Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc.: Business Analysis

Since products are common topics of conversations, consumers frequently learn about new products from family members, friends and acquaintances. Indeed, research has shown that consumers often actively seek information from other individuals, as a favored information source, for both new products as well as new services.Therefore, for many consumers, information received directly from others, commonly referred to as word-of-mouth communication (WOM) is an important additional source of product information. Word –of-mouth communication may be defined as “a group phenomenon, involving an exchange of comments, thoughts, and ideas among two or more individuals represent a marketing source” [1]
Advertising and personal selling are by no means the
makes what some would argue are one of the highlights of life on this planet: yeast-raised doughnuts. Sweet and impossibly fluffy, the Original Glazed earned a zealous following throughout the southern United States--and then beyond once expansion outside the South began in the mid-1990s. By late 2003, the company was operating more than 300 doughnut shops in 42 states; Ontario, Canada; Sydney, Australia; and the United Kingdom. It was producing 7.5 million doughnuts per day, adding up to 2.7 billion per year. The company's shops sell more than doughnuts, however, offering snack food, fruit pies, cinnamon buns, and beverages, including coffee, espresso, and frozen drinks. In addition to sales to customers entering its stores or using its drive-through windows, Krispy Kreme also uses its outlets as factories that additionally distribute fresh doughnuts for sale at convenience stores and supermarkets.
Instead of investing in TV commercials, Krispy Kreme believes that its best marketing tools are its friendly employees “Everybody at the stores is a marketer,” is the belief. Each employee undergoes training at Krispy Kreme University where, in addition to doughnut making, they are taught marketing and customer service. [7]
The stores themselves are also part of the marketing approach. They are uniquely designed, with a huge window that lets customers view the doughnuts as they walk by. This literal transparency contributes to eliminate the barriers between the brand and its customers and an invitation to step in and sample.