Walt Disney’s imagination has been capturing the imagination and excitement of others for decades. Why? He knew how to convert his thoughts into a great customer experience. Kem Meyer, Granger Community Church’s communications director, posted ten keys to a great guest experience derived from Be Our Guest by the Disney Institute.

1. “Know your audience. Before creating a setting, obtain a firm understanding of who will be using it.”
2. “Wear your guest’s shoes. That is, never forget the human factor. Evaluate your setting from the customer’s perspective by experiencing it as a customer.”
3. “Organize the flow of people and ideas. Think of a setting as a story and tell that story in a sequenced, organized way. Build the same order and logic into the design of customer movement.”
4. “Create a visual magnet. It’s a visual landmark used to orient and attract people.”
5. “Communicate with visual literacy. Language is not always composed of words. Use common languages of color, shape and form to communicate through a setting.”
6. “Avoid overload–create turn-ons. Do not bombard customers with data. Let them choose the information they want when they want it.”
7. “Tell one story at a time. Mixing multiple stories in a single setting is confusing. Create one setting for each big idea.”
8. “Avoid contradictions; maintain identity. Every detail and every setting should support and further your organizational identity and mission.”
9. “For every ounce of treatment provide a ton of treat. Give your customers the highest value by building an interactive setting that gives them the opportunity to exercise all of their senses.”
10. “Keep it up. Never get complacent and always maintain your setting.”

Of course, these rules are not limited to Disney. Your ministry can experience success like Disney by applying these principles. Fundamentally, it involves caring about people, learning about them, and clearly communicating to them not simply with words but also design, details, and well thought out systems. The November issue of Church Relevance’s newsletter also addresses the importance of communicating without words.