Dominos adapted to the Indian market with the Polycentric orientation and touched millions of hearts. Every minute detail was considered and researched thoroughly before Dominos came to the Indian market. Domino’s has created a unique brand identity that is associated with the delivery promptness and made a connection with the customers on personal level too.
Domino’s, the world largest pizza delivery chain, sells more pizza in India than anywhere else outside its home country- the US. India is the only country where Dominos is surpassing the number of burgers sold by McDonald’s. (Bhushan, 2014)
Product- Dominos’s is mostly known for fresh pizza quality and unique flavors.They customize the flavors as per the customer needs by “localizing” the flavors, or should I say “Indianizing”.
Place- To deliver on the promise of product differentiation that is “30 minutes delivery”, we would need specific locations in all the cities. Location of the store and franchises will be handled critically by the local organizational structure.
Domino’s has been fervent about working with franchisees to fuel growth; company owns only about 10 percent of the Domino’s in the U.S. and not a single one outside the country. (Buss, 2013)
Price- If we look at the competition, then Domino’s has been evenly prized with Pizza hut. But the prices are high as compared to KFC and McDonalds and hence the price conscious customers will prefer the indirect competitor – McDonalds and KFC above Domino’s. (marketing 91)
Promotion- Dominos made a mark in the industry with speedy deliveries to Indian households. People started recognizing the brand and delivery boys became the face of Dominos food chain in India.
Promotional offers, discounts and schemes were always a part of Domino’s promotional strategy, which encourages more repeat customers and word of mouth of the brand. Though there is still more scope of aggressive Social media marketing initiatives. Increased focus on sharing more contest and offers on social media to encourage online purchase or store walk-in through coupons. Online and mobile purchases will also be a vital part of promotion by sharing all the information about ordering online in promotions.
Domino’s idea of maintaining direct contact with its consumer base is one of the leading factors that have taken the company to unachievable heights. Its policy of door-to-door deliveries is amazing. Nearly every individual knows that Domino’s will deliver the pizza in thirty minutes flat. Domino’s sales depend on telemarketing and the efficiency of their trained delivery boys. (marketing 91)
As the approach suggests, Domino’s adapted the Indian market in every possible way to emerge as a local brand. The marketing mix will differ depending on the culture and geography of the location in which it operates. This approach will help captivate and satisfy the needs of this unique market.
Global subsidiary should be set up to address complete needs related to hiring, marketing, production, human resource, finance and discounts. Understanding a culture is the foremost requirement for a brand to enter any different location and culture. Local and regional people best understand the marketing mix of the brand and how to get the most out of it.
Rubric.com (Feb24, 2015) throws some light on Domino’s successful expansion in India.
U.S. pizza chain Domino’s went the extra mile with its plan to expand into India, according to Fast Company. Domino’s expansion plans developed from the realization that pizza is a cross-cultural food that is quite similar to meals often already prepared in the country.
A project management Approach- Domino’s studied local neighborhoods, streets and traffic situation to understand the best possible ways of delivering the product on time as per their brand promise. Expert project managers help design the promise and execute it to earn trust of consumers.
Local Knowledge & Local Success- Domino’s was keen on knowing the international customers in India and providing an experience that is wanted by them or is already not there. They researched local ingredients to find the best flavors to cater to budget conscious market. They designed the experience for local customers according to their needs and preferences with the help of local franchise setup. Dominos completely re-invented their product for local markets by keeping the brand identity that is known globally.
A customized Marketing strategy- They delivered the exact marketing message that appeals to the Indian audience (family & goodtime) and in the Hindi Language. Domino’s marketing campaigns were fine-tuned to incorporate a mix of hip western culture and familiar Indian values to resonate with the Indian buyers.
Dominos is one of the most known brands in the food industry worldwide and enjoys a distinct identity in the competitive market. I would personally want to keep the universal identity of the brand there when launching in the foreign markets. The brand name, logo design, packaging and other brand identity elements will be guided by the “standardization” approach. This will empower my brand globally in terms of brand recall, built loyal customer base as position is very critical and too much changes in it can confuse or drive away the target audience.
According to Kotler’s suggestion all 11 factors should be evaluated before standardization is considered. But, I feel adaptation is also equally important for a brand when going global. It is very important to connect with the audience with a customized “marketing mix” for each target market. My composition of 11 elements is defined as below.
Look of label- Label will have both Hindi and English adaptation
Package- Packaging will be same as used globally in design and material may vary according to local availability
Colors- Brand colors remain same
Name- Brand name remains same
Material- Ingredients used in making the product will be produced locally to get local flavor and decrease production cost.
Product- Everything on the menu will be adapted to local taste, beliefs, needs and requirement to sound as a local brand and not ‘foreign’
Domino’s Indian franchises have totally different menu from the U.S. around half the menu is customized to local vegetarian preference and boosting spiciness. Instead of Parmesan cheese pizza comes with an “oregano spice mix” with flavor of garlic and chilli peppers. Recent addition has Lebanese roll – a spicy roll with peas and cheese and Taco Indiana- a folded and stuffed pizza crust. (Chappell, Dec 06, 2013)
Advertising themes, Media & promotion- India is a very different country when compared to the U.S., as we have seen in our week’s forum discussion- Hofstede’s 6 dimensions of cultural elements. I would wan tot customize all the promotional strategies according to Indian culture, background, social and political scenarios. In India, I feel emotions play a very great role, showing family values, getting close to loved ones and showing a brand as a part of their lifestyle.
Keeping in mind the diverse categorization of urban and remote locations with different ways of media access will need different mediums. I will tap in all the mediums to reach to potential target customer group in India. From digital India to more orthodox mediums, everything will need the attention.
Already Dominos did discount coupons of 50% on next purchase or so offers. TV commercials were family centric with the message- “ Hungry Kya? Yeh hai Rishton ka Time” (Are your hungry? This is the time to for your loved ones). Served customers with rare access of online media with printed media, flyers around the same theme. For digital population some interesting content around the same theme was carried out on social media (Subhan, Mar 12, 2015, p. 5)
Pricing- Pricing will be adapted according to the competition and customer spending capacity. As $1 is equivalent to almost 65 Indian Rupees, customers will be looking for a budget pricing all over the menu. After analyzing the costing and keeping the margin profits, it would be advisable to keep the prices within the range of a mid-size earning segment of the society.
Bhushan, R. (Dec 01, 2014) India emerges as Domino’s biggest market outside US. Retrieved November 14, 2015, from http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-12-01/news/56614530_1_pizza-india-ajay-kaul-jubilant-foodworks
Buss, D. (Mar 09, 2013) Domino’s Global Growth Feeds Pizza Chain’s Rising Success. Retrieved November 14, 2015, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/dalebuss/2013/03/09/dominos-global-growth-feeds-pizza-chains-growing-success/
Marketing91. Marketing mix of Domino’s. Retrieved November 14, 2015, from http://www.marketing91.com/marketing-mix-dominos/
Rubric.com (Fed 24, 2015) Going the Extra mile: How Domino’s successfully expanded into India. Retrieved November 14, 2015, from https://rubric.com/blog/2015/02/24/dominos-localization/#.VkegV4SQyf4
Chappell, B. (Dec 06, 2013) Paneer Pizza: Domino’s Sees India Becoming Second- Largest Market. Retrieved November 14, 2015, from http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2013/12/06/249238538/paneer-pizza-dominos-sees-india-becoming-second-largest-market
Subhan, M. (Mar12, 2015) Differentiating Localization-Based Marketing Strategy in Emerging Markets: The Case of Domino's Pizza in Malaysia and India. Retrieved November 14, 2015, from http://www.researchgate.net/publication/273442935_Differentiating_LocalizationBased_Marketing_Strategy_in_Emerging_Markets_The_Case_of_Domino's_Pizza_in_Malaysia_and_India
Domino’s, the world largest pizza delivery chain, sells more pizza in India than anywhere else outside its home country- the US. India is the only country where Dominos is surpassing the number of burgers sold by McDonald’s. (Bhushan, 2014)
Marketing mix
Product- Dominos’s is mostly known for fresh pizza quality and unique flavors.They customize the flavors as per the customer needs by “localizing” the flavors, or should I say “Indianizing”.
Place- To deliver on the promise of product differentiation that is “30 minutes delivery”, we would need specific locations in all the cities. Location of the store and franchises will be handled critically by the local organizational structure.
Domino’s has been fervent about working with franchisees to fuel growth; company owns only about 10 percent of the Domino’s in the U.S. and not a single one outside the country. (Buss, 2013)
Price- If we look at the competition, then Domino’s has been evenly prized with Pizza hut. But the prices are high as compared to KFC and McDonalds and hence the price conscious customers will prefer the indirect competitor – McDonalds and KFC above Domino’s. (marketing 91)
Promotion- Dominos made a mark in the industry with speedy deliveries to Indian households. People started recognizing the brand and delivery boys became the face of Dominos food chain in India.
Promotional offers, discounts and schemes were always a part of Domino’s promotional strategy, which encourages more repeat customers and word of mouth of the brand. Though there is still more scope of aggressive Social media marketing initiatives. Increased focus on sharing more contest and offers on social media to encourage online purchase or store walk-in through coupons. Online and mobile purchases will also be a vital part of promotion by sharing all the information about ordering online in promotions.
Domino’s idea of maintaining direct contact with its consumer base is one of the leading factors that have taken the company to unachievable heights. Its policy of door-to-door deliveries is amazing. Nearly every individual knows that Domino’s will deliver the pizza in thirty minutes flat. Domino’s sales depend on telemarketing and the efficiency of their trained delivery boys. (marketing 91)
The Polycentric orientation
As the approach suggests, Domino’s adapted the Indian market in every possible way to emerge as a local brand. The marketing mix will differ depending on the culture and geography of the location in which it operates. This approach will help captivate and satisfy the needs of this unique market.
Global subsidiary should be set up to address complete needs related to hiring, marketing, production, human resource, finance and discounts. Understanding a culture is the foremost requirement for a brand to enter any different location and culture. Local and regional people best understand the marketing mix of the brand and how to get the most out of it.
Rubric.com (Feb24, 2015) throws some light on Domino’s successful expansion in India.
U.S. pizza chain Domino’s went the extra mile with its plan to expand into India, according to Fast Company. Domino’s expansion plans developed from the realization that pizza is a cross-cultural food that is quite similar to meals often already prepared in the country.
A project management Approach- Domino’s studied local neighborhoods, streets and traffic situation to understand the best possible ways of delivering the product on time as per their brand promise. Expert project managers help design the promise and execute it to earn trust of consumers.
Local Knowledge & Local Success- Domino’s was keen on knowing the international customers in India and providing an experience that is wanted by them or is already not there. They researched local ingredients to find the best flavors to cater to budget conscious market. They designed the experience for local customers according to their needs and preferences with the help of local franchise setup. Dominos completely re-invented their product for local markets by keeping the brand identity that is known globally.
A customized Marketing strategy- They delivered the exact marketing message that appeals to the Indian audience (family & goodtime) and in the Hindi Language. Domino’s marketing campaigns were fine-tuned to incorporate a mix of hip western culture and familiar Indian values to resonate with the Indian buyers.
Standardization and Adaptation
Dominos is one of the most known brands in the food industry worldwide and enjoys a distinct identity in the competitive market. I would personally want to keep the universal identity of the brand there when launching in the foreign markets. The brand name, logo design, packaging and other brand identity elements will be guided by the “standardization” approach. This will empower my brand globally in terms of brand recall, built loyal customer base as position is very critical and too much changes in it can confuse or drive away the target audience.
According to Kotler’s suggestion all 11 factors should be evaluated before standardization is considered. But, I feel adaptation is also equally important for a brand when going global. It is very important to connect with the audience with a customized “marketing mix” for each target market. My composition of 11 elements is defined as below.
Standardized Elements
Look of label- Label will have both Hindi and English adaptation
Package- Packaging will be same as used globally in design and material may vary according to local availability
Colors- Brand colors remain same
Name- Brand name remains same
Adapted Elements
Material- Ingredients used in making the product will be produced locally to get local flavor and decrease production cost.
Product- Everything on the menu will be adapted to local taste, beliefs, needs and requirement to sound as a local brand and not ‘foreign’
Domino’s Indian franchises have totally different menu from the U.S. around half the menu is customized to local vegetarian preference and boosting spiciness. Instead of Parmesan cheese pizza comes with an “oregano spice mix” with flavor of garlic and chilli peppers. Recent addition has Lebanese roll – a spicy roll with peas and cheese and Taco Indiana- a folded and stuffed pizza crust. (Chappell, Dec 06, 2013)
Advertising themes, Media & promotion- India is a very different country when compared to the U.S., as we have seen in our week’s forum discussion- Hofstede’s 6 dimensions of cultural elements. I would wan tot customize all the promotional strategies according to Indian culture, background, social and political scenarios. In India, I feel emotions play a very great role, showing family values, getting close to loved ones and showing a brand as a part of their lifestyle.
Keeping in mind the diverse categorization of urban and remote locations with different ways of media access will need different mediums. I will tap in all the mediums to reach to potential target customer group in India. From digital India to more orthodox mediums, everything will need the attention.
Already Dominos did discount coupons of 50% on next purchase or so offers. TV commercials were family centric with the message- “ Hungry Kya? Yeh hai Rishton ka Time” (Are your hungry? This is the time to for your loved ones). Served customers with rare access of online media with printed media, flyers around the same theme. For digital population some interesting content around the same theme was carried out on social media (Subhan, Mar 12, 2015, p. 5)
Pricing- Pricing will be adapted according to the competition and customer spending capacity. As $1 is equivalent to almost 65 Indian Rupees, customers will be looking for a budget pricing all over the menu. After analyzing the costing and keeping the margin profits, it would be advisable to keep the prices within the range of a mid-size earning segment of the society.
References
Bhushan, R. (Dec 01, 2014) India emerges as Domino’s biggest market outside US. Retrieved November 14, 2015, from http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-12-01/news/56614530_1_pizza-india-ajay-kaul-jubilant-foodworks
Buss, D. (Mar 09, 2013) Domino’s Global Growth Feeds Pizza Chain’s Rising Success. Retrieved November 14, 2015, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/dalebuss/2013/03/09/dominos-global-growth-feeds-pizza-chains-growing-success/
Marketing91. Marketing mix of Domino’s. Retrieved November 14, 2015, from http://www.marketing91.com/marketing-mix-dominos/
Rubric.com (Fed 24, 2015) Going the Extra mile: How Domino’s successfully expanded into India. Retrieved November 14, 2015, from https://rubric.com/blog/2015/02/24/dominos-localization/#.VkegV4SQyf4
Chappell, B. (Dec 06, 2013) Paneer Pizza: Domino’s Sees India Becoming Second- Largest Market. Retrieved November 14, 2015, from http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2013/12/06/249238538/paneer-pizza-dominos-sees-india-becoming-second-largest-market
Subhan, M. (Mar12, 2015) Differentiating Localization-Based Marketing Strategy in Emerging Markets: The Case of Domino's Pizza in Malaysia and India. Retrieved November 14, 2015, from http://www.researchgate.net/publication/273442935_Differentiating_LocalizationBased_Marketing_Strategy_in_Emerging_Markets_The_Case_of_Domino's_Pizza_in_Malaysia_and_India
nice post, Raina, useful pointers & timely in my context of work ...
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