Disney’s way of thinking was that when it came to the experience was that nothing was impossible.
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If you’ve ever been to a Disney theme park, you enjoy the moment, but the true dividend of the experience is the memories.
Lou Carbone is the founder and CEO (chief experience officer) of Experience Engineering®, and through his work with many clients, including Disney, he says, “Memories are the currency of experience.”
This concept goes beyond a memorable family trip to Disney. Thinking in terms of future memories applies to any type of business. Customers do business in the moment, but what sticks with them is the memory of that moment. These are the memories that get customers to come back and, ideally, create loyalty.
On a recent episode of Amazing Business Radio, I interviewed Carbone, and we shared our philosophies about designing experiences that get customers to come back. Carbone is a pioneer of customer experience. Even his title, CEO, in which the E is for experience, was decades ahead of today’s CXO (chief experience officer) title. From the beginning of his career, he understood the power of designing experiences to create memories that drive future business. Here are some of the highlights worth considering for your business.
Lessons from Disney
Carbone is proud of his work with Disney and shares how the Disney Imagineers profoundly shaped his approach to experience design. His influence came in the 1970s, when Carbone was working as a young reporter covering Disney and later as a rep of a marketing agency. He worked with numerous Disney executives, including Dick Nunes, who was president of the amusement parks. As he stood with the executive team in front of Spaceship Earth, the large “ball” at the center of Disney’s EPCOT, he was reminded of the story from when the theme park was “just a dream.”
Standing in front of a lake, the executives looked in one direction while Walt Disney looked in the opposite direction. The executive team thought that the entrance should be there at the lake, while Walt thought that, while the lake was great, it was in the wrong place. Rather than working around the lake, his decision was to move it.
Disney’s way of thinking was that when it came to the experience, nothing was impossible.
Of course, there may be limits, but what if you were given a clean sheet of paper to imagine the best possible experience, and cost was not an issue? What experience would you create? That’s the starting point.
Don’t Be Afraid to Charge More
When you have something that is unique and so good that you can build a reputation around it, charge more. Carbone calls this Arrogance in Pricing. Nobody ever says a Disney vacation is inexpensive. On the contrary, according to LendingTree, 24% of families going on a Disney vacation go into debt to pay for the trip. That number jumps to 45% for families with children younger than 18. Was the trip worth it? LendingTree reports that 90% of those parents say, “It was a treat.”
This is Carbone’s Arrogance in Pricing concept playing out in real life. Keep in mind, there is a breaking point. Price does not become completely irrelevant. It just becomes less relevant.
The Goal Isn’t Loyalty—It’s Being Missed
Carbone says, “We were talking about engineering experience, not just fixing broken things, but creating distinctive value that is so emotionally bonding that you would mourn the loss of that organization or your life would be changed.” This is a lofty goal, but it’s also a different way to think about customer experience.
Most companies focus on satisfaction, reducing friction and resolving issues. That used to give you a competitive advantage, but today it’s table stakes. The organizations that stand out create experiences that turn into memories. Carbone suggests you ask yourself, “What are we doing that customers would miss if we were gone?”
The answer to that question will be the experience that brings your customers back.
Final Words
The best companies don’t compete on price. They compete with experience. Disney understands that customers may enjoy the experience in the moment, but what they ultimately take home are the memories. It’s those memories that influence a return visit and the willingness to recommend them.
When you intentionally design experiences to create positive memories, solve problems in memorable ways and deliver value people will talk about and can’t easily be found elsewhere, price becomes less relevant, and loyalty becomes stronger.
While a lot goes into creating the kind of experience Carbone recommends, it can be summed up in one sentence: Stop thinking only about what customers experience today and start thinking about what they will remember tomorrow.