From Good to Great: How to Implement the Disney Model of Customer Service in Your Business

Listen in to this episode of the Purpose and Pixie Dust Podcast here:

(00:00:00) - Hello. Welcome back to The Purpose and Pixie Dust podcast. I wanted to do a podcast today about customer service and because this is the purpose of Pixie Dust podcast, I wanted to go ahead and center it around using the Disney model of customer service in your business, because if you are familiar and hopefully you are with anything Disney related, whether it is the Disney parks, the Disney resorts, the Disney store, when you go in anything Disney related, they are well known for providing exceptional experiences to their guests. And I always love how they always call you guests and not clients or customers. I think that's really a fun and very intentional use of the word and part of their branding as well. But by implementing some of these strategies or all of these strategies into your business and some of them are not even that difficult and you're probably doing a lot of these already, maybe all of them. But I just want to encourage you today to consider how you can apply these to your business. And if you are already doing these things in your business, how can you take it up just like a little bit more to really create a magical experience for your clients, customers, guests, whatever you like to call the people that you are serving.

(00:01:23) - So these are no order. You know, I never like to do any order because I just think all of them are important. But when you are communicating, talking to your I'm going to say customers throughout this, but so when you're interacting with your customers, start with a smile, you know, especially if you're on a Zoom call. But when you're in a live video, I always try to make sure that I am smiling as the video is starting and that I am smiling throughout the video. Not in a fake way, but just so that because the majority of the time the things that I'm sharing are things that I believe very passionately about, or they're very positive topics anyway. So even when I record these podcasts, I try to talk with a smile on my face like I'm smiling right now because you can hear that, right? You can hear that. You can feel your energy and you want that positive energy to create that welcoming feeling and that sense of connection with people from the start. So especially if you're in person, if you're on a Zoom call, talking on the phone anywhere they can hear your voice, smile, start with a smile.

(00:02:28) - Next, the next, gosh, what should I call these like? They're not even like steps. The next piece of the model of customer service, I guess, is create a memorable experience. So this is a lot about, you know, branding and how you want people to feel. I'm always about how do you want people to feel when they're working with you? How do you want them to feel when they, you know, when they when they graduate from working with you, but designing your business to create that experience for your customers, whether it's this is actually the next step on this paying attention to details so things that and they can be the littlest things that make a big impact but it could be something as small as a personalized note, a thank you note, sending them a quick message through social media, encouraging them to have a good day. This could be paying attention to when their birthday is or anniversary or some other important day. And again, sending them a message or a little gift on those days.

(00:03:26) - So how can you create this memorable experience with these attention to details with your clients to really stand apart? Next thing, listen to your clients. So listen actively. There are so many times where we're listening and we're multitasking or we're not entirely present perhaps, but listen actively to your customers and provide personalized solutions for their needs. So. I hear this. I feel like more when people are trying to come up with their offers, you know, listening to what people are asking for or what people are complaining about and really being very aware of that and picking up on that. But I also think it's important to listen to your current clients so that you can personalize their experience with you as much as possible, especially if you are working with them one on one in a small group. Even in a membership, though, if you have a lot of people asking about something, complaining about something, and not even necessarily like complaining about something that directly has to do with you, but you hear the same things coming up over and over and again.

(00:04:31) - So some things that I hear a lot from my clients is like lack of time or lack of focus or being hard on themselves for certain things. So then I try to pivot or make a note of in conversations with them and or in my content, to be sure to address those things, to make sure that they know that it's okay to be human and to not be 100% in your business and in that season of grind all the time. So listen to them what they need, what they want, and be able to pivot and adjust accordingly. Next up, exceed expectations. So there's that saying and I've done some podcasts and some videos about this recently, but under-promise and overdeliver, it's so much worse when it's the other way around, I promise, because we have all signed up for those courses, those classes. ET cetera. You know, to work with someone and you're really excited, they promise all these things and then you get in there and it's like, not that experience at all. So we don't want people to feel that way.

(00:05:35) - That's not how we're going to get referrals. That's not how our business is going to grow. So go above and beyond to exceed your customers expectations and create a really memorable experience for them. Next, empower your team. So this is going to you know, the use of the word team is going to be different for different people. So if you have if you're a network marketer and you have a team, empower your team. And this is something that I tried to do early on when building my network marketing business twofold. One, because I did really want my teammates to take ownership of their own businesses, but I also knew that there was literally no way that I was going to be able to scale and grow, especially while working full time if I was always the point person for everything. So I really wanted to empower my team right away. Like these are where the resources are and I set those boundaries as well. You've heard me talk about boundaries a ton, but I set those boundaries around.

(00:06:35) - You know, I will respond to your message within 24 hours. There's no such thing as a nail polish emergency. So I really try to empower my teammates to be able to make decisions and take ownership and allow them to do some trainings, allow them to share what was working for them in our team space. I didn't want it to be the Lindsay Show all the time. If you're not a network marketer, your team might be your virtual assistant. Anyone that is is helping you out and has any sort of even a finger in your business, how can you empower them to make some decisions on their own, take some ownership, take some pride in what they are contributing to your business? Because, you know, and this can be tricky, especially as you are hiring people for the first time. And maybe that sense of trust isn't necessarily there. But once that is established, I encourage you to give those people as much free rein as you possibly can. You know, they're never going to do everything 100% exactly the way you would do it.

(00:07:37) - But we also don't have time to do all the things ourselves either. So being able to accept that even if they're doing something 75%, 80% as good as you would do it, that's probably okay in most situations. Create a culture of service. That's the next one. That's number seven. So this is again going to look differently for everyone's business. But fostering a culture of service within your business by encouraging teamwork and maybe even like pairing up with a philanthropy, a foundation, some sort of cause or need that is close to your heart. This could be something that you do consistently like all the time. A percentage of your revenue goes there as donations. This could be something that you do. I like to do for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. So in October I do something for that. Maybe it's just because of your business or as the face of your business, you are going to donate or volunteer some of your time. But how can you serve others? How can you give back to your community? I think that piece, adding that piece into your business is something that will help get other people on board and we'll also help you see like the bigger picture, the bigger vision and mission.

(00:08:52) - And remember that this is about way more than you. And I just want you to remember that too, as you go throughout your day and as you're building your business. I don't care what your business is. It's bigger than you. So if you are making my sister has Bella Blanc shop, she makes Disney inspired earrings and dresses. Gosh, book bags. Like literally all the accessories. They're so cute. She spends so much time making the designs and figuring out how to best market them and then picking the style clothes that she wants to create. You know, that's so many times I'm sure she feels like this is just like a one sided thing. Like it's just about her and like she's putting all this work in because she doesn't necessarily always get to see the people and their joy when they put on that dress. And it is soft and it fits perfectly and it has pockets and it is a design from their favorite Disney character and they're getting to wear it to the parks and they're getting to wear it to work one day and it puts a smile on their face or how they feel really pretty in it, or they feel really pretty in their earrings.

(00:10:01) - Like you don't have to be doing like mind blowing brain surgery. I don't know why I said mind blowing with brain surgery. I feel like that's kind of weird to combo together, but, you know, it doesn't have to be. I feel like so many times we feel like we have to be making these really, really huge impacts. But you never know the sum of all the small impacts that you're making in your life. So. Keep doing, keep doing what you're doing, you know, keep doing that. Next up, consistency. You know, Disney doesn't just, like show up awesome one day and then the next day, like, the parks are all run down and everybody's rude, right? They are consistent. They are consistent across their branding. They are consistent in their customer service. And they're sure that every customer experience is consistent and meets your high standards of service. Are you showing up, you know, energetically for everyone that you are working with? And if you're not, I think it's time to, you know, dial in and have that awareness.

(00:10:56) - Why not? Is it because of the time of the day is not a good time for you to meet clients? I know last night actually, I had two one on ones back to back. I had like 20 minutes in between them and both calls were great. I'm not going to lie. Before the second call, my energy was feeling kind of low and I was like, Oh. So just because I knew that, you know, once I got on the call, it was fine. I was super excited to chat with this client of mine and her business is doing amazing things. She has lots of great ideas, so it was amazing. But after I got off that call, just knowing how I felt before the call, I went in and I made adjustments to how people can schedule with me so that I don't have to one on one calls in one night anymore. I used to to pile up a lot more of them. But the way my business has grown with my mastermind calls being dedicated one night, you know, I just know that about my energy.

(00:11:50) - So I'm being aware of that and I'm making sure that I am setting myself up so that everyone gets the high level of service that I want to provide. Following up is number nine. Follow up with your customers after their experience to get their feedback and improve your services so this can be part of your, what do they call it out boarding. So if someone's time with you is up, your mastermind is over the membership. They left the membership, they didn't renew, you know, get that feedback and find out why they're not coming back or what they thought of the experience and make sure that you can handle that sort of feedback, but also make sure that you're able to use it to improve. You know, take everything with a grain of salt always. But but following up with them not only to get that feedback and improve your service, but those follow ups as well can be important touchpoints for you to recommend further ways to work together or to make those connections with a future follow up. You know, I'm thinking specifically about my ladies listening to this who have products based businesses who have like makeup or health and fitness products.

(00:12:58) - ET cetera. And you wanted to follow up what they thought about the mascara. They're absolutely loving it. You have a nice little combo and then you make a mental note to follow up with them again. And six weeks, eight weeks to see if they are ready to reorder, said mascara. So follow up is an important key and everything I know when I leave the Disney parks and even before I go, I've actually been so I'm going to a conference very soon at Disney and I have been getting emails for months like your Disney stay is almost here. And I'm like, No, it's not. You're lying. Like, stop, stop teasing me like this. But they also send follow ups after I leave, you know, please rate fill out this two minute survey. I think they might well, actually for the feedback, for a follow up for a trip, I don't think they give away stuff, but every once in a while they'll do surveys and they'll say, you know, we're going to randomly pick people for gift cards.

(00:13:52) - I haven't won one yet, but I do fill out those surveys every time. And I do know that Disney does this. So how can you do that in your business and make this more of a priority? I bet out of all of these, this one might be one where you could probably improve a little bit. And very last one, make it personal, create that personalized experience for your customers by really understanding their preferences and needs and taking that time to get to know them. A lot of times, especially as we're starting out, a lot of our customers, we already kind of know. So how can you how can you get to know them just a little bit more and really make mental notes? What are their preferences? What colors of things do they like? What products did they order once and they never ordered again because they didn't really love it. So checking in with those those people, those kinds of relationships, I'm telling you, is what is going to help take your business to the next level.

(00:14:46) - And, you know, Disney does a really nice job with this. They call you by their name anytime they can. If you scan in and use your magic band in, their name pops up. You have a magical day. Lindsey And I'm always like, Oh my gosh, thank you so much. Right? So make things personal if you're sending little notes out instead of just saying, Hey, I wanted to check in, blah, blah blah, say hey with their name. Hey, Eric. Hi. I wanted to check in and see how much you're loving your quadra. Those. Those names can make it something really special. I read or heard something sometime that we don't realize how little sometimes that other people say our names. And so it really can help you stand out if you address people by their name. I hope you loved this list. So by implementing these strategies, you can use the Disney model of customer service in your own business to create a magical experience for your customers and hopefully set your business apart from the competition.

(00:15:41) - Like these are the secret sauce, so I'm going to run through them one more time, super quickly. We talked about starting with a smile, creating a memorable experience, paying attention to details, listening to your customers, exceeding expectations, empowering your team, creating a culture of service, consistency is key. Follow up and make it personal. So if you loved this episode, it would mean the world to me. If you would screenshot this, share this in your stories, tag me. I'd love to have a little convo with you over on IG or Facebook and if you have not left the show a five star review yet, if you would just do that super quickly, just scroll right down to the bottom of your podcast app, hit the five stars, click the button that says Write a review and just leave me 1 or 2 sentences. It would mean the world to me. We are over 50 reviews now and so thank you. Thank you. Thank you to everyone who has left a review.

(00:16:36) - My goal is to get to 100 by episode 300. Which friend that is like so soon? That's like three weeks, which is like mind blowing. Also, make sure that you are on my email list because I have a fun September workshop coming up. The details are going to be announced super, super soon, so make sure you're on my email list or in the end or in my most magical me Facebook group. That's. To my free Facebook community. All of that is linked in the show notes so that you are the first to hear, because I get a lot of great feedback from my free workshops because like some of these things that I talked about today, I like to exceed expectations and really overdeliver, under-promise, overdeliver, right? So anyway, I hope you have a fabulous magical day. Go out there, create your magic, and we'll talk soon, friend.