Distribution, customer service and logistics

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Recap

In a recent Forbes article titled, “The Building Blocks of Grassroots-Driven Customer

Engagement at LEGOLAND,” Chris Cancialosi highlights the expansive benefits of customer

engagement. Using a trading program implemented by LEGOLAND parks worldwide,

Cancialosi explains how customers are able to trade fully assembled Lego figures with

employees of the park who are cleverly called, “Model Citizens.” This type of engaging

interaction between employees and customers plays an important role in customer satisfaction.

Why is that important? The writer sites Gallup research that states, “fully engaged customers

represent an average 23 percent premium in terms of profitability, revenue, and loyalty compared

with the average customer. In hospitality specifically, fully engaged guests spend 46 percent

more per year.” (Cancialosi, 2017)

Discussion

In chapter two of the textbook, “marketing strategy planning is the main focus” (Perreault, W.

D., Cannon, J. P., & McCarthy, E. J., 2014). LEGO has shaped these strategies at their

LEGOLAND park. They utilize the four P’s heavily at their parks. Product, place, promotion,

and price are what drives customers to the parks. The products LEGO offers in their parks are

part of their physical goods and services. They provide customers a chance to purchase LEGOS,

of course, and provide services for customers to use throughout the park. The place aspect of the

four P’s, is demonstrated, when LEGOLAND puts products in their parks that fit their

demographic. It is available when and where they want it. Promotion is used heavily in the parks

by using the trade system of mini-figures. This is a form of sales promotion because it stimulates

interest among park-goers to engage in park activities. It will lead to them eventually spend more

money on mini-figures to trade and enjoy their time enough to come back again. The price of the

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park is also a big factor. LEGO must make the park affordable for full families or else they will

lose out on a huge customer base. All four P’s are needed to help the flow of a company. Guests

spend more and more every year because Lego has found the perfect way to utilize these

processes in their business. LEGO has even made this their model at their parks overseas. LEGO

competes with parks such as Disney, who have an extreme follower base no matter what they do.

They need to gain a competitive advantage that allows customers to see that they can provide

them a great park experience. Chris Cancialosi himself could not resist mentioning a marketing

experience he had at Disney. LEGO combats Disney’s fun janitors by calling their employees

‘Model Citizens’. This allows LEGOLAND guests feel more engaged. They use market

segmentation because they are catering to the guests at their parks and no one else with this

strategy. LEGO has created a customer base with their toy sets that in turn enjoy value in their

LEGOLAND parks.

Reflection

Every company is looking for a way to set themselves apart from the competition while

creating a loyal customer base that continues to seek their product or service. This article

demonstrates how LEGOLAND has successfully figured out a dynamic and unique way to

engage, not only the consumer, but the employees, as well. We have learned that an employee

who is invested and empowered performs better, has higher job satisfaction, decreased

absenteeism, and more company loyalty than an employee who does not feel as valued.

LEGOLAND is a place where people come to share time with their families. The environment

created by the dedicated employees provides a family-fun environment. Happy employees who

do a good job create value for customers in the way they approach and present the fruits of their

labor. Employee engagement leads to service and retention, which translates to customer

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satisfaction, customer loyalty and productivity and ultimately growth and profit. This theory is

called the Engagement-Profit Chain (Kruse, 2014). This theory approaches a reality that profit

will come from happy employees who are engaged in providing customer service to customers

who are happy and will continue to come back for more great products and service.

LEGOLAND is an example of the direct impact of employee empowerment on revenue

and profit. The employees are encouraged to engage with the guests creating an interactive and

memorable experience. By identifying and capitalizing on this opportunity, LEGOLAND

exemplifies the direct relationship between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction. In

an article about employee engagement and customer satisfaction, the correlation between the two

was found to be measured in terms of effectiveness and ranked a .43. This number indicated is

larger than the value of Viagra on improving sexual function at .38, sleeping pills on curing

insomnia at .30, and even the effects of alcohol on aggressive behavior at .23. (Kruse, 2014)

Additional Articles

In a related Forbes article, Fletcher (2016) describes the importance of developing a

strong organization with engaged team members. In order for LEGOLAND to have such great

employee-driven customer engagement, the employees have been developed by their employer

to value this type of communication. Fletcher (2016) states five lessons companies can utilize in

order to have the best employees for customer engagement. The first lesson is to make sure to

hire the employee best fit for the company. Second, determine that the employee is on board

with the common values of the company. Third, it is important to have a great onboarding

process to make sure employees have a defined plan. Next, each employee should be held

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accountable. Finally, keeping the lines of communication open is critical in having an engaged

organization. If a company utilizes these steps, they will be closer to having good employee

driven customer engagement.

References

Cancialosi, C. (2017, March 14). The building blocks of grassroots-driven customer engagement

at legoland. Retrieved from

https://www.forbes.com/sites/chriscancialosi/2017/03/14/the-building-blocks-of-

exceptional-customer-engagement-at-legoland/#74ff3f3a47a8

Fletcher, C. (2016, June 24). How employee engagement helps drive customer experience.

Retrieved from https://www.visioncritical.com/employee-engagement-drives-customer-

experience/

Kruse, K. (2014, January 7). Employee engagement: the wonder drug for customer satisfaction.

Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2014/01/07/employee-

engagement-the-wonder-drug-for-customer-satisfaction/#4c57814f6d46

Perreault, W. D., Cannon, J. P., & McCarthy, E. J. (2014). Marketing strategy and planning.

In Basic marketing: A marketing strategy planning approach (19th ed.). New York, NY:

McGraw-Hill Higher Education.