Companies Need to Understand Consumers on an Emotional Level, Says Former Disney Executive

The connection a company forms with the customer is at the basis of creating a magical customer experience, according to Simon Philips, until recently the executive vice president of Disney consumer products Inc. and the general manager of consumer products for The Walt Disney Company EMEA. Before joining Disney, Philips was the president of worldwide consumer products at Marvel Entertainment LLC.

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His career has always centered around the way brands shaped customer experience, Philips said speaking at Calcalist’s Service and Customer Experience 2018 conference, held Monday in Tel Aviv. He was involved in bringing to the market Pokemon and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Customer experience encompasses every aspect of a company’s offering, Philips said, adding that he believes it should be a top strategic priority for every company considering the impact negative and positive consumer experiences can have through social media. A company must focus on creating a unified ethos to guide its employees—who are the company’s face when it comes to customers—and on understanding the client on a deeper, more emotional level than traditionally expected from the service industry, Philips said.

“As Disney’s mantra states: while no one owns the guest, everyone—someone—owns the moment,” he said.