I’m enjoying my first in-flight wi-fi experience on a Virgin America NY to SF flight and reflecting on some of the thoughts from the EngageExpo I just attended.

First off Disney gets it.  The magic all started with a mouse but today there’s a collection of booming virtual worlds that are based on a highly profitable subscription model.  Lane Merrifield the founder of Club Penguin and now head of all Disney virtual worlds gave a keynote highlighting Disney’s approach to monetization and customer service.

Club Penguin receives between 5,000-10,000 emails and letters every day.  Club Penguin’s team responds to everyone of those emails everyday.  Lane summed it up best by saying “The creative process, in the end, is about serving.”  This approach is very similar to how Gary Vaynerchuk has shaken up the wine industry and helped thousands of individuals through social media.

I love this concept of serving your community and users.  Serve them by staying on the phone for an extra five minutes or serve them by tackling that five hour bug fix because it may solve a 10 hour per week headache for some Small Business.

This level of service results in higher engagement, a more rewarding experience at work, and yes, a few more dollars coming your direction.  Disney has also found that this focus on service has revealed a gold mine of customer suggestions and product requests.  Their virtual worlds are now largely shaped by the ideas of the consumer.

In start-ups when there’s a fight to get paying customers, and in large corporations where there’s a fight to resist that looming plateau, it can be easy to lose site of the opportunity to serve.  That chance to serve may mean delivering an entertainment experience, solving a mission critical business problem, or just being there to talk to another human being - stay focused on life beyond the business.