Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategies: Domino's Pizza Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of consumer behavior in relation to the Domino's Pizza brand. It begins with a brand overview, detailing Domino's market position and evolution, followed by an examination of its target market, focusing on demographics and consumer segments. The core of the report delves into consumer behavior theories, including perception and attitudes, supported by a literature review. It explores how Domino's applies these theories in its marketing strategies, such as influencing customer perception through marketing campaigns and leveraging social media. The report also discusses the practical implications of these theories on Domino's success, highlighting strategies to improve customer relationships and adapt to changing consumer preferences. Finally, it touches on future trends in the fast-food industry, emphasizing the importance of customer engagement and technological advancements. The report draws on various scholarly articles and provides a detailed assessment of how Domino's uses consumer behavior principles to maintain its market dominance.

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Consumer Behavior on Dominos

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Table of Contents
Brand Overview...............................................................................................................................3
Target Market of Dominos..............................................................................................................3
Consumer Behavior Theory.............................................................................................................4
Literature Review on Consumer Behavior theories.....................................................................4
Consumer Perception...............................................................................................................4
Consumer Attitudes.................................................................................................................5
Practical implication of the theories on Dominos........................................................................6
Results and benefits derived........................................................................................................8
Future Trends...................................................................................................................................9
Reference List................................................................................................................................10

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Brand Overview
Domino's Pizza is an internationally recognized chain of fast foods specialized in pizza delivery.
Established by Tom Monaghan in the year 1960, Domino's Pizza has become the largest Pizza
seller worldwide in terms of sales (Domino’s, 2019). The dominance of Dominos has increased
in the recent years due to overhauling the recipe of the pizzas embracing technology that makes
ordering pizza as easy as possible. CEO Patrick Doyle has made considerable changes in the
recipes and technology used to establish the brand as the most loving Pizza brand in the world
(Barrett, 2018). Dominos has built a royal customer base by use of techniques to engage the
customers. The Fast Food Industry is changing rapidly and customer engagement is becoming a
big driver to gain customer loyalty. Since consumers look for real quality in their pizzas and
customizing according to them has been a successful strategy for Dominos. Along with that food
delivery services have also improve the business of Domino's used to dazzle its customers with
digital marketing in robotics. Domino's has utilized various social media platforms to market its
pizzas and has gained success which can be seen from its dominant position in the pizza
industry. Domino's has been prevalent in majority of the countries of the world such as USA,
UK, Canada, Japan, China and India. The international expansion was successful due to keeping
unique products according to the locations. Domino's has emerged as early winner by controlling
approximately 15% of the market of pizza sales (Whitten, 2018). Apart from the normal pizzas,
Dominos has variety of traditional and custom pizzas and variety of crust styles and toppings.
Target Market of Dominos
As identified by Gilbreath (2019), Dominos target audience has always been a wider customer
base. The diversity in consumer base is due to the focus between the ages 18 to 44. Domino's
also focus is on targeting couples and specifically working couples in order to provide quick and
easy meals for the working individuals. Although the company is focusing on the teenager and
millennials more, the middle and above middle income families are also an important focus.
Since Domino's is one of the leading fast food chains in the world, its presence can be seen in
more than 70 nations with approximately 10,800 owned and franchised outlets (Domino’s,
2019). Its global presence can mostly be seen in urban cities due to the popularity of its pizzas.
Domino's has made itself available in almost all corners of every location in the world and
targeting specific store locations make it easier for customers to have a pizza. Domino's has

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mostly targeted the cheese loving people with its product offerings consisting of variety of crust
options such as a cheese burst, extra cheese toppings and other products made of cheese. The
target has also been set looking at the behavior of people which suggests that pizza has been one
of the most desirable fast food items for people.
Consumer Behavior Theory
As opined by Lages (2016), marketing in the 21st century demands creativity and innovation by
the marketing campaigns in order to grab the attention of the customers. But these marketing
strategies grounded by certain theories which discusses about the human behavior. The study of
consumer behavior mainly focuses on understanding the nature of consumers, why consumers
buy and their way of making purchases. These theories help in understanding the underlying
issues of consumer behavior such as purchases made by consumers individually and with groups,
emotional impact on purchasing decisions, post purchase perception and attitudes, and utility
after purchasing the product.
Literature Review on Consumer Behavior theories
Consumer Perception
As opined by Zhang and Benyoucef (2016), consumer perception refers to a marketing concept
that highlights the interest, awareness and conscience of a consumer towards the brand name and
offerings of a company. According to Hugstad and Durr (2015), Consumer perception is
generally impacted by marketing efforts, advertising, product offerings, social media, product
reviews and personal experiences. The overall positioning by a company of its products, the
logo, the marketing strategies and advertisements can impact the perception of customers. There
can be many factors beyond control such as customer interaction according to their time with the
product can also be a factor affecting customer perception. It all depends on how a consumer
sees the products from their point of view and accordingly making decisions of purchasing it.
The role of perception in consumer behavior decides on the fact that whether consumers are
purchasing the product or disliking it. This is the reason why companies are spending so much
on marketing themselves is to create value for customers and influencing in any way to change
their perceptions of purchasing the products of the company. As suggested by McDonald and
Wilson (2016), profitable consumer behavior can be achieved with careful analysis of the

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consumer market and understanding the preferences and needs of consumers. Consumers
constantly gather information about company in order to form a decision of whether to buy the
products of the company or not. As mentioned earlier, companies can go beyond their limits to
influence the perception of customers towards their products either through manipulation or
providing some value through its products.
As per Agyekum, Haifeng and Agyeiwaa (2015), the theory of perception mainly focuses on
influencing consumer perception and reaching target consumers by making considerable efforts.
In order to understand the preferences and needs of customers, it is always important to segment
them into different consumer groups and accordingly make strategies for each of the group. This
will help to make a clear differentiation on what to show to each category of customers. The
efforts will reflect on the improvement of consumer perception of the products of the company
thereby improving the brand loyalty and brand image of the company. A business must always
seek to improve the experience of its customers and give them with the right perception they
deserve.
As identified by Wongleedee (2015), the modern consumer is more of a mix as they are sensitive
to prices and constantly demand for better products at affordable prices. Since they are well
informed, they tend to be aware and conscious of their knowledge. The more customers are well
informed, the more it rises their expectations. Customers generally sort their products according
to the quality, product price and its functions. Therefore, companies try to strengthen the bond
with their customers which is likely to provide competitive advantage about other players in the
market. In order to create better relationships with customers, better experience is required to be
provided at different stages of interaction with them. There are numerous internal and external
factors that influence the perception of customers. Experience is one such internal or personal
factor that drives the customers prefer their choice of products.
Consumer Attitudes
As opined by Ajzen (2015), consumer attitudes are comprised of their beliefs, feelings, and their
behavior towards an object or the brand of a company. All these components are interconnected
dependent upon each other which influences consumers how to react in a certain manner towards
any object. A consumer may have either positive or negative belief towards an object or a
person. For instance, consumers like coffee but they also believe that if spilled will spoil papers.

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Believes can also be neutral which difference depending upon the situation. It is not necessary
consumers will hold accurate beliefs which is proven by the Multiattribute model that suggests
consumers tend to have multiple beliefs which can be clubbed together to obtain an accurate
measurement.
Consumers have different feeling for different products or brands of a company. Based upon
their beliefs, consumers related to their experiences with product or brand. At times, these
feelings might not be pendant upon the beliefs. For instance, a person might have emotional
connection with Christmas and decorating a Christmas tree, but on the other hand that person
knows that cutting trees is morally wrong. As stated by Joshi and Rahman (2015), the behavioral
intention of a consumer determines their purchase decision. Behavioral intention changes
according to the preferences of the consumers. For instance, a person might purchase a product
even when they do not like it due to reasons like social influence. It is true to the fact that
consumers might not have consistency with their attitudes. This is because of their ability, the
availability of resources, social influence and issues of measuring the attitudes. The role of
attitudes is distinct and helps the consumers to adjust according to the situations and
circumstances. The value system an individual holds becomes a deciding factor for purchasing or
not purchasing certain products. For example, purchase of alcohol and drugs might not be in the
value system of individuals and therefore either it allows or disallows an individual to purchase
the product. Gaining information about a product can help individuals to modify their attitude
towards that product all brand of a company. Everything depends upon the preferences and needs
of consumers and the value system they have towards certain product or brands. Therefore,
marketers must understand and analyze such attitudes consumers hold in order to provide certain
value from their offerings.
Practical implication of the theories on Dominos
Domino's Pizza has always scored top rank for delivery and value. This fast food chain has
reinvented its strategies to win the hearts of its customers. Being second largest pizza seller of
the world, Dominos has constantly embraced changes in terms of their product offerings and use
of technology. Their primary focus has always been to embrace customer experience as a core
strategy alongside improved delivery system. The theory of consumer perceptions and their
attitudes towards Dominos can be determined from the success of this fast food chain. There can

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be customers perceiving Domino's Pizza as a legendary pizza hub but many of them might not
prefer it. The consumer perception can be influenced by manipulation but a company with
customer centric approach might be willing to provide better services to its customers. When
customers are valued and their complaints are being heard, they tend to value such attention.
Their perception might become different with regards to the company. As can be seen in the case
of Dominos, this fast food chain has tried to do better by listening to customer complaints, their
suggestions and opinions regarding any change either with the pizzas or the service they provide.
For instance, in the past few years, Domino's has been lagging behind the quality and taste of its
pizzas, and therefore received from its customers. As highlighted by OMI (2018), in an act of
improving and changing the perception of customers, Dominos recreated its brand image by its
legendary ad campaign which highlighted the negative comments posted by the customers. Their
pizza turnaround strategy experimented with new recipes of its pizzas and this initiative helped
nurturing customer relationships thereby changing action of majority of its customers. The
impact of social media networks has the power to influence the perception and attitude of
consumers. The use of social media has enabled the customers through directly interact with the
companies, give their opinions and feedbacks either to improve or appreciate the product
offerings. According to Kelso (2019), one of the most valuable things Domino's has created is
letting its customers leave feedback on social media with regards to their new recipes in form of
a live Twitter feed or testimonials on related blogs covering the campaign. Although the value
system of many customers can be different while making their purchase decisions, but Dominos
has understood there preferable customer segments and tend to target them majorly. A company
fostering transparency will never try to hide anything from its customers. Domino's has
influenced its customers by putting the negative customer comments to ensure their
transparency. The services provided like the pizza tracker app has again proved the transparency
starting from the order placement, driver's location to the delivery time. Based on the needs of
customers, the company constantly improves their existing strategies and designs new
experiences.
As identified by Mejova, Abbar and Haddadi (2016), pizza is loved by people all around the
world making it desirable and an opportunity for companies in the fast food industry to innovate
in terms of their pizzas and technologies they use. A satisfied customer will always have a good
perception towards the brand and its offerings. In the case of Dominos customers are highly

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attached either to the tastes of the pizzas or the fact that the company serves better services than
any other pizza joint. When the consumer behavior theory is applied in the case of Dominos, the
overall positioning of the brand has been commendable as customers prefer to Domino’s pizza
over any other brand. This success has been gained through the advertising and service efforts of
Dominos which again highlights the fact that even when consumers are focused on purchasing a
certain product, their perception and attitudes can be influenced. As consumers always look for
something better, marketers tend to be more creative than competitors in order to retain their
customers and increase the recall value of their products. From the consumer point of view,
anything that satisfies their expectations and needs can be considered as a good product or brand.
In terms of choices of foods, Dominos have customers preferring the vegetarian options,
preferring non-veg pizzas, with cheese burst filling, a thin crust, and so on. According to the
geographical locations, consumers might be different. For instance, the product offerings in
China will be completely different from the product offerings in India. The attitudes of people in
China will also be different since the country generally prefers authentic Asian food. Customers
in India are fond of spicy and authentic Indian flavors in their pizzas, therefore, their attitudes of
the product offerings can be slightly different. In a nutshell, it can be stated that Dominos has
been a market leader in the Pizza industry thereby creating value out of its product offerings and
services but as consumer preferences change, it may have an impact on the brand. But with
constant efforts and embracing changes, Dominos can surely influence customers towards itself.
Results and benefits derived
According to Solis (2018), Domino’s Pizza has ambitious plans to remain dominant in the
market with its technological changes and increasing the volume of pizza delivery. The increase
the social media volume has been a major turnaround for the company setting it apart from its
competitors. With such undivided attention towards successful implementation of social media
strategies, Dominos has grabbed a huge market share comprising of millions of happy customers.
The internal factors influencing the consumer behavior are the consumer perception and
consumer attitudes towards the brand and its offerings. It has been identified that most of the
consumers of Italian pizza, consume it because of the curiosity of trying something new which
can be a benefit for Domino's Pizza to innovate new flavors for its customers. Despite of
influencers, there are many people especially in the remote or rural areas unaware of pizzas so

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there perception will be completely different. Since cheese is one of the most favorite food items,
Domino's majorly highlights its Pizzas with loads of cheese to gain the attention of cheese loving
people. However, diet conscious people have a different perception as they would readily
boycott consuming fast food. Every household has an influencer and especially children act as
influencers. Parents become the decision makers. Therefore Domino's has always tried to
influence both the influencer and the decision maker. Television advertisements has a major role
in influencing the purchase decision of consumers. The advertisements on digital platforms also
serve the purpose of grabbing utmost attention of customers. Since product offerings, quality and
its affordability are major determinants of influencing the purchase decision, Domino's has
always tried to keep balance between all of them as they are interdependent on each other. If the
prices are slightly higher as compared to the quality, customers might never return to purchase
the product. Similarly, customers having a predefined notion about fast food can be difficult for
companies to influence them. Overall, customers are all the same everywhere, but it requires the
right efforts to influence their purchase decision thereby gaining the trust keeping them loyal to
the brand.
Future Trends
As suggested by Charter and Tischner (2017), the future holds immense possibilities of growth
for any company. As technology is fast disrupting, it is changing the scenario of conducting a
business. Mobile revolution is nothing new to the world but the impact it has on human behavior
is slowly coming into light. For businesses to compete, technology is one part of the solution to
understand customer expectations. Companies are rising with their function of customer
relationship with technology, they must rethink innovation and services to be provided for better
customer experience and brand loyalty. It is only innovation that has kept Dominos as one of the
largest pizza company in the world. The market share of the company has doubled with its
digital transformation. People nowadays are more interested in gaining experiences rather than
simply purchasing products. Therefore the primary motive of Dominos is to become a major
player in the E-Commerce market. As future holds better opportunities for Dominos, it has focus
on mobile innovation in order to revamp customer perception of the brand. The right amount of
marketing and IT integration has worked wonders for Dominos but the culture of innovation is a
continuous process and will require improved efforts to achieve the desired goals.

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