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A Taste of Frankenmuth

A Taste of Frankenmuth. Peter Hayashida Lynn Maikke Marketing 642 / Fall 2003. Michigan’s Little Bavaria. Heritage as a 19 th century Bavarian Lutheran missionary settlement A sense of cultural cohesion and work ethic A theme for reinventing the town

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A Taste of Frankenmuth

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  1. A Taste of Frankenmuth Peter Hayashida Lynn Maikke Marketing 642 / Fall 2003

  2. Michigan’s Little Bavaria • Heritage as a 19th century Bavarian Lutheran missionary settlement • A sense of cultural cohesion and work ethic • A theme for reinventing the town • From a predominantly farming community • To a thriving, ambitious tourist destination • In 1959 the interstate highway was built only miles away • Threatened the profitable traffic flow along main street • Frankenmuth responded with city beautification projects

  3. No Visitor Leaves Unhappy • 1989 marketing study commissioned by the Chamber of Commerce • Tourists gave the highest marks to town safety and cleanliness • Visitors liked best Frankenmuth’s warm and friendly atmosphere • Recommendations from friends, relatives, and co-workers made up the largest reported information source • Good word-of-mouth is important

  4. Word-of-Mouth Referral • Word-of-mouth may be the best advertising • Low cost and highly credible • The only promotion method of consumers, by consumers, and for consumers • Does it matter what people are saying, as long as it is positive? • Know the content of reputation • Tailor paid advertising to reinforce and complement • Give customers new information to shape what they say • Find dissatisfied customers and turn dissatisfaction into gratitude

  5. Consumer Control How much... Marketer ... and where?

  6. Letting your customers do the talking about your reputation... ... will allow you to spend less time, money, and energy promoting your organization .

  7. Frankenmuth 2000 • $20M investment program to stimulate growth • Major infrastructure improvements • Marketing programs focused on capturing the value of word-of-mouth • Find “champion” customers through market research • Complete a testimonial program utilizing metaphors • Implement a referral program • Develop “champion” employees • Training courses in word-of-mouth marketing • Identify and remedy dissatisfaction • Join the rest of the world on the Internet

  8. Shared Tastes & Values • How does Frankenmuth ensure that satisfied customers can make referrals to others who share their taste and values? • Make values clear • Tradition (“loyal for generations”) • Never changes • Safety, cleanliness • Superb customer service • Emphasizes connection between businesses & consumers • Turn visitors into “ambassadors for the community”

  9. Maximize Referrals • Remember: no visitor leaves unhappy! • Satisfaction guaranteed • Empower employees to resolve customer concerns without going up the management hierarchy • Make customers’ visits memorable and unique - visitors who return home will have stories to tell that will be unusual, special and distinctive • Glockenspiel at the Bavarian Inn • World’s largest Christmas Store • Educate customers about the product to make them more effective ambassadors

  10. Prospect Conversion • Q: Is the business trying to raise the likelihood that those who hear about the service and share the value system of those who recommend it will actually become customers? • A: Yes and No

  11. Targeted Messaging • Geared toward a particular demographic, which makes the messages clearer and more consistent • Frankenmuth is geared toward multigenerational family units, with a white matriarch decision maker in her 40s; average annual family income exceeding $40,000, live within 100 miles (or two hours) from Frankenmuth • “Champion” customer • Activities designed around this profile: • Family-friendly, warm, welcoming attitude • Value for the money • No-nonsense approach to customer satisfaction • Families visibly running businesses conveys a shared value system with Frankenmuth’s typical customers

  12. Will They Come? • “Everyone who gets mad tells ten people, but if they’re happy they tell three.” • The best defense is a good offense: minimize nightmare customer service experiences and people won’t complain to their friends • Negative word-of-mouth likely to be shared more than three times as often as positive • Flood the potential market with good anecdotes that are healthy for business

  13. Can More Be Done? • Referral reward program described earlier • Give visitors a tangible incentive to encourage friends and family to visit Frankenmuth • Stimulate referrals subtly • Say “Bring a friend the next time you visit Frankenmuth” instead of “Come back next time you’re in Frankenmuth,” (owner of the Frankenmuth Woolen Mill)

  14. Questions/Discussion

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