Sell Like Disney
I just returned from a quick trip with the family to Disney World. This trip was our sixth Disney trip with our kids, and I was more amazed than ever before just how skillful and intentional Disney is at extracting maximum revenues from their guests. Anybody who considers themselves a life-long student of marketing has to experience Disney first-hand in order to see everything they do to help you part with your money while (usually) smiling and discover ways you can sell like Disney!
Believe it or not, this time I actually took notes during our three days in the various Disney World parks because what I saw is applicable to any business owner and entrepreneur. Disney is bold (and relentless) when it comes to pricing and asking for the sale and therein lies the gold for business owners. Here are a few ideas I noted as I strolled around the parks. I know this is not all the Disney genius out there and if you’ve noticed other strategies and tactics during your Disney experience – leave a comment below.
1. Make It About The Experience and Not The Price
Does anybody do it better than Disney? Doubtful. Disney wraps everything they do with “unique experience” and it’s a fundamental part of the Disney magic. It’s how they charge almost $40.00 for a simple breakfast buffet they has random Disney character visits during your meal. By making it a memorable experience for the kids, the parents open up their wallets.
Action item: How can you improve your customer or prospect experience and make it so unique and memorable that price becomes a secondary (or even non-existent) concern?
2. Make It Fun to Do Business with You
Even the grumpiest tight-wad will manage a smile at Disney. A huge part of the Disney experience is about the fun memories they create for families and generation after generation of visitors attest it is indeed “The Happiest Place On Earth.”
Action item: Is there something special you can do for prospects and customers to make them happy? Remember, it doesn’t have to be something expensive or complex and often times the simpler the better!
3. Create Captive Audiences
Disney has done a tremendous job at keeping guests in the Disney bubble during their entire visit. For example, we stayed at a Disney resort, took Disney buses and monorails, ate at Disney restaurants, shopped at Disney stores, etc. and during this time, we were exposed to many marketing messages and opportunities to buy.
Action item: Can you do something similar in your business so when customers enter your world, you’ve captured their attention and focus? Membership sites and newsletters are simple ways to create a captive audience.
4. Offer Many Opportunities to Spend Money
A Disney sales experience starts when you book your trip and does not end until you return home. In between you’re presented with many different opportunities to spend money, Disney is not bashful when it comes to frequency and pricing. It’s truly a spectacle to behold, but because they do such a great job at creating a special experience, nobody seems to notice.
Action item: Probably one of the most over-looked opportunities for business owners and entrepreneurs and one where most leave money on the table, which is why it’s so important to network with and mastermind with other successful entrepreneurs. Often, you are too close to your business to see the opportunities right in front of you. Take some time to look at your sales opportunities and see if you can create new ones with the products and services you currently have.
5. Offer Upsells
Once you’ve decided to buy something at Disney, they often don’t stop there and instead offer you some type of upsell to enhance your purchase. One example of this is when we booked a dinner at a Disney restaurant in Hollywood Studios and for a few dollars more, they offered us a VIP ticket to the Fantasmic show. Mind you, the show is free to all guests, yet by offering “VIP seating” at the show, they are extracting additional money for those who want choice seating.
Action item: Many of the business owners I consult with can be lazy, timid or ignorant of the incremental power and profitability of upsells. While I think the Internet Marketing folks have taken it to an extreme, by simply adding just one upsell to your sales funnel can increase revenues. Try it!
6. Always Have Luxury/V.I.P./Upscale Opportunities
All smart marketers know that somewhere between 5 – 20% of a buying audience will always take the higher price/upscale offer. If you’re not offering some type of upscale product or service opportunity in your marketing mix, you’re leaving money on the table.
Disney has budget-minded resorts and luxury resorts. They have fast-food style restaurants and high-end gourmet eateries. One of their most unique upscale offers is their VIP Tours, which offers you a guide and special benefits (like short-cutting the lines) during your visit. At up to $380/hour (with a six-hour minimum), there is no better example of this type of exclusive offer.
Action item: This one is easy and mandatory…. How can you create an upscale version or higher-end offer with your product or service? Can you bundle in more value, more time with you, etc. to justify a higher-value proposition?
7. Make It Easy to Give You Money
It makes sense if you’re going to give people many opportunities to spend money, you also give them many different ways to give you the money. Cash, credit cards, Disney resort room keys, Disney Passports are all ways Disney makes it as easy as possible to spend.
Action item: Make sure you are not putting any obstacles in the way of giving you money, unless you are doing so for specific, intentional reasons. One smart way to make it easier for people to buy is to offer multi-pay options.
8. Purchase in Advance and Save More
Disney has studied human psychology and knows how to press the right buttons. One smart strategy is offering special savings on “purchase in advance” offers. For only a few hundred dollars more than what I spent on four, three-day passes, I could have received four annual passes that would allow unlimited visits to the Disney Parks for an entire year. Their slogan is “The more you play, the less you pay per day!”
The other example of this strategy I saw everywhere, was their offer to sell you a $15.00 plastic mug that allowed unlimited soft-drink refills during your visit. I was astounded at how many people were walking around Disney with these mugs.
I do this with CopyDoodles memberships and offer a substantial savings if one takes the annual membership versus month-to-month.
Action item: What can you do in your business to create a higher front-end payday bundle?
9. Be Flexible and Mindful of Customer Needs
Orlando is typically a sunny warm place, but when it rains, it rains. Imagine spending thousands of dollars on a Disney vacation and then it rains while you’re visiting the parks. Literally within seconds of the clouds opening up, Disney vendors and stores offer previously hidden rain ponchos to keep guests dry. Not for free – by any stretch – and I have it from a good source these are one of the most profitable items Disney sells.
Action item: Are you paying attention to what your customers want and need on a regular basis? Have you surveyed them recently?
10. Create Special Offers for Certain Segments of Your Customers
I only saw one example of this from Disney, but I am sure there are many others I missed. Disney is smart and makes a special offer to Florida residents to save a substantial amount of money by offering a specially-priced three day ticket to Disney. I am sure they have other specials that are only offered to certain segments of their database. This is an important strategy all business owners should consider in their marketing and sales efforts.
Action item: What unique offers can you make to certain segments of your prospect and customer list? For example if a person purchased product A, can you make an exclusive offer for product B that only is available when they purchase product A?
O.K. I only came up with 10 “sell like Disney” tips and I’m sure there are many others out there. Have you experienced the art and science of selling like Disney and saw something I missed? If so, let a comment below and share your thoughts and insights!
I enjoyed your points, Mike — you’ve done a great job of capturing some of the “Disney marketing magic” strategies. Having grown up down the street from Disney-Anaheim it was always a favorite spot to visit. Their stock (DIS) has been on a solid ride up too, as of late.
What stands out from your analysis is “all the different flexible and varied ways there are, to spend your money there”; vs the single-price point approach many entrepreneurs use (or, single-price with a single upsell, and that’s it). The wide flexibility creates the question in the customer’s mind of not “whether or not to buy” but “which of the choices do I buy?”, a critical difference.
One strategic point about the dialogue, is that it’s Because of the branding, history and already-established appeal, that Disney can do well at premium price points. It’s a function of fame/positioning; the less known you are, the tougher it may be to apply all the strategies, and command premium pricing. As businesses grow they can expand and start testing out what converts best.
“If you can dream it, you can achieve it” – Walt Disney
To the mouse-ears,
Ken
Hey Ken – how are you? Good additional points!
Mike, I have a question regarding price points and payment options:
I have an offline newsletter and offered a monthly rate, 6 month and 12 month options. I found that the 6 and twelve month customers did not stick around after the time was up but the monthly customers almost always stay subscribed. Any thoughts on how to keep the 6 and twelve months subcribers to keep coming back? Thanks.
Edwin- there are many “stick strategies” you can employ at the 6 month and 12 month time, however if you are seeing a big difference in retention – why not just offer monthly???
Great points and so very true a out the Disney experience which is amazing
The one we implemented and drastically increased our sales over the past 15 months was number 4
We just started talking more to our customers and in turn asking for more sales
It’s amazing how when you ask coupled with value they buy
Now I need to work on a few more of these
Great article
Thanks Mike!
On the point of Special Offers for Certain Segments of Your Customers. A few years ago Disney started promoting to the UK market a 14 day ultimate ticket, which is priced around the same as their 7 day ticket and gives access to all the parks/waterparks/Disney Quest etc for 14 days. They obviously realised most visitors from the UK where there for 2 weeks and what better way to get them to spend their money in resort than allow them to visit the parks for the full duration.
The thing that really makes me laugh is so many travel companies in the UK promote it like it’s a great short term deal that you’re getting 14 days for the price of 7. When in actual fact it’s the standard pricing for the ticket and has been since they introduced it a few years ago. I guess that gives away that I’m a Disney fan too!!
Thanks for the note Liza!
Mike,
Thank you so much for a great article. I look forward to going through it at a deeper depth and implementing its lessons.
I can see we used some of your ideas at an event I performed at last weekend. I’m a magician and a balloon twister. My wife and I sold balloons at a trade show with a horse them. This was a family event.
We captured the adults and kids focus by selling a wearable balloon horse. You should have seen the smiles on their faces. Both the kids and the adults.
The last year was our first year at this same event and I didn’t know how to create a horse. What a big difference when I was able to offer them what they loved and enjoyed…something horse related.
We doubled our sales from the previous year and created fun moments that will last a life time. Multiple times during the weekend I heard, “you made the kids so happy.” Oh, and the crowds were down because of weather and we still doubled.
Our weekend also fits with Mike’s point number 3 – We captivated our audience-I thought our price for the horse might be too high but the idea of wearing that balloon horse ‘roped them in’
Thanks again,
Steven
Steven – thanks for your comments and notes. Appreciate your marketing!