Pizza and Paving Roads
Our hats are off to Domino’s Pizza for the Paving for Pizza movement. This is absolutely a fantastic example of Breakthrough Thinking™.
If you visit Paving for Pizza, you will discover a simple web page that explains that Domino’s is taking the delivery of a good pizza to the next level. They have a video demonstrating how poorly maintained roads with potholes can lead to bad pizzas. Bad pizzas led to unsatisfied customers. The customers aren’t going to blame the streets; they will blame the driver and, by association Domino’s.
This may be unjust for the customer to blame Domino’s. After all, those same customers drive on the same poor roads. However, Domino’s took some time and realized that if customers do not know the facts of what is happening, then the perception is going to be that it is on Domino’s and the delivery person. Domino’s created education but then took it one step further.
They also are smart enough to know most people aren’t going to put in the time to discover the video they made. Domino’s took action in each state to actively address the issue with potholes. This is genius! They accomplish three primary goals by doing something beyond pointing fingers.
They are taking care of the worst offending potholes that make their product look bad. This cuts down on complaints and lost customers. The cost for the potholes, in the long run, is less than the loss of customers. There is a win for the delivery people’s vehicle, shop owners and shareholders, plus the community itself.
They are smart enough to brand the paving crew’s equipment. When you see that logo and colors on the equipment, you do a double-take and ask yourself, “What the…” It is marketing 101, gets people’s attention, and it does. It gets enough attention some people go to the web page and see the video.
It builds that intangible goodwill for branding. Domino’s is establishing itself as a can-do company that finds ways to solve issues. They started this with their honest self-assessment years ago when they truly transformed the business by making better pizzas. They continue that strong branding in taking actions against issues that are not unique to them.
Well done, Domino’s, for taking up a mantle to solve a misconception that ultimately you paid the price for. By flipping the situation to provide a service to the community, a little humor with an education about why you are doing it, and ultimately delivering a product at its best quality level, you set up a standard for true customer satisfaction.