![]() ![]() He talks about his operations director Ian Scher and how valuable he has been to the company. Wilkin is likely to tell you that this part of Arkansas has a great work force and dedicated employees. This attitude towards customers contributes to the company culture. And crew members are not allowed to talk about customers in derogatory ways even when the customer is not within earshot. ![]() Every employee knows that the customer is always right. And Wilkin expects much of his employees. Employees are much happier and better to customers when they are cool and if they work in a clean store. Never worry about money spent on air conditioning. Customers expect to feel welcome in the pizza store they are going to do business with.Īnother personal concern Wilkin has is the way employees and customer are treated. The national chains have raised the bar for us. Quarry tile floors have been added to two store lobbies recently because he says that independents have to do it. Perhaps another reason for the success of Eureka Pizza is that money is always being put back into the physical store. He also mails comment cards to lost customers and tabulates feedback from feedback cards located in the lobby of every store. This information is invaluable when it comes to the long term planning of his marketing. Wilkin also does periodic surveys to see how satisfied his customers are and to find out how his company measures up to the competition. And the price is high enough that you can afford to spend some serious dollars and still get you money back from your investment." Advertising is an investment and Wilkin never worries about spending enough to get the job done, even if it means spending more than some standard percentage that was suggested by some accountant who never owned a pizza store. "It is the ultimate product to promote in the whole food industry. "Pizza is perfect for promotions," Wilkin says. ![]() Each month, Eureka Pizza uses the computer database from the stores POS systems to fuel marketing programs and to provide activity reports. And database marketing…well…that’s sort of my secret weapon." All stores are equipped with Rockland Technology’s Pizza Fast POS system. Mass mailing are required to stay at a pace with competition and because they do a great job of showing off 4 color photography. "Radio and TV are important to create awareness and to help make the other three components work. One third electronic, one third mass mailing, one third database marketing. Marketing dollars are spent evenly in three areas. ![]() And that is where Wilkin’s experience as a former advertising salesman compensated for his initial lack of pizza experience. The real battle to be won is in the area of marketing. However, there are plenty of quality pizzas out there in the market! So why are Eureka pizza sales consistently higher than his franchise and chain competition? Wilkin, like so many other successful pizza operators, recognized that high quality nowadays is a minimum requirement if you want to stay in business. This formula has been proven successful not only as registered by store unit sales but by periodic telephone satisfaction surveys as well. "With quality dough, sauce, and cheese, how can I make a bad pizza? Well, actually the answer to that question resulted in the purchasing of conveyer ovens."Įureka Pizza is now strongly positioned as a very high quality pizza priced below all competition. Then he tasted and tested sauces and cheese products until he settled on Stanislaus and Leprino for the quality he was seeking. He soon developed a much improved pizza crust. "Ok," Wilkin thought, "first I need to improve my pizza." Wilkin decided to learn about pizza from the ground up and attend Tom Lahmann’s American Institute of Baking in Manhattan Kansas. In March of 1992 the doors opened under the new name of Eureka Pizza. If Tom Monoghan could be successful in spite of all of the bad luck he had in the early days of starting Domino’s Pizza, with any luck at all Wilkin felt he could be successful too. The book was "Pizza Tiger." The story was about Domino’s Pizzas’ Tom Monoghan. He also remembered a book that he had read a couple of years earlier that had really impressed him. Wilkin knew how well his coupon book worked and thought it would be a great way to sell pizza. Instead of buying an ad, the owner asked Wilkin if he would like to buy a pizza store. ![]()
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