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When is the “Right” Business Decision not Right?
  by:  |  Jun 2, 2008
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Last updated on December 20th, 2019 at 06:05 pm

Though it would seem to be contrary to every logical business impulse, there are times where making the “right” business decision is the wrong thing to do.   Specifically, it is always wrong to make the “right” decision, if that decision will anger your customers needlessly.  As we’ve discussed previously, you never want to make a decision which will anger your customers or cast your company in a less than flattering light, simply because it is something you have the right to do.

The latest company to do this is Disney.   According to this marketing article in the Wall Street Journal, Disneyland recently closed its very popular Virtual Magic Kingdom site.  The site was an online community where members could interact in a virtual world based on the Disneyland park.    The Journal article notes that although Disney has stated that the reason for the closing was that the site was designed to only operate for a limited time,  it is believed that the real reason is economic, since it was a free site as opposed to Disney’s other pay sites.

This sort of thinking is counter productive in many ways.  You never want to alienate potential customers and you certainly do not want to alienate customers who can become advocates and evangelists for your product.   With word or mouth being so valuable, you need to take whatever reasonable steps you can take to keep your most avid customers satisfied.  Especially, with a company like Disney which is such an easy target for attacks as being an unfeeling monolith.    Consider this comment from one of the protest sites created against the closing:

Over the past three years, Millions of kids from around the World have enjoyed the online experience of the Magic Kingdom through the online game, Virtual Magic Kingdom (VMK). Many of these kids will NEVER get a chance to discover the Magic of Disneyland nor Walt Disney World. Mr. Walt Disney NEVER closed a door on a kid, in fact, he insisted the first visitor to his park be a child. It is time for VMK Kids to unite to help reinforce the foundation of what Mr. Disney created to the people who have made the decision to close VMK!

This commentary is an attack on the central tenet of the Disney brand, namely that Disneyland exists to make the dreams of children come true.  More importantly, it is not from a competitor or someone who dislikes Disney as a corporate entity, but is from someone who had been an advocate of the company.   That this potential evangelist has been alienated to the point of attacking the company is a serious marketing faux pas.

Another similar situation of a major corporation making a business decision which, although within their legal rights, makes them look like a corporate giant taking itself too seriously and attacking its client base is the decision by Starbucks to stop a local roller derby team from using a logo similar to theirs.  While there is an obvious similarity in the logos, there is no logical reason for Starbucks to enforce their trademark, other than the fact that they can.   There is nothing wrong with enforcing your legal rights, but a company needs to consider the effect that enforcement will have on their customers.

In closing, the answer to the question in the title of this article is “when it angers your customers.”  Although a business sometimes needs to make the hard decisions and take an unpopular stance, there is never a reason to take a stance just because you can.  Especially if that stance will cause your strongest potential advocates to turn against you.

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