They call it “the happiest place on earth”.

They don’t call it “the best rides on earth.”

They definitely don’t call it “the least expensive vacation on earth.”

It’s the happiest place on earth.

They call it that for a very specific reason:

Because Disney knows the marketing secret that many other companies fail to understand.

Lucky for you, I’m going to tell you what that secret is.

…but not quite yet.

Accelerating Revenue

As you may know, I do a bunch of work as a business consultant. When people ask me about my job, I explain that I lead and repair growth processes for 7- to 8-figure companies.

When a company isn’t growing fast enough, I fix it.
I turn challenges into profit.

But I have a secret that I don’t tell anybody. Since it’s just you and me here, and since I trust you, I will tell you my secret. But first, you have to promise not to tell anyone.

Deal?
Deal.
<pinky shake>

OK, here’s my secret: I am purposely somewhat misleading in describing what I do.

That is to say, I definitely accelerate revenue. And I usually do that fairly quickly. I also fix the growth challenges. I do that pretty quickly too.

But HOW I do it is different than you probably think.

When I say I “lead and repair growth processes”, you probably think I focus my work on sales teams. In fact, if you’re a CxO, that’s kinda what I want you to think.

But it’s not true.

I don’t necessarily just work with sales teams. In fact, sometimes I never even work with the sales team at all.

The truth is that stalled growth is usually not the sign of a problem with the sales team. It’s usually the sign of a problem with leadership.

And this, my friend, brings us right back to the Happiest Place on Earth.

The Marketing Secret Many Companies Don’t Know

The Walt Disney Company is a marketing machine. It’s one of the best marketing powerhouses in the world and consistently remains in the Top 10 of the World’s Most Admired Companies.

It’s also one of the most popular and recognizable brands in the world.

How did they accomplish these feats? Much of it comes back to that important marketing secret I still haven’t told you about. Well, now’s the time. Here’s the secret, narrowed down to 7 words:

Don’t pitch the product, pitch the outcome.

Yup, that’s it. Seems so simple right?

You’ll be shocked – shocked, I tell you – how often companies don’t adhere to that advice.

Inspiring Your Customers

People are not inspired by hearing about a product, they get inspired by connecting with the result of the product experience.

Disney can talk all day about the rides and the food and all the other shenanigans that happen within the theme park walls, but that is not what builds the brand. Sure those products may excite people, but they won’t inspire them.

And Disney knows that the most popular brands are built on the back of inspiration. Just ask Apple and Nike.

For Disney, the outcome they want for their theme park visitors is happiness. A lot of happiness.

So much happiness that they call it “the happiest place on earth.” After all, “the best names for parking lot sections” is a nice reality of the product, but not near an inspiring outcome.

Small Companies Matter

The reason I told you about my business is that I don’t want you to think this secret is only relevant to big companies.

I lead with “accelerating growth” because that’s the outcome. That’s inspiring. Companies want to grow.

My process is not inspiring. In fact, if I pitched the process (e.g “I’ll work with leadership to help backfill their weaknesses”), it would be like Disney having the slogan “the most fun you’ll have standing in long lines”.

It might be true, but it’s simply not inspirational.