Chris Moore -The Domino’s affect that’s bucking the trend

Whilst all around is in chaos as the economic recession takes ever larger bites out of businesses, Domino’s Pizza UK & Ireland has risen above the competition to report an increase in its share of the market, rising profits and plans to open more stores across the UK.

The rise of Domino’s dominance has been largely thanks to company CEO Chris Moore, who is widely regarded as a visionary businessman with an interesting spin on how to get business moving in times of hardship. A combination of making sure that his employees enjoy their work and hard-nosed business sense has seen Domino’s sales rise by over 18% last year and a swathe of new outlets opening under the Domino’s name. The rapid expansion has led to 1,600 new jobs and the plans to open even more outlets this year will create employment in a time when most companies are cutting back on their workforce.

Chris Moore has a knack of being able to ‘read’ the economy and realised very early on that as the recession deepened, public habits changed dramatically as staying in became the new ‘going out’. He is also pragmatic in his approach to consumer’s appetites, understanding that ordering in a pizza is still regarded by many as a once a week ‘treat’ and not a weekly staple. By ensuring that delivery times are cut to less than 25 minutes from time of order to the doorbell ringing, Domino’s has effectively undercut the competition not on price, but on sheer quality of service. It is this that Chris believes keeps customers coming back to Domino’s rather than swapping to his competitors.

Chris Moore’s extensive background in advertising has also brought a fresh approach to the company’s attitude to promotion. Chris spotted that as commercial television companies fought for an increasingly diminishing number of advertisers, costs for prime-time advertising dropped by as much as 25%. The company puts a great deal of stock into promotion and with an increased advertising budget and falling ad costs, Domino’s were in a perfect position to choose the most effective and high profile advertising campaign. The sponsorship of ratings-winner ‘Britain’s got Talent’ brought the company’s identity into the living rooms of millions of Britons every weekend – the most likely time for a family to treat themselves to a pizza delivery.

Another tactic that has worked in the company’s favour is the use of the Internet as a powerful and effective marketing tool. Chris and his team recognised very early on that people were using the web to order everything from the weekly shopping to underwear – so why not take advantage of this by providing an online ordering service? Online sales now account for almost a quarter of Domino’s total sales, rising by 70% in the past year. Chris sees this as a developing market and has no doubts how important e-commerce will prove to be in the foreseeable future. The company’s e-commerce platform has been an ongoing aspect of the organisation’s raised profile and Chris feels that having a powerful brand identity has enabled them to take advantage of this. Building up consumer trust in a brand that is associated with quality of both product and customer service has been enhanced by their dominance in the online fast food market.

The advertising of Domino’s Pizza has highlighted one other area that’s important to Chris Moore – business should be fun. By promoting a brand identity that portrays an optimistic, friendly company through his own off-the-wall and self-effacing style of promotion, Chris Moore has given his customers a ‘feel good’ factor that has been a vital component of the success of the company. Associating Domino’s Pizza with good times, good food and good service has all come together beautifully to ensure the company’s continued success, even through the darkest days of the recession. From this base, Domino’s Pizza UK & Ireland looks set to expand, with more stores opening throughout the country and plenty of applicants looking to take on company franchises. It seems that Chris Moore and Domino’s Pizza will emerge as one of the success stories of the recession and other companies looking to build their way out of hard times might do well to study the ‘Domino Effect’ closely.