Domino’s Pizza is listening to its customers. Are you?
Posted by: Nancy Harrity

Hello, hello, hello, is there anybody out there? Anyone who has ever complained to a company over its product or service may wonder if anyone at the company is actually listening to the complaint.

Domino’s customers don’t have to wonder anymore with the company’s recently released television ads and web video. Domino’s has heard them loud and clear, rattling off their pizza’s deficiencies and what the company is doing to address them in this catchy campaign.

The Washington Post’s Paul Fahri explores this in an article in the Jan. 13th edition, where he acknowledges the campaign as the latest example of what he termed the “mea culpa” genre of advertising. While true, he glosses over one important point and misses another altogether.

The article quotes Domino’s incoming chief executive officer, Patrick Doyle, stressing that this campaign proves to Domino’s customers that the company has heard them.

In today’s consumer environment, consumers are searching for a certain amount of authenticity in conversations with the companies they do business with. A critical part of authenticity is not simply listening to what the consumer has to say, but showing through its actions that the company has heard what was said. Domino’s campaign is a great example of this — this is what you told us and here’s what we’re doing about it.

This type of authenticity is more often found in social media campaigns, where a two-way dialog between customers and the companies they do business with is more common. Rather than limiting this campaign to social media, Domino’s applied it to traditional media, showing a certain amount of savvy in applying one of the best features of social media — authentic communication — to traditional media.

Applying authentic communication to traditional media, listening to your customers and showing through your actions that you’ve heard them is not just for consumer companies. Businesses selling primarily to other businesses and government agencies serving their constituents can apply these principles as well. Contact us and we’ll show you how.

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