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How Domino's Keeps Topping the Online Pizza Game

WARNING: This post may make you extremely hungry

What is the worst part of ordering a pizza online? Definitely the waiting. You've chosen your toppings, added in some garlic knots, selected the delivery time to "As Soon as Possible"...and now you wait. Similar to ordering a new product online, the wait for a pizza can be excruciating. What could make the wait better? The sound of waves crashing against the shore, or perhaps you could pass the time by listening to a baseball announcer call out each step of your order as it's being prepared.  The Domino's pizza tracker turns that excruciating waiting period into entertainment, whilst keeping you engaged on the website. 

Image result for domino's pizza tracker
(Buzzfeed)

After ordering food online, most customers do not continue to stay on the ordering website. However, with the Domino's pizza tracker, customers can see who is preparing their order (by name), and how far along in the process the order is. While doing so, a customer might also browse the menu again, subscribe to Domino's emails, or even check out its social media pages. This seemingly simple tracker is what made me first notice the brand's creative online platforms.

Domino's also uses its social media accounts to deepen relationships with its customers, beyond just showcasing its food. This June, Domino's unveiled its "Paving for Pizza" campaign. As part of the campaign, Domino's pays for road repairs across the United States. So what's the connection between fixing roads and pizza? Simple - a perfectly good carry - out Domino's pizza can get ruined on a bumpy ride home. The campaign is driven on social media and through a custom website: Paving for Pizza. Through these channels, customers can nominate or vote for their towns, and can even order pizza. In August, Adweek reported that the Paving for Pizza campaign was expanding from 20 locations to all 50 states due to the number of nominations. This digital campaign creates goodwill for the brand in a way that is creative but also that makes sense.  

Even in the worst of times, Domino's used social media to build up its brand image. When many customers complained about the taste of Domino's pizza online, the company listened. As this Medium article by the Online Marketing Institute (OMI) describes, Domino's invited customers to share their opinions and ideas on social media for a prize and for the chance to have their idea implemented. Additionally, Domino's invested resources into developing its mobile app to ensure seamless pizza ordering no matter where their customer is. According to OMI in 2018, over half of all Domino's orders were placed from a mobile device. 

Going forward the challenge for Domino's will be to continue to stay digitally innovative among its competition. In March, Pizza Hut generated buzz by launching a sneaker that could order pizza by the press of a button (Fortune.) As other pizza chains develop their own digital presence, Domino's will have to adapt its strategy to stand out. While Domino's is great at reviewing and responding to customer feedback online, I believe the brand would benefit from posting more user generated content. The Domino's social channels are highly curated which helps to keep the brand image consistent, but still makes its channels feel like a brand, and not like a friend. I believe user generated content would also increase and enrich the brand's online engagement.


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