Customer Relations Management

[lrodk]

One of the new programs to be launched at Disney's theme parks very soon was announced today at the shareholders meeting in Connecticut. Bob Iger went on to descibe it in a hypothetical example. I've posted a transcript of that portion of the speech so that you all get a sense of what to expect on your future visits. The program, by the way, will be completely voluntary.

Another, and very different, utilization of technology is an initiative we call Customer Relations Management, or CRM for short.

As we've already mentioned, Disney enjoys an extraordinary affinity with its customers. Until now, this has been based on the appeal of our stream of products. But, thanks to technology, we will have the ability to have a deeper two-way relationship with our biggest fans.

Let us give you an example of how this can work. Imagine that Mr. and Mrs. Charming and their two children visit Walt Disney World. During their stay, preferred reservations are made at their favorite restaurants, advance FASTPASS tickets are provided for their favorite rides and one morning a cupcake with a candle is brought to their room in honor of their daughter's 8th birthday.

When the Charmings leave the resort, they indicate in their guest surveys that they particularly enjoyed the Peter Pan flight attraction. Shortly after arriving home, they receive a note thanking them for coming to Disney World and offering them discount coupons for the video of "Peter Pan" and for the film "Return to Neverland," playing at their local theater. Later in the year, they receive promotional materials offering them a family package for the Disney Cruise Line, mentioning that Captain Hook himself will be on board. And, at Halloween, they are sent discounts for Peter Pan and Tinker Bell costumes at the Disney Store. When they return to Disney World, they are notified of a Character Breakfast that features the Peter Pan cast.

This hypothetical example should give you an idea of how we can interact with our guests, making them aware of opportunities and providing them incentives to enhance their sense of connection with our company. [/QUOTE}

 

[phillybeth]

That's not customer relations, that's direct marketing. Just because I enjoy a particular ride does not mean I want to be inundated with cheesy marketing tie-ins to, say, TOT or POC. Gak.

 

[lrodk]

As was stated at the meeting, the program will be voluntary. In that sense no one will be inundated with tie-ins if he/she doesn't want any part of that sort of thing. I think that there are many possibilities inherint in this type of program that are quite appealing, including, but not limited to, advance Fast-Pass reservations. Could this be a precursor/pilot to the long-time rumored premium Fast-Pass system?

I also like the personal touches, such as the little surprise b-day cupcake waiting in your room. It's these little things that really make WDW a place like no other. Little surprises like these, and the memories they create are the stuff that Disney magic is all about.

The post marketing side of the program, where guests receive mailings on various Disney products, is no different than the piles of useless mail that I get each and every day, with one possible exception however. I just might jump on an attractive discount offer for a Disney Cruise package, or similar offer, if it were offered to me in this way. I wouldn't have a problem with these types of offerings. Otherwise my paper shredder is always ready and waiting.

 

[Safari Steve]

Ugh... please don't say 'EZ-Pass'... unless you think that WDW is going to help you pay tolls electronically on your local expressway.
(just my major pet peeve... sorry).

I don't know if this will fly or not. But it'll be interesting to watch unfold. I do have personal objections to creating a caste-system in FastPass, and I maintain my position that it will not work properly unless specific times are given in advance (otherwise the whole thing breaks down... not saying that it won't happen, just that it won't work well and it would be wrong.)
I also have a personal objection to the use of the word "customer". Perhaps Mr. Iger has not yet acclimated to his (relatively) new position... I've never seen "Customer Relations". Nor do I carry a card in my pocket that lists the "7 Customer Service Guidelines". I don't have customers. I have guests. The terminology used in the announcement reeks of crass, in-your-face-whether-you-want-it-or-not, "you're just a wallet with legs" marketing. I certainly hope that he did a poor job explaining the concept.

 

[OnWithTheShow]

Steve, how do you feel about the FastPass castmembers ruining certain attractions (including JC I believe) with their polo shirts and khakis. Who wants to check in to the Hollywood Tower Hotel and be greeted by one of these folks instead of a bellhop?

 

[Safari Steve]

I really wish they had better-themed costumes (heck, black pants and they could wear the outer jacket of whatever attraction they have to be at... that's not too difficult, nor is it any more expensive than the specially embroidered FP shirts some of them wear--actually, it'd cost less.) This is, of course, part of the reason that I am studying costume design (I'm a Junior right now).

I am, however, glad that they switched FP over to its own operations. This makes it easier for ops CMs to focus on their attraction and performance themeing, and it also keeps me from having to deal with a guest who couldn't read the simple instructions yelling at me on my boat because I "intentionally" refused them admission through the FP line when they had "Not a Valid FastPass" passes. Sometimes it's nice to have a few human shields. (seriously, though, my hats go off to the FP CMs. Hardest job in ops.)

 

[larworth]

CRM is a buzzword floating around corporate america these days. Many companies whether heavily service oriented or not are investing in improved systems/processes that deal with their customers. CRM is the standard industry terminology, but this does not excuse Mr. Iger who should of at least called it GuestRM. As Scoop might say. Bad, no soup for him!

(I remember Eisner one time saying how much they had learned from ABC about how to cut costs. It doesn't look like the cultural exchange program has worked well in both directions.)

Pressler talked about a related program called "Destination Disney". His examples all centered around encouraging extra visits and making the stay more customized. These after market promotions (videos, merchandise) are logical extensions to this same overall concept. Disney is recognized for their guest service, so it makes perfect sense they try to take this step towards personalization to the next level.

Interestingly, in none of the examples do they explicitely talk about how this program could become a big perk for on-site versus off-site guests. You know they've thought about it. Of course Disney already has the power to provide more on-site perks and has thought better of it. This might fall into the same category, or it might be something that really changes that dynamic.

 

[lrodk]

Sorry if I struck a bad chord Steve. I use EZ-Pass just about every day, so I guess the name is embedded in my brain.

 

[All Aboard]

All Bad

As I read, it just kept getting worse. Initially the words "preferred reservations" and "advance FastPass" had me trembling in fear of "pay to play" types of premium guest services that give me stomach aches. Then, he launched into a long series of ways he was planning to chase after the guest (or is that customer?) after he/she left the park with "buy this" and "buy that" offers. How is that guest (whoops, there I go again) customer service. Phillybeth hit the nail on the head - it's just advanced direct marketing. From what I read, it won't enhance my experience one bit.

 

[Annie&Hallie'sMom]

It's about time Disney did some Customer Relations Marketing (or being Disney GUEST Relations Marketing). Disney SHOULD have a goldmine in a database of people who have visited and it could be used to their VAST advantage. But it would take work and money (yikes! They'd have to spend some).

As a former annual passholder (who only got 2 Mickey Monitors during the year), shouldn't they be asking me why I didn't renew? Shouldn't it be on record that out of the past 5 years I've been to WDW 4 times in September. Isn't that a key for a specialized mailing to those who regularly visit WDW during a certain time. (Forget the mass untargeted mailings that they send out -- PLEASE! Get with the times). Their records should show that over the past 5 years I've been to WDW 6 times within the Sept-Dec time period. Again, this is a great thing to market. Or that I have almost always stayed in a Deluxe Resort (we see that you've stayed in the Contemp, AKL and WL...with excellent taste like that how would you like to try the YC at a very special rate of....). Heck, they should know what rooms/floor I've stayed in and make offers based on that when I'm making a ressie (Mr. X I see that you stayed on the Zebra Trail the last time you were here. Would you like to be placed there again or would you want to explore a new view?).

I've spent tons of money at WDW and given then plenty of info about me. USE it. I am a repeat customer -- that's the best kind of customer you can get. USE my info. Target market me. I'll buy! Show me that you've taken the time to learn about me and I'll be impressed.

 

[raidermatt]

I agree "Guest" would have been the proper term, but overall, I think the idea has promise. I'm with Steve about not necessarily wanting a caste system for Fastpass, but some kind of offer would be good. Maybe I get an extra "ticket" that will only be accepted at the FastPass kiosk for a certain attraction(s). If I said my favorite was Space Mountain, I get a "ticket" for a Fastpass at SM that can only be used once. My regular park ticket would still carry its regular Fastpass priviledges. I love it.

As for the after the fact Direct Mail stuff, again, great. Gcurling, I understand your point about how this is really just a way to get more money out of me, but the reality is, there's a good chance I'm going to at least already be interested in the DVD for which they are offering me a discount. The discount may clinch the deal, and at the very least would make me feel good that Disney is making this offer to ME. Disney has licensed Grolier to produce their children's books, and its through direct mail that Grolier gained me as a customer. Being a big Disney fan, chances are, I will at least be interested in anything Disney has to offer. If they can identify my preferences, and base their offers on that, we will both be even happier.

I do, however, share Gcurling's view that if this is a "premium pay" service, forget it. I realize I will pay for it indirectly, by purchasing Disney "stuff", like park tickets, DVDs, collectables, whatever. But, don't ask me to pay $25 per year for the "privilege" of receiving an extra Fastpass or a mailer.

 

[All Aboard]

A&H'sMom, Raidermatt (it was a fumble, by the way), I think you are reading outside the lines a bit. What you describe DOES sound like a good idea. But I don't read those things in what Iger is saying.

Customized guest service such as "virtual check-in" and noting the room view don't seem to be the theme of what he's saying. Instead, he seems focused on ways to not let the customer get away from us without buying more. Not that there's anything wrong with that, believe me I understand profit maximization. It's just that it doesn't seem at all customer service oriented.

Now, if this is paired with the types of things we'd all love to see (extending the technology) - great! I'm all for it. It's that I just don't read that in the statement anywhere.

 

[d-r]

They are getting better and closer, but they still don't have it down pat, imho.

Here is my example. A year or two ago you could go to disney.com and get a "personalized itinerary" It was a pretty basic thing, and the system wasn't too smart. You answered a few questions (would you rather ride big thrill rides or kiddie dark rides? Family meals or fancy meals?") and a few weeks later you got a print out in the mail. Basically it was like a mail-merge kind of thing ("you said you like the big thrill rides, so here are a couple of paragraphs about them"). If you select button "A" it printed out the button A blurb of info for you and wrote your name on the cover. Not a whole lot to it, but it was pretty neat to get it though.

Now they have gotten a little better. We have a trip in May with weekedays at wlv and a weekend that we first reserved at carribean beach. We got a little personalized itenerary in the mail the other day, this one we didn't have to ask for or answer questions. It is still the basic database "mail-merge" kind of model, but it is a little smoother. The pictures were from Carribean Beach resort, the options were based upon our demographic ("you might like to check out Cirque DeSohoweveryouspellit" -- probably because we are two adults without kids). Now it is printing out "Button A info" without you having to select button A. The system just uses what it knows about you to figure that the "Button A spiel" is what you want. It was still pretty neat to get it.

But it still isn't perfect or very smart. It didn't know that we just went to cirque in January, for instance. Now that would have been cool ("Hope you had a great time at Cirque on your last trip...have you thought about going back, or maybe checking out Disney Quest which probably looked pretty cool to you when you walked by it"). It doesn't know that we will be at wlv for the 5 days preceeding. It didn't click in that we just stayed at dolphin in January. Or, for that matter, that we had already canceled the cbr reservations to go to the Contemporary that weekend since the rumors people are moving there (or will it be the mother in laws). It didn't know what restaurants we liked. I think they are getting there though, and I like it. It is sort of neat.

The kind of thing described here though, where we say once that we liked riding Peter Pan and then we get inundated with Panuerisms smacks of the "mail merge" approach. It is like "they did something that was Button A, so let's try to sell them a bunch of button A stuff." I think that would really be annoying. For example, I'm going to start getting annoyed if they send me a coupon to buy Peter Pan on DVD when not only have I already gotten it, but I sent in the coupon for the rebate for having it already on VHS (I'm just trying to come up with an example here about the mailing all the peter pan offers being to simplistic).

I'd like something with a little more intelligence to it than that. It should be smart enough to at least look for patterns of course, but then smart enough to look for differences ("in the past five years you have stayed at every deluxe resort but the yacht club...so do we have an offer for you!") "Hey, you tried California Grill and Artist Point on your last trip, how about Flying Fish on this one, haven't been there in a while?" And a weenie wouldn't hurt either ("if you'd like to try Flying Fish, a glass of Fess Parker Cuvee's on us" or "why not try out Disney Quest for 10% off" or whatever). Or even better, "We've noticed that you've eaten at Artist Point every May for the past three years, ever since you enjoyed your honey moon with us at the wilderness lodge. We're looking forward to seeing you this year, and you can bet the pixie dust will still be there."

Now when they can do that, they've gotten it. Some kind of articial intelligence fuzzy logic. For that matter, I'd like for it just to be smart enough to say, "Oh, D.R. Charming, you have disney club, AP, and amex. If you'd like to stay at cont. on Sat. May 11 then the best rate for you is X___" without having to ask about code CIFXYZ and go through each iteration with the poor cro cm. That would be something! Or without me having to recite my address twice when renewing the disney club so that she could "make sure it was in both the system here and the one that does the mailings" (HUH?) I don't think that the disney club computer can talk to the disney magazine computer can talk to the cro computer can talk to the dining computer can talk to the dvc computer. And I'm really sure that no computer at wdw has any idea that we went to disneyland last year. Or what we bought there. Or which movies we have gotten on dvd that we already had on vhs. Or what we ordered from disneystore.com. They have so much information about so many of us, but it is isloated in different databases.

They could probably identify disboards members. "Oh, I notice that you each time you have stayed with us you changed your reservations 1/2 dozen times, called 7 am each morning for ps at cinderelllas, and sent faxes to each resort before you arrived. We are going to offer you the special "DIS-count" of a free refrillable mug so you won't have to bring your old one."

And if they gave out advanced fast passes, I think I'd like to pick what they are for instead of it guessing for me. It would be a nice feeling perk, but I hope that for the benefit of the system they don't over do it. An advance fast pass could be preprinted with a time though, and that could be factored in to the dispensors (the guest perk being you only have to show up there once - for example, if you have noon space mountain you could start out in adventureland and frontierland and then just show up at space mountain at noon, rather than going to space mountain, getting a fast pass, and coming back to space mountain in a couple of hours. Saves a trip across the park). That would actually be pretty sweet. You could be in your room in the morning and plan to go to AK for the day, and get fast passes pre-printed for the Safari at 9, for ctx at 11, for kali at 1 and bugs life at 3. Then you would just have to show up at the time, and the system could know that those fast passes were already given out so that it would factor those in when dispensing during the day (when the time came to give out fast passes for bugs life at 3:00-4:00 it would already know that I have mine so it would give out that many less). That would be a heckuva perk.

DR

 

[raidermatt]

gcurling- I get what you are saying, and don't completely disagree. But he does mention dinner reservations, and "advance Fastpasses for their favorite rides". Not exactly virtual check-in, but I'd be thrilled with the extra Fastpasses. Not sure how the dinner reservations would work, but it has some promise.

As for the after-visit marketing, maybe its just me, but I don't mind getting the offers. Sure, I don't want them to over-do it, and only send me stuff related to Pan, for instance, and leave me out of Lion King offers. But if the offer doesn't apply, so be it. My guess however, is that at least some of the stuff would emphasize Pan, but be applicable to a broader range of products. For instance, the Halloween costume discount might emphasize Pan and Tink, but be "useable" for any costume. I know he didn't say that, but I'd be surprised if it didn't go that way.

d-r - Most of what you are suggesting sounds great, and the technology exists. While it would be hard to tie the benefits of this directly to the Company's bottom line, I would hope that the relationship and loyalty building benefits would be recognized and considered.

My only ticky-tack thing would be the Fastpass. I'd rather have a separate ticket or something that I can just use in the kiosks. This would allow me to incorporate the benefit into my plans, rather than planning around the time on the fastpass. (Even if I got to pick the time in advance, my schedule might get thrown off.)

 

[Safari Steve]

From what I understand of the "pre-arranged FastPasses" that were given out as part of a promotion at Disneyland a while back, they have no times or ride name on them (this is precisely why this will gum up the existing system.) to keep things running smoothly, the system MUST know how many people will be coming between X'clock and Y'clock. Otherwise, it may as well distribute every pass for immediate entry (which makes the FP line into a standby line, which makes the system obsolete). The only way to make it work is to avoid pay-for-play, and have them literally pre-scheduled (you could even pick the order).
If we give out an "extra ticket", then who gets them? Why? That makes the "Free to everyone" selling point a blatant lie, and people don't like being lied to.

The only way it would work without turning the FP return entrance into a disgusting class-warfare battle zone is this: You can have a certain number of FPs pre-scheduled (and lets say you get an hour-and-a-half window) and you CAN'T get any additional FPs until your final pre-arranged window starts, -OR- you get none ahead of time and you can have one at a time or one every two hours (whichever comes first).

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

If this comes to pass I will be sure to avoid answering Disney questionnaires.

I don't want to be stuck in the same room over and over again. Nor do I want more information about something I've already done. I'm not a Disneyana addict and this would take away from my experience big time.

I also think that tying all these systems together is an expense that somebody (me) is going to have to pay for and that only a few of the guests will ever use. It would be a great idea if they charged the people who want this sort of thing $150 per year to get it. That way the vast majority who don't do repeat visits more often than every couple of years are footing the bill for the few who want a vacation that closely customized.

 

[raidermatt]

Doubletrouble- The idea wouldn't be to "pigeon-hole" you into the same room or service. Instead, use the info they have to make these offers to you. Of course you could ignore any and all of them. Disney will still be very happy to book you into any resort you wish. As for paying for it, the theory would be that no additional charge would be necessary, because they would be building guest loyalty, as well as selling more stuff. These things would in effect more than pay for the program. But of course, that doesn't mean Disney, or any other company that uses this type of program, wouldn't charge, I just don't think they would.

Steve- The extra Fastpass ticket idea wouldn't preclude anyone from using their park ticket for Fastpass. Any guest would still be able to use the system as they do now. Since the extra ticket would have to be used in the Fastpass kiosk, the system would still be able to control the number of people in each window. The main benefit of this would be the convenience for the guest, as well as Disney not needing to worry about dealing with all the issues that go along with pre-arranged times. Also, there could even be different numbers of extra Fastpasses programmed on each ticket.

Who got the extra ticket would be up to Disney. My suggestion would be to issue it for "frequent" resort guests, or possibly as part of the different packages. Just as some guests get certain extras based on their vacation package, they would also get a certain number of "extra" Fastpasses. Certainly the number of these that were issued would need to be controlled, so as not to over-tax the system. Fastpass would still be free to everyone, its just that some guests would get an extra perk out of it, just as resort guests got extra benefit from the parks through EE.

Just my opinion on how it could be a relatively inexpensive way to generate some extra goodwill among on-site guests. (which of course positively impacts the bottom line...). That's not to say using pre-arranged times wouldn't work, I just like the flexibility of the separate ticket.

 

[GeorgeG]

First, I'd like to say that the concept of being a "guest" and not a "customer" is one of things that makes WDW the place we all love so much. I hope that never goes away.

With technology the way it is today, I would imagine WDW could certainly identify loyal guests. Like any other good business, they should want to "take care of" their best customers (oops, I mean guests). So many of us have spent many, many thousands of dollars at WDW and a few perks would not be unwelcome. Unfortunatley, though, even stockholder perks are a thing of the past.