Papa John's

PAPA JOHNS STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

We already know that Papa John's is a major player in the Pizza industry but the big question is what does the future hold for them. What is the next step or steps that they must take to get a head of the competition as well as just sustain their place in the market.

The first strategy they should build on is their brand name, Papa Johns. They might not be number one in what is a very large market place but number three is not bad. People know the name Papa John but it is still not as prevalent as Pizza Hut or Domino's. Granted it has not been the marketplace near as long and does not have the brand loyalty of the top two but keep in mind where they have come in a much shorter period. Most of the brand loyalty of the top two comes from habit of repeat business and remember that habits can be broken. To do so you have to put your brand out in the eye of the consumer to remind them that they have options. It takes only one chance to start a new habit. By taking advantage of the brand status you do hold is how you grow your customer base.

Now lets look at some of the other key factors that have led to success at this point. Papa Johns is known for their excellent customer service and have really blown their competition in area. They need to remind their customers that they are the best at making pizza lovers happy. The price point of a product tends to be the first thing noticed by the consumer but if they are not happy with what they get they being to think twice about their decision. In today's

marketplace no matter what the product is when a company begins sacrificing at the customers expense people take notice quickly. This is when the buyer thinks they would be willing to give a little more in the price to be happy about their purchase. This is when Papa John steps in and reminds us all that they have been number one three years in a row in customer satisfaction. People take notice of the decisions that other people make. If they see an empty Papa Johns box in the trash of their next door neighbor they will take notice. This is where the mental link begins with the boasts Papa Johns has made of their customer satisfaction. The buyer begins thinking that if it is good enough for the Jones it is good enough for the Jones it has to be good enough for me.

Papa Johns s also known for the quality and freshness of their ingredients. We just discussed how the buyer is willing to give on price to be satisfied about their purchase. This is where Papa Johns needs to drives home this extra cost is the quality that you are paying for. The quality in the ingredients needs to be put recognized by the buyer. We live in a society where our food industry is flooded with frozen and processed foods. Ingredients that most of us cannot pronounce and have no clue what they are. The food industry has gone to an additive save cost industry that is making the consumer the victim. This is where Papa Johns reinforces to the customer the superior quality of their ingredients. Inform the customer that every traditional crust pizza with fresh dough never frozen and prepared with clear-filtered water in the company's regional quality control center. Let the buyer know Papa John only uses fresh packed tomato sauce from the vine to the can in an average of six hours. All the cheese on the pizza is made with 100% mozzarella, 100% real beef and pork that contains no fillers. People want to know what they are putting into their bodies and by advertising the quality of the what you are getting will help to grow that customer base. By promoting and building on these existing strengths Papa Johns can put real pressure competition.

Now that we have identified our established building blocks to build on lets turn the focus on what Papa Johns can do to improve in the areas we know that are weak spots.

The number one weakness that Papa Johns has to face is what their competition can provide that they cannot. Although Papa John s know for their quality they are not know as full service restaurant. When compared to a company like Pizza Hut, Papa Johns does not provide the same seated restaurant type of atmosphere. Parents are not likely to bring their children to Papa's for a birthday party or go out for a family dinner night. Most Papa Johns are small facilities with minimal seating designed to keep overhead low. This is an area that can be evaluated at what cost could be generated to provide larger facilities.

The next area to look at is competition pricing. Papa Johns prices are not the highest but are still higher compared to competition such as Domino's. Papa's can compete by looking at specials they can run to help get their foot in the door with pricing. Along the same lines take a look at how those specials are being advertised. Again comparing to Domino's when they have a special it is communicated all over different types of media. When Papa Johns is going to run these specials make sure they are telling the customer. If they have to wait for the customer to wait until they come into a parlor or call for delivery this is to late.

The biggest threat that Papa Johns faces now and will continue to face we have already talked about, that being competition. Since there is no real secret to getting into and being in the pizza business all players basically have shared knowledge of what the competitive advantages are that each could hold. With that being said being and since we have already talked some about pricing there is nothing that can keep Papa Johns out of a price war. When this does occur the company has to make a decision to play along or to reside on the hope the brand loyalty will prevail.

Even with uncontrollable threats that we have addressed there are still many opportunities that Papa's can take advantage of. We are now seeing the food service industry begin to take advantage of the internet. Online ordering is a growing trend and Papa's in right in the mix. By using online ordering as a customer option and then by providing