The tips I am sharing with you in these posts are the ones our group felt were the most relevant to their business (and your business!).  With that in mind, here are the next two strategies learned:

3) Foster an environment of idea sharing
Disney is very big on promoting the idea of sharing ideas from within its “cast member ranks.” (By the way, there are no Disney employees – they are all cast members, which fosters a stronger feeling of ownership.)

No matter what job function a cast member is performing if they have an idea that could improve the Disney Experience, they want to hear it.  They make this simple and accessible to all cast members and our hostess shared several examples of how the sharing of ideas has benefited the guest experience at Disney.

This concept of idea sharing is critical for entrepreneurial success, which is the reason why mastermind groups exist.  To give forward-thinking entrepreneurs a chance to share their ideas and get feedback from the group.

So here’s two ideas for you to consider:

-    How can you foster idea sharing within your business and amongst your employees.  How can you tap into their experience and wisdom to improve the overall experience?

-    Get plugged into a formal mastermind group or form your own!  The amazing success I’ve experienced over the past several years is directly attributed to my participation in several mastermind groups. If you are not familiar with the mastermind concept, read Napoleon Hill’s classic, Think and Grow Rich.

4) Create a “behind-the-scenes” experience for your customers
Another big ah-ha we went home with is to determine if you have an opportunity to share your own “behind-the-scenes” experience with a segment of your customer base.

Disney is able to create new revenue streams without having to change anything they are already doing.  By simply giving interested individuals a chance to see how they do things, Disney has created a business within itself.

One of our mastermind members already does this in her business.  She runs an extremely successful elder law practice and for a high-priced fee, she invites other elder law attorneys to visit her office and spend a few days learning how she runs her business.

Do you have such an opportunity in your business?  Can you share some of your own business magic, help others and get paid handsomely to do so?

It’s definitely a mental exercise you should consider.

For more information about my Elite Experience Mastermind Group, please email me at info@mikecapuzzi.com.

We held this meeting at Disney for this specific reason – to learn how one of the world’s greatest companies creates exceptional experiences for its guests.  While we learned (and relearned) many of the things that makes Disney great, I thought I would share the six that clearly stood out.

1) Ask for feedback (and capture contact info)
Within minutes of boarding the Disney Institute bus, all of us were asked if we would agree to fill out a short survey regarding our tour.  They did not give us the survey, but instead asked for our contact information to email it to us after our return home.

Two important notes – the interest and mechanism to get our feedback (and contact information) and second the baby-step to get our agreement to do it.  Rather than overwhelm us during the tour, Disney smartly got us to agree first and captured our email info for follow-up.

Surveys are a very smart way to collect information and marketing insights from your customers.  I love using surveys to capture open-ended comments about how my products and services help them.  I then use the exact words they share when writing copy for my business.

2) Create and share your story
Within minutes of meeting our mastermind group, our hostess Maggie told us her story and how she came to work at Disney.  This is a very smart strategy top marketers and speakers use every time they speak, present or engage with a customer.

People like to do business with people they know, like and trust.  Part of this relationship-building process is to let people know how you arrived to where you are today and why you are in a position to help them.

Story-telling is one of the most effective ways to connect with other people and carefully considering and crafting your story is a critical exercise for all entrepreneurs and business owners.

This topic of “your story” came up during several mastermind members presentations.  As a matter of fact, the group helped one of our members create the beginnings of an amazing story that he never even considered using in his marketing (which is typical since we all tend to be to close to see our own stories). In a previous life, Dave was a former Alaskan bush pilot where he flew in some of the most dangerous terrains on earth.  One of the nuggets the mastermind group gave him was how he could use this unique back story in his real estate business.

Over the next two days, I will share the other four strategies that you can take from Disney and apply to your business to make it exceptional.  For more information about my Elite Experience Mastermind Group, please email me at info@mikecapuzzi.com