It’s no secret. Domino’s was struggling – big time! They needed a turnaround and they needed it quick. Rather than hoping that their executive leadership team could come up with all the right answers, they came up with a more effective improvement agenda. They opened the floor for suggestions to those who know their brand the best: their customers.
Most companies talk about how their customers are the priority and that their input makes the difference. Ask any company – I bet they will tell you that their customer feedback drives business growth and product development.
You might be thinking, who cares about Domino’s? Their approach to business is nothing like mine and this is not relevant… Hang with me for another minute or so.
Have you ever been in a bind? Needed help – and needed it quick? Domino’s was in a bind – so what did they do? Domino’s recently launched a project called Pizza Turnaround which utilized a social media platform where their customers and stakeholders could offer suggestions to enhance the brand, product or operation. The leadership team receives and evaluates all the feedback, the best idea is chosen, and they reward the person that submitted the idea with $500.
Their VP/Executive Creative Director at Domino’s declares that “Domino’s is a brand that’s all about listening. When we launched “Pizza Turnaround” we listened to our customers about how they felt about the pizza, and we changed the pizza.”
Did you get that? That last statement? He said they listened to their customers about how they felt and then they changed their approach based on the information they received.
Now – I’m sure you are wondering how this approach has stimulated a performance shift for the company. Did it really enhance the bottom line? Domino’s satisfaction and loyalty scores have been going up significantly as of late. Customer loyalty is returning, resulting in colossal store growth. In Q3 of 2014, the company added 160 stores. Its financial turnaround has been tremendous: profits were up 16% in 2014, and stock shares have risen 13% in late 2014, hitting an all time high in October, 2014. Impressive!
As leaders, no matter how good we are, we cannot do it all ourselves. Dale Carnegie’s training methodology is built around the idea that “people support a world they help create.” As I often say when I have the privilege of teaching a Dale Carnegie Course – “Mr. Carnegie was not an idiot.” The performance results are in. This stuff really works. Not only in the pizza world or the corporate training world, but it works in every business. Without exception.
When we allow our customers to participate in a world that they help create – without hesitation they will support that world. How well we demonstrate our abilities to get that support and engagement from our customers can impact our business success as well as the success of all those within our sphere of influence.
Let’s listen to our customers and use their feedback to change our approach to capturing their loyalty. When we do – I am confident that we will find that Mr. Carnegie was correct – people do in fact, support a world they help create.
-CK