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If there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I love Disney. Not the once-bought-a-Cinderella-backpack kind of love. No, we’re long past that. I’ve set up residence in the memorizes-trivia-for-fun neighborhood. Earlier this month, I spent a week at Walt Disney World celebrating my niece’s birthday and (as expected) had the time of my life.
Now, I’ve written blog posts about Disney before—but my recent trip to the Happiest Place on Earth gave me a newfound appreciation for the company’s impeccable branding and unbeatable customer service. I realized that we should be treating clients like they’re at Disney World every day! Confused? I get that. Let me break it down. Here are three ways you can capture some of that Disney magic for your clients:
1. Disguise the wait.
It is not uncommon to wait two or three hours for popular rides like Hollywood Studio’s Tower of Terror, but through interactive game stations, detailed scenery and winding layouts, Disney prevents you from focusing on the line ahead. Ultimately, these little details made each wait seem tremendously shorter.
Likewise, you shouldn’t tell a client their project is number 12 on your to-do list—even if it is! Break projects into bite-size deliverables and offer quick bursts of frequent communication to engage your clients along the way and mask an ugly wait-time.
2. Make it personal.
When we first checked into the hotel, my niece was handed a personalized birthday button to wear at the parks. Everywhere we went, employees would stop to wish her a happy birthday by name. Dancers, servers, ride attendants—even princesses in parades—would step aside to make her feel like the most important person in the park.
Make it a point to connect with your clients on a personal level. Ask about a recent vacation, send a personalized wedding gift or simply take time to chat before diving into a meeting. Sometimes the little things in life can make the biggest impact.
3. Overestimate to over-deliver.
Spy a ride with a 40-minute wait? Chances are you will be on and off in less than half an hour thanks to Disney’s frequent overestimation. By exceeding expectations, Disney incentivizes riders to wait in daunting lines. This also ensures that no one is disgruntled before stepping onto It’s a Small World, which will try the patience of the happiest person alive. Trust me.
When it comes to deadlines, slightly overestimate the time you will need. This builds a safeguard against any last-minute projects that might spring up and allows you to exceed expectations with an early delivery. Plus, providing some breathing room will allow you time to ensure accuracy and perfect your messaging.
As you can see, there’s a lot PR pros can learn from Disney—but it doesn’t stop there. There are actually a lot of similarities between public relations and the fairytales that Disney films retell. Seems weird, right? For more magical musings, see what PR lessons you can learn from fairytales.
