The man in the Phillie Phanatic suit looks beyond baseball

Head-consuming smooches. "Whammy Hand" curses. And the no-shame-in-this-90-inch-waistline "Belly Womp."

Could they be elements of a successful business strategy?

Yes! says the man who has spent 26 years performing them all from inside a green, furry, 6-foot-6, 35-pound costume featuring a giant snout, bulging eyes, and oversize sneakers.

The Phillie Phanatic is a mascot with enduring popularity - even when the baseball team he so enthusiastically cheers isn't doing much to warrant it.

Imagine translating that magic to the business world, where the return could be unwavering customer loyalty.

It can be done, insists the Phanatic, otherwise known as Tom Burgoyne, who, with some partners, is making it the basis of a new career initiative.

Not that Burgoyne is looking to permanently park his hot dog-launching cannon anytime soon.

Aside from sore muscles - those stadium steps are no picnic - and "bumps and bruises" from more than a few baseballs that found their way around his protective costume to hit skin and bone, "I'm feeling pretty good for 48," the Lansdale father of three said last week.

It was a few days before the Friday debut of "Loyal, Loving Fans for Life!" - a business workshop Burgoyne has created with DillonMarcus Executive Retreats, Cherry Hill consultants who advise companies on strategy, culture, and service.

The launch took place, fittingly, in the executive dining room of Citizens Bank Park. Despite rolling out on the Phanatic's turf, "Loyal, Loving Fans for Life!" has no affiliation with the Phillies organization, Burgoyne said.

He addressed a group of 24, a mix of small-business owners and employees from a range of companies, sans costume - yet in a Phillies polo shirt and wearing the team's 2008 championship ring on his right hand.

Those in attendance paid $550 to hear how to foster Phillie Phanatic-type enthusiasm in the workplace and why that makes business sense. And, of course, they came to meet the man behind the character that has amused for so long, regardless of on-field circumstances.

"Everybody loves the Phanatic. It's always the best part of the game," said Katy Lojeski, 35, a service assistant at Matthews Paoli Ford, where, like the Phanatic, she tries to keep spirits high among a group not always in the best of moods.

"People don't like to have their cars fixed," she said.

Love isn't a word often associated with business, but it kept coming up, DillonMarcus cofounder Evan Marcus said, when Burgoyne told him about his Phanatic experiences in a series of conversations they had this year.

"What hit me was how many people just love him," Marcus recalled.

For four months, he, wife/business partner Tara Dillon Marcus, and Burgoyne met to pinpoint the reasons behind that love so they could help businesses achieve that kind of connection with customers and employees - even without "a green mascot running around," Evan Marcus said.

The answer, in part, is the lengths to which Burgoyne goes to satisfy as many fans as possible who want photo ops with the Phanatic, despite his other game-day commitments, Evan Marcus said. He likened that to a boss "trying to get something done, but someone internally needs something."

Indulging employees in need goes a long way toward letting them know they matter - which, in turn, can improve how they treat customers, Evan Marcus said.

"In the corporate world, that's what everyone is striving for: that people love them, the passion for their product and service that the Phanatic inspires in people," Burgoyne said.

The Burgoyne/DillonMarcus collaborative was described as "a really clever, creative extension" of branding by Owen Shapiro, a market research and strategy consultant in Chicago who has coauthored a new book, Brand Shift: The Future of Brands and Marketing, with futurist David Houle.

"The idea of thinking about brands as relationships is really relevant to marketers today," Shapiro said.

And though it's probably not realistic for all businesses to expect to achieve Apple-like customer devotion, Shapiro said creating some brand passion was advisable for any kind of business.

Because of social media and its cost-effective, sizable reach, he said, "little brands can become big brands pretty quickly."

"Loyal, Loving Fans for Life!" is scheduled for two more sessions this year at Citizens Bank Park (see www.dillonmarcus.com). If demand warrants, it will go on the road.

Though for any workshops held in New York, Burgoyne said, they likely will have to drop their "Are You Smarter than a Mets Fan?" game.

Make them feel special and loved.

Make every encounter count.

Make it fun.

Put the right people in the right positions, and treat them right.

Be committed to excellence.

Bridge the divide between you and your customers.

Dance and be optimistic, no matter what the score.

SOURCE: DillonMarcus Executive Retreats and Tom Burgoyne.

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