July 17, 2005

Nothing 'Mickey Mouse' About It

Today's the 50th Anniversary of Disneyland. The Disney group was a pioneer in customer relationship management. Years ago, I went to 'Walt Disney U,' or whatever they call the program in which they teach people how they manage the place...particularly, how they manage the people. What they're really managing is expectations. And - in marketing - there's nothing more important.

In the Disney lines, for example, you'll see a sign that tells you that you've got a 40-minute wait. In fact, the wait at that point is closer to 30 minutes. You spend half an hour getting to the front of the line, and you're delighted...because you waited only 30 minutes, not 40.

That's managing expectations.

They greet people differently in the morning than they do in the afternoon. That's because folks are "rarin' to go" in the morning, and exhausted in the evening. And they've studied people's habits so they can anticipate their needs and be one step ahead of them. For example, they figured out that people are comfortable holding on to a piece of trash (like an empty soft-drink cup) for about 26 paces....so, Disney trash cans are spaced about 24 paces apart.

For me, the creepiest thing is the 7/8ths scale. Everything at Disney properties is 7/8's of normal size in order to make people feel in control of their environment.

But, that apart, the Disney gang is teaching us all a great lesson on the importance of managing expectations: Always underpromise just a little bit. Tough to do in this hyperbolic world we live in.

On-Line Customer Satisfaction

I was surprised to see these April numbers ranking leading online retailers for customer satisfaction. All closely bunched toward the top (with scores of 80-85), the leaders - in this order - were...Netflix, Amazon, QVC, Newegg, L.L. Bean, Old Navy, TigerDirect, and Apple.

Why was I surprised? Because I think Netflix is impossible to deal with. They write me and tell me not to respond to the address from which they are writing me. I've been trying to cancel my membership for nine months but can't get through to anyone. I'm a Netflix prisoner. Help!

The Power of Personalization

I just seen the August issue of Lucky, the incredibly successful Conde Nast magazine all about shopping (geared to younger women, would be my guess). It's really well done, and what strikes me most is the way it communicates in such a personal way to its readers.

There are several spreads showing real people who tell you what they like and what they buy and do so in their own words.

But even the spreads that are not keyed on any one identified person have copy and captions written in the first person singular: (i.e., "Paired with a flowy skirt, this nipped-in jacket gives me a great shape.") Lots of the type looks casually hand-written. And there's even a feeling that you're looking at a woman friend's cork-board wall of clipped out photos, accompanied by personal commentary.

The take-away from all of this is that Lucky has carefully calculated how to make a very powerful personal connection with its readers. And I'll bet that as a result, Lucky readers are uncommonly loyal.