Building Brand Loyalty The Disney Way

Disney is one of the most successful American brands for cultivating brand loyalty. Whether it's the company's ageless characters, destination theme parks or popular TV shows and movies, consumers know that the Disney name equates to high-quality, family-friendly entertainment.

The process of building and nurturing a brand that has held such a powerful position in the hearts and minds of consumers for generations hasn't been an easy task. During that time, Disney has not only worked hard at maintaining its legacy, but the company is also committed to continually improving these processes, and is willing to share lessons learned through a division called Disney Institute.

Here at Arbitron, we are excited to announce that a representative of Disney Institute will be presenting about the art and science of building and nurturing brand loyalty as part of the upcoming 2012 Arbitron Client Conference, December 5th-6th in Annapolis, MD.

And since the topic of developing stronger brand loyalty is important to every radio station, we asked Disney Institute's Programming Director Bruce Jones to share a few insights with us as a preview of what will be covered in more depth at the conference.

Brand Loyalty Is About Feelings

The first thing to realize is that brand loyalty and customer loyalty are different. Customer loyalty is about behavior; it's what the consumers do such as visiting theme parks or buying products. Brand loyalty is how people feel about your brand.

While both are valuable, brand loyalty is important because it goes beyond the individual consumer. When customers have higher brand loyalty - meaning they feel good about your brand - they are more likely to refer your product to their personal networks, which Jones says is incredibly important in today's cluttered world of choices. "You have to cut through the noise somehow and one of the most-trusted resources for many people is their friends and family. Those networks have become extremely important in helping people make choices."

As a report card, the company measures brand loyalty by asking consumers how likely they are to recommend Disney to others. They also survey customers to find out how they discovered Disney and whether they were referred by a friend or family member.

Start With Your Existing Listeners

Similar to other businesses radio stations follow the 70/30 rule: 70% of your ratings are driven by 30% of your listeners. This is a perfect setup because it's easier to build brand loyalty with existing customers than it is to start with new ones says Jones. "There is research that states it is much more efficient and economical to simply maintain the existing customer base, driving repeat customers versus using resources to attract new customers."

He says the first step on the path to building better relationships with your existing audience is by listening. Pay attention to what the audience has to say and you will likely begin to find out what you can do for them to create a deeper relationship.

For example, a Rock station will surely provide listeners with music they want. But listen more closely to the audience and you may discover they have other interests you can tap into, such as home improvement or new technology. "If you can help your brand be known for not just selling a product, but for providing solid advice in general, then you become a little more trusted."

Once you've listened to your audience to determine what they need from your brand, the next step is developing a brand promise. Compare what the listeners are asking for with what you are prepared to do for them; and the two had better match. Says Jones, "If those are misaligned, it's the definition of chaos."

Get Everyone On Board

Once you've aligned the station's brand promise with what your audience is asking for, it's important to ensure that knowledge filters down to everyone on the team.

Using Disney theme parks as an example, Jones says that while new and fresh attractions are important, what really differentiates the customer experience is the guest's interaction with cast members (Disney-speak for employees). "In our research, the more satisfied they were with their interaction with the cast, the more likely they are to recommend us."

Achieving that level of service from all cast members requires a lot of specific effort to communicate the brand promise. It starts with hiring the right people but it doesn't end there by any means. "We never assume we can just put good people in the environment and it will take care of itself."

Research shows that cast members are better equipped to deliver the guest experience the company promises if they have positive interactions about it with their managers. So Disney focuses on training and developing leaders who will set the tone and dictate the ability of the cast to generate that experience.

"We don't ask people to memorize our brand promise. We don't print it on cards and make them carry it around," says Jones. "We train people with these ideas. We talk to them about the brand purpose and convey stories to them about why it's been important to us since the days of Walt."

Beyond training cast members and consistently reinforcing the brand message, Jones says it's also important to recognize and reward staff members who do a great job. Disney teaches leaders to watch for instances when employees deliver on the brand promise and find ways to recognize those achievements.

Your Chance to Learn More

These basic lessons in building brand loyalty are just a preview of the insights that will be shared during the Disney Institute presentation at the 2012 Arbitron Client Conference. And that is just one part of a dynamic lineup of speakers covering a variety of topics from social media and branding to improving your ratings and maximizing your online efforts.

For more information or to register for the 2012 Arbitron Client Conference just click here. But don't wait too long because space is limited!