How did he do it? By understanding “the gap in their (the customer’s) experience,” McAlpin explains.
“You have to spend the time and resources to truly know your audience and what matters to them,” he explained in the podcast. “And then you have to decide what it is you are willing to add or give up to fill the gap in their experience.”
That’s easier said than done in an industry McAlpin says often errs on the side of trying to be all things to all people, a strategic softness that results in many of the players looking pretty much like everyone else. At family-oriented Disney, McAlpin learned that women felt their husbands spent too much time in the ship’s casinos instead of with their kids. So he advised the company to toss the casino business overboard, giving dads more time with the kids and keeping their primary customer, mom, happy with programs that included plenty of family togetherness.
At Virgin, he used this same intensive focus on understanding customers and learned that adult-centric couples wanted the opposite of their Disney counterparts. “I found out that at Virgin, it was about not having kids around,” McAlpin noted. “The customers loved their kids, but wanted time away. So our cruises have no kids aboard, and this allowed us to create a more sophisticated and romantic journey for adults.”
Taking the risk of not being all things to all customers has paid off, with 30-35 percent of those who choose Virgin becoming repeat customers. In the podcast, McAlpin shares some of the practices that enabled Virgin to earn industry awards as well as more five-star ratings than any other ship on TripAdvisor. Lessons include:
"Don is one of the best storytellers I’ve ever met. I’ve known him for a long time and every time we talk I walk away wiser and more inspired. He is the best in the business at teaching you a skill – storytelling – that will last you a lifetime.”
“The ability for athletes to get hired is carried on through you because you are putting out the message that lessons learned from sports are important in life. It is embedded in this podcast, what you’re doing is significant.”
We speak the same language. I am inspired by the stories you tell, the people you have met, and the things you’ve done. Those of us that are competitors like to follow others that have been down that journey, so it is always fun talking to you!”
“Many of the leaders I have worked with were excellent athletes, and I think there is a direct correlation. You’re one of the few people that really has pursued this study, Don. Keep up the great work. What you are doing really makes a difference.”
“Don, you have mastered the skill of interviewing and asking great questions. That is a great skill all leaders need in order to understand their team members’ thought processes.”
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