One of the main casualties of the economic crisis is the customer new version of value. Bombarded by on going offers for 70% off sales by desperate companies who needed the cash, customers have reshaped their perception of value and what is a fair price. Even legendary customer experience companies such as Disney and Starbucks needed to take action. But unlike the traditional approach of lets drop prices, they took a creative and experiential approach to discounts.
Worth noting is what Disney did when they needed to lure customers into its theme parts while customers where cash straps. Instead of reducing the entrance fee they launched a new volunteering program. “Give A Day Get A Disney Day” is a program that invite people to volunteer at specific programs and receive a day of free entrance in exchange for volunteering. Disney placed TV commercials to promote the program and invited everyone to join. The cynics will argue that it is just a PR ploy and after all Disney gave away free tickets which are equivalent to discounts. But a deeper look into this program may paint a different picture.
By opting for “Give a Day Get A Disney Day” Disney achieved several critical goals.
1. The company demonstrated its commitment to the community during difficult times. It enabled volunteering organizations to recruit more volunteers during tough time.
2. Most Disney visitors come in groups. So even if one member of the group received a free tickets others did pay full price.
3. The revenues from food, parking and gifts will deliver another source of revenue that a guest who did not show up will not provide
4. Lastly and most important, Disney managed to kept the ticket prices in their original level which means when the economy rebound they can take benefit from full price tickets revenues.
Companies that needed to discount will have a longer process to recover and get back to their original rates. With a creative approach, Disney created a special experience unique to difficult economic times, manage to retain its mindshare with customers and protect their value perception and prices. It is one more proof that if we tackle business problems from the customer perspective and attempt to create a memorable experience, the profit and revenues are there for us.
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