Legend has it the day before Disney Land opened, Walt and crew arrived to do a walk-through. Upon entering the gates, Walt immediately kneeled down at the front of the park. His entourage was curious as he begged them to kneel with him. Once everyone was kneeling, he explained that this was the height of the customer he was most concerned about pleasing and he wanted to see the park from their perspective.
Do you look at your business from your customer’s point of view?
I took a trip last weekend to the Upper Peninsula in Michigan. Took my son to see Michigan Technological University and my family to see Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. I snapped this picture of one of the lookout platforms.
See the window built into the wall of the platform? They got this one right. This family-friendly park made sure the entire family had a view of Miner’s Castle and Lake Superior. No dangerous lifting of young children over the safety of the wall. No little ones complaining that they couldn’t see. No unhappy faces feeling forgotten or ignored.
Little things like that window make a huge difference in how someone views and remembers their experience.
Walt knew this. He built his park and empire by looking at how his best, most important customers would experience it. He made sure the people he wanted to impress the most would be impressed. He looked at everything through their eyes.
Have you done the same?
Have you asked these questions?
- Who are my best customers?
- What is their minimum expectation when they visit my store?
- How can I design my store and its policies to make their experience even better?
- How can I surprise and delight them even more?
I’ll bet Walt asked these questions. You should, too.
-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com
PS One easy way to do this is to look at every single interaction your customer has with your store and ask just these two questions…
- What does the customer expect to happen here?
- What can I do that will surprise and delight them here?
It is a perspective that changes everything (for the better).