only land but also sea.
Google being Google, never worked on converting their consumers into customers. Youtube could not boot out Netflix from the market. Amazon focused on customer and fed the customer what Amazon wants its customers to consume. Now Netflix is rushing for cover to find place where it can hide and attack Amazon on its way. Netflix would never find the place to hide.
Google does not understand how to cash out consumer. It knows how to build and operate businesses and yet be extremely profitable. But it does not understand how to build customer base.
Google’s founders have pivoted into a different universe of Alphabet. Sundar Pichai is incharge of Google. An employee’s vision can never match founder’s vision. Jeff Bezos is still in charge and he will stay in charge and he will not leave until he builds his warehouse on cloud, which do not require to men to package and no men to deliver. Clearly Bezos is building one Kindle for every product and not just books.
Amazon does not give rat’s ass to consumer. But is only singularly focused on Customer, where it says, Be Mine and I will OWN you. Total commitment to CUSTOMER, which has become relevant only due to smartphone, and our direct and continued connectivity to the digital world.
Google will continue to understand consumers as larger and larger subsets while Amazon is trying to understand each and every customer’s unique personality. That is where the difference of philosophy exists and that is where the world is headed to.
Google will continue to challenge Amazon to do better but it is never going to pose a threat to Amazon.
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