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THE BASICS OF BRAND IMAGING
By Jim Milliken - Owner, Wheat State Pizza
As an avid participant in PMQ’s online Think Tank, I’ve learned firsthand that quite a number of operators today are in search of that magic formula to help them gain ground in their market. Like them, I know what it’s like to be behind on the bills, struggling to make payroll… I’ve been there and it’s not fun, but there is a formula. I don’t know if you can call it magical, but it does work.
I, like you, am an operator myself; a franchise owner of Wheat State Pizza in central Kansas and if you visit the Think Tank you might also know me by the penname J_r0kk. I’ve been asked by PMQ to give a little insight from an operator’s perspective on what it takes to make it in this crazy business we’ve sunk our hearts (and in some cases, our life’s savings) into. I’ve been in this business for a long time and thankfully, I have had the pleasure of working with some great minds. I’ve learned from operators like Greg Magee, former Area Supervisor for RPM Pizza, Inc., a franchisee of Domino’s Pizza in Louisiana and Mississippi where I got my start. Greg was probably the best “numbers” guy I’ve ever known. Or like David Board, my mentor. David was the former Vice President of Domino’s Pizza International who became a three-store franchisee in Tennessee. David was an operational genius who knew the pizza business inside and out. These gentlemen helped me along when they didn’t need to and I truly thank them for that. If it weren’t for their beliefs in training and in this business I wouldn’t be where I am today.
So why am I here writing this article for PMQ? The answer’s very simple: to give back. All the knowledge I’ve gained in the pizza business was given to me, free of charge. After seeing the struggles of operators in different parts of the world I’ve decided to embark on this daunting quest to share the knowledge I’ve gained in hopes that it might in some way get you over the proverbial “hump” with solid operational knowledge and sales building expertise from a currently operating, in-the-trenches operator just like you.
I’d like to introduce to you what I like to call “the basics” in brand imaging. Brand imaging is always about customer perception. How do customers view your company, or do they look at your company at all? I truly believe that if you want potential customers to think you’re a major player in your market then you need to start acting like one. In order to achieve operational stability I’ve identified four basic principles that are absolutely critical in the success of a pizza restaurant:
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“One significant advertising event I highly recommend is doorhanging. If you don’t have bulk mail or direct mail going out on a particular week, schedule yourself and a few key crew members to go out and beat the streets. Believe it or not, of all the different advertising venues I’ve experienced in the past, doorhanging has far and away the best consistent return of all of them, averaging returns in the 5% - 8% range almost every time.” |
1. Lighted Car Top Signs – If you have a delivery business, make sure you have enough lighted car top signs for each driver on your busiest day. It seems so basic, but you’d be amazed at the number of pizza stores who simply forget about this basic principle. When I opened my first store in Junction City, Kansas, I made it a priority to get my name out there. The easiest way to do this was to put signs on my drivers’ cars. I let my drivers know this is a requirement and not an option and in the long run they’re also helping themselves. Also make sure your drivers understand that unlit signs at night completely defeat the purpose of having them on at all. There must be 100% compliance with this lit car top sign policy. Yes, you might catch a little flack from a driver or two saying, “But I look stupid”, or “All the robbers in town can see me now,” or my favorite “But I’ll scratch up my paint job.” You’ve got to be firm with this policy and offset any of these complaints with basic reasoning skills. Don’t waver from this concept because at the end of the day this policy helps everyone.
2. Advertising – We’ll get much more into depth with advertising strategies in the future. There are so many different things you can do in so many different venues to gain marketshare. The one common denominator behind successful advertising campaigns is that they’re being done. Whatever you decide to do as far as advertising simply needs to be consistent. I’ve experienced it firsthand where I’ve slacked off a week or two and never really saw a dip in sales. Then two weeks later I’m wondering what happened to my business. Yes, when you advertise, you will get an initial hit when the ads come out. However, don’t fool yourself into thinking those ads don’t affect your business three weeks later, because they do. Stay consistent. Consistency in your advertising will help in the prevention of flat sales weeks later. Think of advertising like you would of your perishables; it has a shelf life. The average shelf life of a marketing piece (where you see significant returns) is from 1 1/2 to two weeks. However, you will still see returns three to four weeks later, just not as much as the initial pop. A formula for success I’ve discovered is to ensure at least one advertising event per week. By doing this you ensure the overlapping of your marketing shelf life. You want to create a “snowball effect” where your marketing is consistently overlapping. By doing so your new customers should consistently overlap each other as well, creating higher and higher sales weeks. Also, your advertising doesn’t have to be an expensive direct mail in which you hit your entire city, but it does need to be something significant in number. One significant advertising event I highly recommend is doorhanging. If you don’t have bulk mail or direct mail going out on a particular week, schedule yourself and a few key crew members to go out and beat the streets. Believe it or not, of all the different advertising venues I’ve tried in the past, doorhanging has far and away the best consistent return of all of them, averaging returns in the 5% - 8% range almost every time. The only drawback is that the average person only puts out about 100 pieces per hour, meaning, to make this impact significant you must dedicate a great number of hours or have a large turnout of volunteers to help you. Goal yourself at least 1,000 doorhangers per week when that is your scheduled event. Just remember, it’s a numbers game. The more you put out there the more you’ll sell.
3. Boxtoppers – If you’re not putting marketing material on top of your pizza boxes now…start. Why would you spend all this advertising money to gain customers if you’re not going to give these people an incentive to come back and order again? Stick with this rule: All boxes leaving the store with pizzas inside must have a boxtopper. Stay 100% compliant with this rule and you’ll see customers returning to your place more often. Here’s a sample below of a boxtopper used in my Junction City store.
4. Consistent product – How consistent is the product in your store? Can you tell the difference between pizzas you make versus the pizzas one of your assistants makes? If you can, you’ve got a training issue in your store that needs to be fixed. One thing I’ve picked up from my time with Papa John’s is pizza-making certification. Make sure every production person in your store makes pizzas identical to you. If you have to hold a class on a Monday morning to teach your people how to make pizzas the way you want them to be made, it would be in your best interest to get it done. At the end of their training you can print certification diplomas for those who pass your course to make it official. Your pizzas are your livelihood and there’s nothing that will hack off a customer more than spending their hard-earned money on a crappy or inconsistent product.
These four basic principles can help you significantly increase volume. It will also augment your customer’s perception of your business. Successful operators will tell you the same thing. These four basic principles will solidify your position in your respected markets. In my next article I will share a little information about sales trends. Until then, you can find me in PMQ’s online Think Tank, and remember this: it’s what you don’t know that gets you in the end. Never pass up a chance to learn from your peers.