In the book HumanSigma -- a very good read for marketers and managers, by the way -- Gallup data is presented revealing that only 14% of front-line employees can state their company's mission or vision. These are the employees that actually interact with customers, and they have no idea what their company stands for.

Do you think that's the case with Disney employees? In my observation, the Disney mission and culture and aesthetic is infused into every last cast member before they ever leave training. They know exactly what their company is about, and how they fit into it.

What's the percentage at your company? Do your people know what the business is all about?

If not, it could be that something has been lost in translation. Or just as likely, it could be that you need to take a step back and decide if you have ever established what your business is about.

Do that today. But while you're at it, go ahead and step back just a little further -- into the eyes and minds of your customers. That's where your mission and vision need to come from. Then you communicate it forward until every employee, customer-facing or not, catches the vision and radiates it.

Labels: branding, customer centered, employees, management, marketing, planning

"Branding Only Works on Cattle" by Samuel Baskin is not a great read, but it is provocative. The primary point of the book is that your brand is not ultimately determined by anything you try to project, but rather by your behavior. Your behavior is your brand.

I agree with much of the premise. The premise would make for a very powerful article, but isn't developed enough to justify the length of the book. My review can be found on our website's Reading page: http://www.foxmarketing.us/reading.php

Having just returned from a Disney cruise, there are all kinds of business lessons percolating in my brain. I posted on Disney yesterday, here again today, and there will be more tomorrow and beyond.

I was reminded of Samuel Baskin's book multiple times on our cruise. Disney projects an image of "the happiest place on earth," a place where dreams come true, a place where magic happens. That's enough to get people to try you. That's the starting point of the Disney brand.

But it is the customer experience that defines the brand from that point on. And that is why Disney's brand is so strong. They live their vision. Every cast member embodies the vision in their interactions with you.

What do you think your brand is? What do your employees think your brand is? (More on that tomorrow.) Follow through on your branding -- ensure that it is not just something you project, but something the customer experiences.

Labels: branding, customer centered, marketing, planning, strategy

Back to work, fresh off a 4-day Disney Cruise, I'm reminded yet again what excellence looks like.

(Some people are Disney people, and some people are anti-Disney people. We tend to be Disney people. It's possible to get too much of the Mouse, I suppose, but we're not there yet.)

There are many books on "The Disney Way," including one by that very name. How would Disney run a hospital? How would Disney run a school? And on and on. I haven't read any of them.

I have only gathered my observations and opinions by spending my own hard-earned money to do so. And having done so four times in the eleven years I've been a parent, I always come back impressed. Very impressed.

Disney does it right. If more businesses devoted themselves to making the customer's dreams come true or making the customers feel like princesses or making the customers believe in magic, Disney would be the patriarch of the movement.

Here are just a few Disney-esque principles I've observed in action:
1. Do nothing half-way. Every ride is a movie set and every employee is a cast member, and every theme is carried out to an almost ridiculous degree. I don't believe there is an organization anywhere that executes their vision more thoroughly than Disney.
2. Exceptional is the expectation. "Average" is not on their radar screen. The "minimum requirements" are not even a consideration. Maybe this point is the same as the one above. That's how well they execute.
3. Build in cross-selling. Every Disney property is littered (poor choice of words) with profit centers, all feeding one another. There are no "operational silos," at least as far as I can tell. Every piece of the business model is cooperative and synergistic.
4. Take pride. This is not a repeat of points 1 & 2, this is about profit. Disney is not cheap. Disney will never be cheap. We've all been to cheap amusement parks. By taking great pride and making points 1 & 2 a way of life, there really is no peer to drive their prices down. Pride is a profit strategy.

It's becoming clear to me that this post could get really long, so I'm just going to cut it off right here. How can you "Disney-fy" your business? Open your mind really, really wide for this one, because dreams really can come true.

Labels: branding, creativity, customer centered, differentiation, management, marketing, planning, strategy