Online reputation should be part of everybody’s digital marketing strategy. Domino’s is one company that takes it extremely seriously, but sometimes opportunities arise out of nothing. And that’s when companies can make some serious gains.
Recently, Domino’s was instrumental in saving one of their patron’s lives. It led to them gaining nationwide recognition for what they had done. And stories like this are crucial for building up and protecting their online reputation this year. This is the story of how Domino’s saved a life and enhanced their reputation.
The Story
The story starts on Silverton Road in the city of Salem. A regular customer named Kirk Alexander had ordered every day from the same Domino’s pizza store for seven years. But this suddenly stopped and there wasn’t an order placed for a total of 11 days. This highly unusual behavior alarmed the staff and Sarah Fuller, the manager of the store.
Fuller decided to take action by calling Alexander at his home. When the call went straight to voicemail, she sent her staff round to his house. They discovered that nobody responded to their knocking, and so they notified the police. Two local deputies forced the door and found Alexander in serious need of medical attention.
Fuller already knew that Alexander suffered from health issues, so her intervention allowed his life to be saved. She has been commended by Domino’s for her quick thinking and the staff are delighted that ordering a pizza saved a man’s life.
Knowing Your Customers
It’s always nice to hear of something other than a bad interaction with a customer. This Domino’s store has demonstrated that it knows its best customers intimately, and this is something every company needs to take heed of. You need to know your target audience and understand their needs.
This doesn’t mean that you have to know everything about them, but treating them as individuals will get you a long way. Through knowing your most loyal customers, you can cater to them personally, and that will give you the edge you need in an increasingly competitive business world.
Building Relationships
It’s clear that Fuller cultivated a strong relationship with Alexander because she knew him personally through his daily visits to her store. Over time, she has built up a customer-business relationship. It didn’t happen overnight, and that’s what many young entrepreneurs need to understand.
There are no shortcuts to building a real human relationship with a customer. You need to speak to them regularly and go out of your way to create a connection. Remember, the person doesn’t want a connection with your company they want a connection with you.
Don’t create a corporate persona create a human persona.
Taking Opportunities as they Come
There are lots of strategies you can take advantage of in order to make sure that you build and preserve your reputation. These are the tactics you will use in the long-term, but every so often you may have a chance to give yourself a massive boost.
This can come in the form of say supporting some sort of charity. If there’s a local charity drive in your area, you might want to get involved. Little things like this that relate to your business can speak to people who may have never heard of you.
But it’s not going to fall into your lap. The situation with Domino’s was unfortunate and came out of nowhere, but in many ways, it was the store manager that first created the situation. If she hadn’t have known Alexander, she would have never sent those deliverymen to his house and the story could have been different.
Conclusion – Resting On Your Laurels
Dominos can pat itself on the back. It’s done a huge amount to improve its reputation in the eyes of customers. But this is not something that’s going to last forever. People are going to forget and they are going to move onto the next big story because only 28% of consumers are loyal to a brand. No company can stop working on its online reputation. It’s one of the biggest startup mistakes.
They have to take things further and continue to build on that momentum. How Domino’s decides to do this is entirely up to them. But it’s easy to see that some of the things they are doing. They give people what they want. They deliver every time. Their management tries to build relationships with their regular customers.
It’s that simple.
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