3 Lessons from Disney's Customer Experience Playbook

What do Disney, Tesla, and Newtown Savings Bank all have in common? According to John Dalton of Forrester Research, they are all pros at delivering top notch customer service. Why? Because everything they do centers on improving the customers' experience with their respective brands.

While I can't speak for Tesla or Newtown Savings Bank, as a parent who just returned from a Disney vacation, I can wholeheartedly attest to the attentiveness Disney pays to each of its visitors. Here are three things PR professionals can learn from the company that made wearing mouse ears cool:

1. Listen to your clients (and their customers, competitors, etc.). Developing high quality customer experiences isn't something that lives solely in the B2C world. But it is a good place to get ideas of how to do it well. Disney relies on its new Magic Bands to collect intel on what souvenirs park visitors are buying and where and then uses that insight to appropriately stock its stores with the most coveted items - beach towels near Splash Mountain and mouse ears on Main Street.
2. Pay attention to the details. This is something Disney has down to a science. From personalized Magic Bands that serve as room keys, park passes and credit cards to airport and park shuttle service, Disney covers all the bases and leaves nothing to chance. So, if you know a reporter and your client went to the same university, share that detail with the client before an interview. Or, if customers and prospects frequent particular LinkedIn groups or networking events, you could always encourage clients to join them. These kinds of details make relationships stickier.
3. Always have a Plan B. On one of my trips to Disney World, rain threatened to cancel one of the afternoon parades. While the elaborate floats couldn't come out in the rain, the characters - dressed in rain coats and carrying umbrellas - could and did to the delight of the crowds who had lined the route. While you and your client may be enamored with the plans for their upcoming launch, don't pin the success of the entire campaign on one particular reporter accepting an exclusive. Have a back-up plan (or several). It shows the client you have all the bases covered and that you've thought through every possible scenario.

In PR, we may not be helping our clients create the tech industry's answer to Disney's Magic Bands, but we can help them focus on the right kinds of experiences that can make them more memorable with reporters, influencers, customers and prospects.