Theme park confidential: a family vacation to Orlando unlocks marketing insights straight from the varsity playbook.

On a recent family trip to Orlando, I was awestruck by the extent of marketing and merchandising at the theme parks. As children's author Dr. Seuss wrote, "Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try." Theme parks seem to "think up" everything.

While the roller coaster world of theme parks differs from our work in the insurance business, there is plenty we can learn from reviewing their operations.

Make it pleasant: Theme parks provide an enjoyable experience so their customers will continue to patronize the park and spread the word. Customers in every industry like consistency and quality.

How pleasurable do your agents find it, dealing with you and your underwriters? Chris Haenn, director of marketing for Six Flags America, says, "We constantly try to look at our park through the eyes of our customers." Chances are if your underwriting staff does the same, you will find some areas for improvement.

Sell many products: Theme parks are meticulously designed to have customers constantly moving and buying. You liked the Spiderman ride? It's no coincidente that you have to walk through the Spiderman novelty shop as you exit.

The insurance industry likewise has tried to cross-sell and upsell, but different disciplines and departments often make the sales effort clumsy. A package underwriter may have a good fit for professional liability coverages for an insured, but if he doesn't know key questions or contact people in his company, he's unlikely to pursue the sale.

Use the Web: Theme parks use the Internet effectively and efficiently to sell products. In the past five years, the industry has seen growth of up to 500% in online ticket and merchandising sales.

Most insurance company Web sites have significant room for improvement. There's no excuse for not having a clean, clear Web site to help customers learn your products and locations.

Build your database: Theme parks do a tremendous job of staying in front of their customers via direct mail and e-mail. Want to win a year-long pass for the park? Just e-mail your name, age and address and you're eligible. Meanwhile, they store the data for future custom-tailored mailings.

The insurance industry generally misses the boat on the importance of a database; we're looking for the immediate payback. But the value of using a database for commercial insurance is to stay in front of the client, not necessarily to make a final sale.

Make things convenient: A theme park on a summer weekend is crowded, yet management tries to ensure a pleasant experience for every guest. They use tactics such as clocks to give the approximate wait time and provide entertainment at each ride to keep the line of customers occupied.

How can you make business more convenient for your insurance clients? Adequate staffing and a user-friendly voice mail system are good places to start. Do you treat your best customers like they're important? Are quotes, endorsements and inquiries addressed in a timely manner? Your customers want to get their questions and issues addressed as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Theme parks spend enormous amounts of resources to ensure a good experience, and like the insurance industry, their business model needs repeat customers to survive. Think about their techniques as you look to improve the experience for your customers.

Michael P. Egan, a Best's Review columnist, is director of property programs at NSM Insurance Group in Conshohocken, Pa. He can be reached at [e-mail].