Back in my college days, I remember how easy it was at 11:00 at night, while studying for a test the next day, to order a pizza from Domino’s. I just picked up the phone and in less than thirty minutes, it was delivered. Today I do the same thing. I pick up the phone and order a pizza – but I don’t have to… pick up the phone.
Technology has taken us to a new level of pizza ordering. Picking up a phone to order a pizza is an option, but it’s so old school. You can order online or use an app on your smartphone or tablet. Or, you can just use a voice command and order with Alexa or Google Home. And, once you order your pizza, you can track the order. You know when your pizza is being prepped when it comes out of the oven and when it’s on its way. Domino’s has made it easy – as in convenient.
And, if you’ve been following my work, you know about my fascination with convenience. I wrote the book, The Convenience Revolution, and identified six “Principles of Convenience,” one of them being delivery. I included Domino’s as a case study in the book, but guess what? I didn’t include them in the chapter on delivery. I included them in the chapter on technology.
In 2008 Domino’s was struggling and their brilliant leadership turned the company around. They recognized their pizza wasn’t as good as it could be, and publicly stated it needed improvement. So, they improved. They also revolutionized their process and started building technology into the customer experience. The Domino’s ANYWARE concept allows their customers to not only order the pizza with the toppings they desire but to connect with their neighborhood Domino’s by more than ten ways, with more to come. They include:
Google Home, Amazon Alexa, Slack, Facebook Messenger, Zero Clicks, Text, Twitter, Ford Sync, Smart TV, Voice and Smart Watch. And, of course, you can still order using the traditional “land-line” phone.
Consider that while some people still use the phone, a younger generation experienced these new apps as they were being released and have decided they don’t want to use the phone anymore. And an even younger generation has never ordered a pizza with a phone, and they simply won’t.
The point is that even a pizza company recognizes the necessity to reinvent its processes to keep up with the times. Beyond being a better pizza, they wanted to make it easier on their customers, and that’s what every company must do. Study what Domino’s has done. What are they doing that you can do in your business? What can you do to be more convenient for your customers?
