Domino’s has been making quite the stir in the stock market after stocks rose from a mere $4.97 in 2009 to $155.01 in 2016. What is responsible for this increase? Domino’s is pushing technological advances and capitalizing on the lucrative stay-at-home market, popularized by Millennials, which has been employed by businesses such as Netflix and Amazon.
In fact, Domino’s is working hand in hand with these businesses for success. With movie tickets costing more than a monthly Netflix fee and binge watching becoming the new fad in television viewing, who wouldn’t rather stay at home and watch an entire season of Parks and Recreation while eating a meal that costs less than $20.00?
A Risk-Taking CEO
Much of Domino’s success in the last five years is due to its new CEO, Patrick Doyle. Doyle has recognized that in today’s culture, companies that don’t maximize on technology are doomed to fail. At the 2016 Michigan CEO Summit, Doyle told the audience that Domino’s is “as much a tech company as we are a pizza company.” In fact, half of the 800 employees working at their headquarters work in software and analytics.
The key to Doyle’s advances, however, is his encouragement to take risks. Doyle speaks out against the concepts of Omission Bias, that “inaction is less blame-worthy than action,” and Loss Aversion, which is playing not to lose rather than playing to win. His mantra is essentially the saying, “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Nevertheless, there is one risk that Doyle won’t take: tolerating jerks. Doyle warns that toxic people, no matter how highly they perform or how unique their skill-set, will ultimately do more damage than good.
Innovations in Ordering
When it comes to Millennials, the more technologically convenient the better. Millennials don’t want to turn off Hulu to spend twenty minutes putting together a pizza order and they would prefer to avoid speaking on the phone at all costs. Domino’s caught onto this and is utilizing the technology pioneered by other companies to revolutionize ordering pizza.
They now have a Siri-like app called “Dom” for voice ordering. Consumers can now tweet or text pizza emojis to order. To compete with Amazon’s 1-Click Ordering option, Domino’s created “zero click” ordering, where customers go into the app and have ten seconds to leave it before their favorite order is placed. Domino’s “Anyware” platform, which informs consumers that they can order on almost any device, almost any place, was so successful that it increased sales without advertising the pizza itself in the commercial. Even without Domino’s revamping their menu and recipe, they surpass the competition in convenience.
Innovations With Delivery
Domino’s is also revolutionizing delivery. They’ve created the first car designed specifically for delivering pizza. The Domino’s DXP is a modified Chevrolet Spark with everything from a warming oven to a puddle light. Not only will the DXP improve quality of the product, but it will increase brand recognition, much like the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile. Domino’s is also experimenting with robotic and drone delivery, so eventually, delivery drivers may be a thing of the past.
An advancement that is especially exciting for the ‘hangry‘ customer is the Pizza Tracker. After placing their order, the customer can see the progress of their pizza being made at each stage, from conception to delivery. In some countries, the customer can even track their driver via GPS to know exactly when their delivery will arrive.
As Domino’s recent non-pizza related ads have proven, convenience has become as important as content. Embracing Millennial ideals means embracing the At-Home Economy. Technological advancement has become a sink or swim game, and Domino’s has chosen to swim.
Image courtesy of pixabay.com
