The story of the Domino’s pizza company illustrates just exactly why developing a unique approach in your target market is important for extreme success.
Domino’s began as an American pizza franchise way back in the 1960s. Brothers Tom and James Monaghan purchased a small pizza retail store called DomiNick’s in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The location was very close to the Eastern Michigan University campus, and the brothers figured they could make a lot of money selling pizza, a popular college food choice, to students at the university.
When Tom Monahan brought his brother out and opened two more locations in the same county, he wanted all of those stores to have the same branding. Since he was forbidden from using the former DomiNick’s name, an employee suggested Domino’s instead. The company grew rapidly, going international in 1983.
The rapid growth of the company was no doubt in a large part due to the marketing of a “30 minutes or free” delivery guarantee.
On the promise of delivering a hot pizza within 30 minutes,
or the customer had to pay nothing, what started out as a
single pizza location became the largest and most successful pizza franchise in the world.
That amazing story illustrates the important reason for understanding your market. Domino’s was just another local pizza chain until they realized the unique need that was not being fulfilled in their marketplace. Not everyone wanted to pile into their car and head over to one of their physical pizza stores to enjoy their pizza.
Not only that, but if a delivery took longer than 30 minutes, the pizza was likely going to be cold, and the customer upset. This would lead to fewer instead of more customers, and they would be just like every other pizza delivery store. Their unique slant, delivering hot, fresh pizza to your door in 30 minutes or less or it’s free, made Tom Monaghan a billionaire.
By the way, Domino’s never claimed back in the beginning to offer the best tasting pizza. They didn’t claim, like competitor Papa John’s does now, to have the freshest ingredients. They didn’t say that their pizza was the most affordable or the healthiest, either.
Actually, in the 1970s and 1980s, Domino’s pizzas were not regarded as especially tasty or remarkable in any way. However, their 30 minutes or free guarantee set them apart from their competitors, and gave them a unique story and appeal to their target audience (people who wanted pizza delivered, and wanted it hot).
You may not care about becoming a billionaire, like Tom Monaghan. Most online entrepreneurs simply want to make a decent living from their blog or their information marketing business. No matter what the goals of your business are, it is absolutely crucial to be crystal clear on what your market is looking for.
You probably know your market very well. What is not being provided right now? What are the problems that people in your market, your target audience, are having? You may think that your online business could never be a global success. However, when you develop a unique story, a unique slant, a different approach or “out-of-the-box” way of approaching your marketplace (your niche), your business and brand can experience massive growth in a very short period of time.
The Domino’s 30-or-free guarantee ended in 1993. However, though that promise expired more than 22 years ago, many customers believe the offer is still in effect. This is how powerful building a unique brand in your market is. Domino’s has expanded to 73 countries, and more than 5,700 cities worldwide. Much of the credit belongs to a powerfully unique marketing message that can teach you a lot about understanding your target market intimately, and approaching the market uniquely.
