The Nonsensical World of Ben & Jerry’s

November 15th, 2008

 

You can’t save the world with ice cream and hippie-inspired idealism… but it makes for great marketing!

 

by Charlie Crowell

 

When it comes to cause related marketing, nobody does it better then Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield. The two leftover hippy ice cream makers from the 60’s have pulled off some incredibly potent “save the planet” public relations trickery.

 

ben and jerry scooping up their next scam

 

One of their best was the introduction of the ice cream flavor Rainforest Crunch. Here’s how the scam worked.

 

Ben and Jerry love the planet, right? They love it so much that they want to save it and they hear a lot of trees are being cut down in the Amazon basin. Some of these trees are Brazil nut trees. Brazil nuts are edible. If Ben and Jerry put Brazil nuts in their ice cream, the people cutting down the trees will realize the trees are worth more alive than dead. They won’t cut the trees down, they’ll make money and the earth will be saved.

 

And it gets better. Ben and Jerry will set up Brazil nut co-operatives and buy directly from them insuring the people “in the field” benefit.

 

Ben and Jerry\'s questionable efforts 

 

Thus Rainforest Crunch was born… and consumers who bought the new flavor could feel good about their ever expanding waistline. They will feel good when they read all about how they are saving the world for surely it’s true. It says it right on the little high priced pint container.

 

With the release of the nut laden flavor, Ben and Jerry made the morning talk show circuit. Newspapers and magazines clamor for interviews. The amount of free media coverage was obscene. They were described as “caring capitalist” and “business owners with a social conscience.” It was all embarrassingly gushy.

 

Now fast forward a few years. By 1995, the word was out that Ben and Jerry’s Rainforest Crunch ice cream was, in fact, being made with nuts from the usual Brazilian agribusinesses and not from any newly started nut cooperative that were going stop deforestation.

 

Translation – everyone who thought they were saving the rainforest by making an eco-friendly purchase from Ben and Jerry were shafted pretty well and NOT A SINGLE TREE WAS EVER SAVED!

 

Nuts!

 

Add to all this, consumers didn’t like the ice cream. Imagine, people refusing to pay top dollar for a pint of ice cream they didn’t like - even though it was supposedly saving the rainforest. The flavor ended up in the company’s graveyard of failed flavors… really.

 

Ben and Jerry\'s Flavor Graveyard 

 

All this proves results don’t matter in cause related marketing. It’s the warm fuzzy feeling you get that counts… along with the free media exposure.

 

Ben and Jerry have a long history of pulling this nonsense off. It seems to work every time. They would donate “1% of their profits for peace” and encouraged other businesses to join in. A lot of businesses actually signed on. My question is – who did they give the money to? How effectively was the money spent? Someone suggested they give the money to the U.S. military because at the time, they were keeping the peace pretty well.

 

Ben and Jerry\'s Scoop Shop - impacthollow.com

 

Another goodie was that some of Ben and Jerry’s inner city scoop shops were going to employ only homeless persons. Ah, if it was only that simple. First, it’s a myth that all a homeless person needs to succeed is a job. Secondly, I really don’t want some homeless guy scooping my ice cream. But the press coverage following the announcement was again, overwhelming.

 

There have been plenty of Ben and Jerry social missions but I never seem to hear any favorable results. Like all marketing campaigns, they just seem to fade away. I guess you can’t really save the world one scoop at a time.

 

It’s interesting to note that Ben and Jerry have never attempted to tackle the obesity problem. Hmm? And with 1200 calories in a little pint, I suppose they never will.

 

Copyright 2008 ImpactHollow.com. The information contained in this blog may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of ImpactHollow.com.

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Learning from McDonald’s Forgotten Marketing McDisaster

November 12th, 2008
An ImpactHollow.com Exclusive

 

by Charlie Crowell

Most marketers and an awful lot of copywriters love to over-promise. We live in a world where we are constantly bombarded with ads telling us we can get rich, get thin, get beautiful and get just about anything we want in life, quickly, easily and inexpensively. Ah, if it were only true.

 

All this over-the-top marketing might work if your business is based on one-time customers - but companies that over-promise tend to be on the lower rungs of the business ladder - many are just plain bottom dwellers.

 

That being said, every once in a while one of the big guys makes the mistake or over-promising and gets hammered for it.

 

McDonald\'s Marketing Disaster c. 1974

McDonald’s suffered through such an episode back in the fall of 1974. It’s a long forgotten disaster but I think there is an important lesson to be learned from it so let’s dredge it up again.

 

Simply stated, McDonald’s began promising and guaranteeing a higher level of quality, service and cleanliness (QSC) than they could deliver.

 

 

We the crew of McDonald’s are guaranteed to…
 
Serve you food that’s hot, or we’ll replace it.
Clean your table. or the meal’s on us.
Give you a courteous “thank you” or there’s no charge.
 
 That fall their entire point of purchase (P.O.P.) campaign was devoted to these unattainable, pie in the sky standards. Within the restaurants, there were signs everywhere – on the menu boards, on top of each cash register, dangling from the ceiling, on the tables and there may have even been television and radio ads to support the whole nightmare.

McDonald\'s big promise goes wrong.

Fairly quickly management realized they were in over their heads. Customers were complaining bitterly, demanding their money back when clean tables were not available. Cold burgers and fries were being returned and customers got further annoyed while having to wait for warmer replacements. The whole episode was fast becoming a public relations McDisaster and McDisgruntled customers were revolting – to say nothing of the steep added cost of products and labor.

 

 

Probably the only commitment McDonald’s was able to keep was the “Thank You” promise and even that tended to be spotty.

 

After a run of just a few weeks, the promo was brought to an abrupt end. The new P.O.P. materials were removed and never again would the company make such grandiose Q.S.C. promises and guarantees.

 

It was a stunning and costly defeat for the burger giant. Clearly the guys in marketing were not in sync with the realities on the store level.

 ImpactHollow.com reveals McD Marketing Disaster 

Today, 34 years later, the lesson is still important and anyone who visits McDonald’s restaurants knows the company is still unable to meet the expectations put forth in this clueless campaign.

 

Now, this doesn’t mean your business can’t make bold promises. Holding yourself to a high standard is usually critical to your success. You just have to be 100% certain you can live up to your claims. Over promise and you will disappoint the very people you are dependent on for your success.

 

McDonald’s survived the fiasco, of course. Even in 1974 they had deep pockets and in this case, customers forgave them fairly quickly,  but others who have gotten carried away with over-the-top promises haven’t always been so lucky. Want to dazzle your customers?  It’s better to under promise and over deliver.

 

 Copyright 2008 ImpactHollow.com. The information contained in this blog may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of ImpactHollow.com.

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Creative Stew Leonard’s Has Big Stones

November 9th, 2008

by Charlie Crowell exclusively  for ImpactHollow.com

 

There’s a store in Norwalk, Connecticut called Stew Leonard’s Dairy Store. It’s a place all marketers and business owners should know about… and visit.

 

The store has been in operation since 1969 and has been in a perpetual state of growth ever since. Dozens of additions have been made to “Stew’s” over the years. It’s a creative, noteworthy place, sometimes being called the Disneyland of dairy stores. The Guinness Book of World Records has Stew Leonard’s listed as the world’s busiest store, selling more goods per square foot than any other retailer anywhere.

Stew Leonard\'s Rock in Norwalk CT.

The dairy store has been written up in countless books and magazines as a shinning example of how a seemingly humble little enterprise can grow into something so significant that business leaders from around the world fly in to learn from it.

Stew Leonard\'\'s Impacthollow.com

The place is like a farm themed festival. There are animated characters, costumed farm animals, a petting zoo, music, an ice cream shop, a massive bakery, and more, all built around a milk processing plant.

 

The first time I visited this famous landmark there were so many overfilled shopping carriages exiting the building I thought it looked phony – as if they were filming a commercial. Surely, it was all being staged. 

 

It wasn’t. It was business as usual for Stew Leonard’s.

 

The second thing I noticed was a giant piece of granite with Stew Leonard’s simple business philosophy etched on the front.

 

OUR POLICY

 

RULE 1

THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT

RULE 2

IF THE CUSTOMER IS EVER WRONG REREAD RULE 1

 

It goes without being said that this was a stroke of genius. The rock basically tells customers up front that they are incredibly important and can expect to be treated well when they step inside. It also serves as a constant reminder to employees that this is the way Stew Leonard’s conducts business.

 \

When Stew Leonard’s opened their second location in Danbury, Connecticut, they duplicated the stone monument there; only this second version is not nearly as large.

 

For a time, the Norwalk location even sold miniature souvenir replicas of the stone. Talk about creativity!

 

Stew Leonard\'s Souvenir Customer Policy Rock

 

All this leads to the very interesting question – Is the customer really always right?

 

Of course not. Often, customers can be incredibly wrong, but that’s beside the point. The real message here is you need to treat your customers as if they are right… period.

 

Each of Stew Leonard’s customers is worth thousands of dollars each year. Multiply that by a lifetime of loyalty and you begin to see just how important customers really can be. To argue with them over anything is simply foolhardy… and costly.

 

ImpactHollow.com

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Extreme Halloween Theme Marketing

October 31st, 2008

Special Halloween ‘08 Post

by Charlie Crowell

 

Homemade marketing often requires more effort than anything else. Being Halloween, or as we call it, Impact Halloween, I thought I’d share an early and unusual marketing campaign from my Carvel Ice Cream days.

 

October is a slow month for ice cream in Connecticut. So to spice things up a little we put together a Halloween display.

 

Creepy Creative Halloween Display

 

We described it as a “Victorian Attic Murder Scene”. To pull this off we borrowed mannequins and some antique dresses from a local historical society. We draped the corner of our 1500 sq foot store with black fabric, found an old trunk, bought a few gruesome rubber masks, set up some creepy lighting and sound effects and we were on our way.

 

We even found an old, beat up picture frame which we fastened to the hanging fabric. We then cut out an opening and hung a mask in the opening. This gave it the appearance of an old man pretending to be a portrait. It was wonderfully 3D and realistic.

 

The display wasn’t animated except for a severed hand which hardly moved – but moved enough so that when the eyes noticed it – well - it was creepy.

 

We scattered some “relics” about, such as old turn-of-the-century newspapers, an old coffee tin and a vintage whisky bottle. More than anything else, we were striving for authenticity and realism – without spending much money.

 

Some artificial blood, a sickle and a few pumpkins added the finishing touches.

 

Looking like a Lizzie Borden Nightmare - Charlie Crowell\'s Halloween dispaly from the 1980\'s.

 

So did it work? Yes, indeed. The first year we did the display we saw an increase of 23%. Customers were so fascinated with the display they came back repeatedly. Some brought their cameras. Parents even asked if they could put their kids in the display and shoot a picture. Naturally we were thrilled to go along with the idea.

 

Customers even started throwing loose change into the display, aiming for the coffee tin. We later donated the money to a new town playground that was being built.

 

We tied the display in with ads placed in the local newspaper and offered Halloween gift certificates and seasonal ice cream flavors such as Pumpkin Pie and Apple Crunch., along with Halloween themed ice cream cakes.

 Murder Scene in Cheshire CT 

 

If all this seems like a lot of effort – you’re right – but only for the first year. After that we stored the props away and simply repeated the process every October. The display varied slightly from year to year but not by much. It also looked a lot creepier that our pictures show.

 

The entire lifesize display cost us about $150.00 but generated thousands in additional revenues. It also generated a lot of compliments. Quite a few customers asked if I’d ever worked for Disney Imagineering. High praise indeed. Others thought we hired professionals to create the masterpiece.

 

Halloween display at Carvel Ice Cream Cheshire CT

 

The moral of the story? Simply sticking store-bought cardboard holiday decorations on your windows is a waste of time, looks common, tacky and makes your business look cluttered. Rather, exceed expectations, dazzle them, get creative and have fun.

ImpactHollow.com

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Special Smelly, Scary, Spooky Marketing Tale - the Leatherman

October 31st, 2008

Special Halloween ‘08 Post

 

by Charlie Crowell

There was a scary guy trudging over the dusty roadways of Western Connecticut and Eastern New York back in the late 19th century. He was known simply as “The Leatherman”. He was short, stocky, smelled bad, looked like a monster and was dressed from head to toe in leather.

 

The Old Leatherman

 

He had a set route that he walked, a giant circle that he repeated over and over from the 1850’s until 1889. Along the way he slept in caves and was offered food by helpful locals who seemed to take pride in assiting him.

 

In those days, such characters were called “tramps”. True tramps were a real problem. They raided orchards and gardens, stole anything not nailed down and often committed far more serious crimes. They were, in fact, the scourge of the countryside.

 

But not the Leatherman. By all accounts, he was as passive as a human could be despite his fearsome Halloween-like appearance.

 

So, what does the Leatherman have to do with marketing your business?

 

Well, an enterprising shoe store owner arranged to have a picture taken of this sorry-looking, leather clad wanderer. He then used the image to promote his shoe business. It may have been a bit exploitive but he got the Leatherman to reluctantly sit for a picture and in so doing, made him a legend.

 

Soon advertising cards, graced with the Leatherman’s likeness were being distributed. Some years later, postcards were made using the same image.

 

How big of a sensation was this advertising campaign? Who knows? This was, after all, 130 years ago. But the shoe store owner knew a thing or two about marketing. In a sense, the whole affair was an early celebrity endorsement.

 

The old Leatherman may have understood a thing or two about marketing too. With literally thousands of tramps loose in the United States, the Leatherman differentiated himself by wearing his memorable costume made of bits and pieces of leather haphazardly sewn together. He was unique and easily recognizable. This set him apart and plenty of housewives took pride in caring for him, actually looking forward to his scheduled reappearance in their neighborhoods.

 

By the way, the Leatherman was found nearly frozen to death during the Blizzard of ’88. He was hospitalized and it was discovered he had cancer. He recovered briefly and continued his wandering but was found dead at Ossining, NY a year later.

 

Interestingly, ever since his death, there has been a steady stream of sightings of the Leatherman’s ghost.

 

Today, every town he visited has laid claim to the grotesques, creepy fellow, making him part of their local lore. So, the smelly leather clad oddity found true immortality and provided us with a really bizarre marketing tale.

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Special Creepy Halloween Marketing Lesson - Buried Alive

October 15th, 2008

by Charlie Crowell
Fear marketing is nothing new but in honor of the holiday we call “Impact Halloween”, we thought we’d look back at an extraordinary bit of creepy fear marketing from 1893.
 
First, however, a quick, somewhat morbid history lesson.
 
In the days before modern medicine, it wasn’t all that easy to tell if someone had died. Often people lapped into  coma’s and stayed there for days. Eventually a doctor (who did not necessarily have any medical training) would decide the victim was gone and a funeral was held.
Grave of Titus Foote and wife in Watertown CT
Well, if the victim wasn’t really dead, and he didn’t wake up soon enough, he might find himself six feet under in a dark coffin wondering what the heck happened.
 
The fear of being buried alive was very real and very powerful. There were reports of people insisting that their jugular vein be cut prior to burial, insuring that the unthinkable wouldn’t happen. Others asked that signs of decay be clearly visible prior to being committed to the earth. Some were even buried with tools so they could conceivably dig their way out.
 
Up through the 1830’s, burials took place everywhere and anywhere. Many families had private cemeteries where loved one’s were to rest eternally. In the 1840’s there was a movement to create new cemeteries in more out-of-the-way places - mostly for public health reasons. Often whole cemeteries were relocated from downtown sites to rural areas. This meant thousands of often crumbling caskets were dug up and hauled away in horse-drawn wagons.
Buried Alive
 
Invariably there were tales of caskets being opened to fine bodies disturbed and lying in unnatural positions. Many caskets were said to have had deep scratches on the inside of the lid showing that the deceased were in fact, still alive when buried and struggled to escape.
 
For that matter, there were plenty of old newspaper articles in the 19th century that told of supposedly dead people waking up during their funerals. Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s mother accomplished that feat before the General was born. Had she not awakened, the history of the Civil War and consiquently our nation would have been remarkably different. One old article estimated as many as 20% of all disinterred coffins showed signs of “premature burial”.
 
True or not, it was the stuff nightmares were made of - alone in a claustrophobic environment with no way out… and nobody would ever know the torture experienced.
 
So inventors came up with a simple solution. And marketers set out to sell it.
 

Dead Ringer

It was a unique device, a bell attached to a cord which was then attached to the hand of the deceased. The bell was above ground and the cord ran through the soil into the casket. If the dearly departed regained consciousness, he could simply pull the cord and hopefully someone would here the bell ring and dig him up.
 
It is this invention that gave rise to the term “dead ringer”.
 
The illustration here is from an 1893 newspaper. There are no known records of how many of these unusual contraptions were sold. It’s likely homemade versions were produced as well. And there is no record of anyone ever being saved by such a devise.
 
Medical advances in the 20th century eventually put the “premature burial” fear to rest (no pun intended). Plus, it has been noted in recent years that the amount of oxygen in a closed casket is minimal and would provide the occupant with perhaps no more than an hour’s worth of breathing time.
 
But people have fears, rational or not.
 
Happy Halloween from ImpactHollow.com !
 
Special Halloween ‘08 Post 

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Hiring a Copywriter

October 15th, 2008

by Charlie Crowell

Boca Raton, FL - I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday. He’s the VP of marketing for a consumer product’s company based in New York. We got going on the topic of copywriters - and what constitutes a good one. We came up with a list of desirable qualities to look for – some essential, others, maybe just desirable.

ABILITY TO WRITE – A no-brainer for sure but there’s more here than meets the eye. Good copywriters need to have good command of the language but just as importantly they have to write in such a way that they connect with their targeted audience. Most people write in a stiff, up-tight, rigid manner. They suddenly get formal when putting words on paper. That’s fairly worthless. Copywriters must be able to write in a personable way if they have any hope of connecting with the reader.

ABILITY TO SELL HIMSELF – If your perspective copywriter can’t dazzle you with his resume, it means he can’t really sell. You should look at the resume (or web site or Linkedin profile) and want to hire him on the spot before someone else does. If a copywriter can’t knock your socks off when writing about himself, how is he going to be persuasive when writing about your product or service?

DESIRE TO WRITE – As the saying goes, “writer’s write”. Does your perspective copywriter like to write? Does he/she have a blog? Keep a journal? Write articles for newspapers and magazines? Write his kid’s essays for school? Writing talent comes from practice. The more you write - the better you get - and if someone only writes when he/she has to then they are taking the slow road and the heart probably isn’t in it.

EXPERIENCE – Another no-brainer. Human beings learn from experience so when hiring a copywriter, you want someone else to have paid for the “on the job training”. Starting from scratch can be brutal. Copywriters should have a portfolio of solid work to show you. Ask for it.

ATTITUDE – We both agreed that an upbeat, enthusiastic attitude goes a long way and is a prerequisite to successful copy simply because it shows in the writing. You can only fake your attitude just so long. Besides, who wants to work with a sourpuss.

VOCABULARY – It’s a funny thing. Even though typical copy uses a limited number of fairly common words, good copywriters have an extensive vocabulary. Studies have shown most people tend to use the same words over and over. That’s boring and predictable. Having a large pool of words to draw from seems to enliven copy.

STORYTELLING – Good copywriters tend to be good storytellers. This doesn’t mean they fabricate stuff. It means they can take the facts and present them in a unique, captivating, often entertaining way that locks in the prospect’s attention. People have been telling stories since the dawn of time – and there’s a reason.

QUIRKINESS – According to Dan, most of the outstanding copywriters he has worked with have been, in one way or another, quirky. Not that they were weird. They just look at the world in a slightly different or unhabitual manner. Could we be talking creativity here?

A GENUINE INTEREST - Good copywriters are life-long students of their craft. According to Dan, one of his best copywriters couldn’t even read a newspaper article without extracting something useful from it. He obsessed over the words and phrases and how they were used. He would stumble on some terminology he admired, jump up and write it on an oversized white board in his office. Later it would be stored away to a Word file for possible future use.

We added some other criteria to the list as well. Things like the ability to accept criticism, the ability to work as part of a team, the ability to meet deadlines and a certain “stick-to-it-ness”. Plus, we noted, it helps to have some first-hand knowledge of the products or services they’re writing about. If you sell parachutes, it’s good to find a copywriter who likes to jump out of airplanes.

Of course none of this represents the final word on the subject but it was an interesting conversation - stuff well worth consideration.

ImpactHollow.com

Chescrowel@aol.com

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The Case of the Cardboard Pizza Truck

September 23rd, 2008

by Charlie Crowell

Whether or not your business should have an advertising vehicle is  debatable. If you look at it like I do, it boils down to two things. Will you do more business as a result of having your business promoted on the vehicle? And will the benefits outweigh the costs? The big unknown factor here is caused by the inability to track any additional sales as a direct result of the vehicle.
 
The variables are endless but if you do go through the trouble and expense, you might want to consider taking it a step further. How about making the vehicle itself the central player of your advertising effort?
 
Probably the best example I’ve ever seen of this approach is a little truck used at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort at Walt Disney World.
 
When guest checked into their rooms, they were greeted by a collection of informational paper items such as a map of the resort, a list of activities, etc. But standing out among all this stuff was a 6″ die-cut cardboard pizza truck.
 
My five year old son spotted it immediately and played with it throughout our stay.

Disny\'s Caribbean Beach Resort Pizza Truck

 
The truck was actually a colorful table tent showing both sides of the vehicle.  The back side had the pizza delivery menu.
 
Later we spotted the real-life pizza truck parked at the center of the resort and looking exactly like the cardboard version. And yes, I took this picture of it.
Clever Marketing at Disney\'s Caribbean Beach Resort
 
It’s easy enough to figure out the logic here. The cardboard truck, seen by every guest, reinforces the real truck and vice versa - and both provide a constant reminder that pizza was just a phone call away. Pretty clever stuff - but something any business could do.
 
As for the colorful cardboard pizza truck? We brought it home and my son continued to play with it until I put it away for posterity.

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Marketing Lessons from Captain Carvel

August 28th, 2008

by Charlie Crowell

Some years ago, I owned a Carvel Ice Cream franchise. At the time, Carvel Corp. was still being run by its founder, Thomas Carvel. Old Tom was in his 80’s by this time and while a remarkably successful marketer, he really should have turned the business end of the company over to others years earlier.

Long Forgotten Capt. Carvel

 The problem was, Carvel was stuck in a time warp. The stores had not aged well, the product line was in a state of limbo and the point-of-purchase materials were pathetic.

At one point, I stumbled upon an old image of Captain Carvel. This was a character Tom came up with back in the early 1970’s. A series of comic books was produced featuring Capt. Carvel back then, but the character had since slid into obscurity.

Wasn’t long before I decided to make the first-ever life-size version of the Captain. By using a sheet of plywood, a jigsaw and some acrylic paints, my humble vision came to life. I even added a cartoon bubble pushing our highly profitable ice cream cakes.

 

Capt. Carvel in all his glory.

Much to my surprise, Capt. Carvel became something of a sensation. Hardly anyone had ever heard of him and he was as corny as hell – but he captured the imagination of a lot of our younger customers.

Customers were always asking about him and local teenagers began dressing up as Capt. Carvel for Halloween, or so I was told by some of my high school aged staff. 

And, the one dimensional superhero was portable. We took him along when we sold ice cream at fairs, festivals and other off-site locations.

There are, of course, plenty of businesses that use these types of “cut outs”. If you create a lot of them, your business can take on a colorful cartoonish look and by having your characters “speaking” with cartoon bubbles, you can get your message across in a unique way. How far you take it is up to you but it’s a relatively inexpensive way to make your business unique and build a one-of-a-kind image.

Dagwood's Character Cutout

Dagwood's Character Cutout

Now obviously you can’t use characters you don’t own. Copyright laws apply. But, coming up with your own characters can be a lot of fun and you can develop them to your specific needs. Struggling local artists can often be found to help.

We’ll touch more on this subject in the weeks and months ahead. Stay tooned.

Old Disney-MGM Studios Cutout Even Had Flashing Flashbulbs.

Old Disney-MGM Studios Cutout Even Had Flashing Flashbulbs.

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Revolutionize Your Business - Courtesy of Disney

August 26th, 2008

by Charlie Crowell

 

Anyone who knows me reasonably well knows that I’m a big Disney fan. Of particular interest to me is Walt Disney World here in Florida, just a three hour drive from us in Boca Raton.

 

There are plenty of reasons to like Disney. My kids were raised on Disney films and vacations to WDW. But my interest in it all has been a little different than you might imagine.

Mickey Mouse can help!

Mickey Mouse can help!

 

Back in the 80’s, Disney started attracting attention for its business operational talent. Over the years I’ve become quite a student of this aspect of the business, going so far as to attend Disney collectible shows in search of internal Disney manuals, booklets and other literature.  Yes, this marketing thing sometimes gets a little out of hand… and yes, I’m a part-time spy.

 

Consequently, Impact Hollow.com has a whole category devoted just to learning “how Disney does it”. It is here that we examine how Disney manages to maintain such a high level of quality service and has become the premiere example of service through people.

 

There’s a lot to be gained for you and your business. Here we pull back the curtain and reveal the service, creativity, marketing, and management techniques and secrets that have made the Disney theme parks the most popular vacation destinations in the world… and have propelled Disney to revenues exceeding $30 billion.

 

Disney’s success certainly didn’t happen by accident.

 

So let’s get started with a quick lesson about expectations. One of Disney’s philosophies says, “Poor performance only exists because it’s tolerated.”

 

When you start working at Disney, you learn right away how critical you are to the company and equally important, you learn what is expected of you.

 

Take a look at this card Disney hands out to new hires.

 

 

Now imagine your employees knowing, understanding and practicing these vital steps. It’s a quick way to dazzle your customers and it can literally be implemented overnight. The truth is, most lousy employees are only lousy because they don’t know better. Their training in minimal and service expectations are never clearly defined so they just fall in line with the other employees.

 

The fact is, offering outstanding service can kick the shorts off your competition. It’s a reasonably low-cost, high impact solution for your business… but the first step is for you make the commitment.

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