Order Description
Case Analysis Report: Pizza Hut iPhone Application
Q1. What are the Marketing Mix variables addressed by Pizza Hut and how? (Approximately 500 words)
Q2. Identify Pizza Hut’s success factors in relation to online customer experience with the application. Why was the application effective and what will be your recommendation for further
improvement? (Approximately 500 words)
Answer

As the world’s largest pizza chain with over 10,000 locations worldwide, Pizza Hut frequently experiments with new ideas to keep their menu up to date which gives their customers
a wide variety of items to choose from. In 1995, Pizza Hut ran a $45 million ad campaign
introducing the world to their new stuffed crust pizza, which consists of mozzarella cheese baked
inside the crust. This never before seen concept helped boost Pizza Hut’s sales to over $300
million by the end of 1995 (Wong). Along with this industry first, Pizza Hut’s online custom
pizza-making process has made it easier for customers to customize their pizza without having to
call or drive to the restaurant to place their order.
The two key markets Pizza Hut targets are families, which includes time-starved mothers
who are looking for a quick and simple mealtime solution at an affordable price, and young adult
males that fuel their active lifestyles with one of the world’s most versatile and convenient foods,
which is also great for breakfast. Both key markets share the importance of value and
convenience, but cost-conscience mothers look for a quality product that offers a hassle-free
eating experience, while young adult males seek the food that they love, which requires little
time, effort, and money (Kerin et al.). Pizza Hut reaches both key markets through the use of
their website, which makes ordering a pizza a simple process without having to call or go to the
restaurant. In addition to their website, Pizza Hut’s smartphone app is great for on-the-go,
working mothers who have no interest in cooking. All that is required is opening the Pizza Hut
app on their smartphone, placing their order, and picking up their pizza. As far as the young
adult male market, which includes college students, working males, and bachelors, who are too
busy or dislike cooking, PizzaHut.com and the Pizza Hut app are the perfect solution to create,
order, and pay for their pizza and have it delivered to their door.
In 2007, PizzaHut.com was redesigned to support nationwide ordering, which included
all franchise locations, making it easier for consumers to order their pizza online no matter where
they are located. With promotions being an important decision maker when ordering pizza
online, Pizza Hut frequently updates its website to keep up with its fast-paced marketing
strategy. The website’s central viewing window includes current specials, along with two offers
towards the bottom of the page. Through the use of social media like Facebook and Twitter,
Pizza Hut is able to update its followers on current specials, promotions, and contests they run
periodically. After their first one million fans on Facebook, Pizza Hut implemented a first-of-its-kind Facebook ordering application, in which they were able to target a large group of people at
the same time with very little advertising capital while offering their audience the convenience of
ordering online without any disruptions in their daily routine (Kerin et al.). As of April 1, 2015,
Pizza Hut has over twenty-two million Facebook followers and over a million followers on
Twitter.
Promotions on the main page of the Pizza Hut website give customers a variety of
options when making a decision on what to order. When ordering from PizzaHut.com,
customers are looking for a great product at the best price. Since Pizza Hut is the world’s largest
pizza chain, their customers know how good their pizza is, but competitive pricing is a key factor
when consumers are looking for the best value at the best price. As an example, PizzaHut.com
offers two medium pizzas with a maximum of four toppings for $6.99 each, which equates to
$15.39 after tax. Without this offer, when ordering one medium pan pizza with two toppings, the
total equals $12.64 after tax. Even though ordering one pizza is cheaper than ordering two, for
an extra $2.75, a customer can receive an extra medium, two-topping pizza which is a better
value that customers are searching for When Pizza Hut’s smartphone app launched for iPhone users, it received more than
100,000 downloads in the first two weeks, which gave pizza lovers a hands-on experience when
ordering their pizza online. Brian Niccol, Pizza Hut’s chief marketing officer states in an
interview with imc2
: “It’s an ordering experience unlike anyone had ever experienced where you
can build your pizza in an interactive way. If you want a pepperoni pizza with only half
pepperoni, you shake your phone to one side and the ingredients will move to one side of the
pizza” (imc2
). This new technology gave pizza fans an experience they have never been able to
experience; a virtual hands-on experience that allows the user to create their perfect pizza. One
strategy that Pizza Hut is not using, but would fit great into their website and smartphone app
would be implementing a pizza tracker, which their competitor Domino’s Pizza offers to their
customers. By entering your phone number on the Domino’s Pizza website or smartphone app,
customers can see their orders progress. As soon as an order is placed, a customer can track prep
time, bake time, quality check, and delivery status. With the feature of building your entire pizza
in a virtual environment on the Pizza Huts website and smartphone app, the option to track an order
from start to finish would give Pizza Hut customers the ultimate hands-on experience, which
would lead to more business, because the guesswork of the status of a customers order would no
longer be a factor (Friedman).
Pizza Hut’s marketing promotions vary from deals listed on their website, deals sent via
email and text messages when you become a Hut Lovers member, coupons placed in weekly
newspapers, fliers that are given with an existing Pizza Hut order, and through social media sites
such as Facebook and Twitter. In September 2014, Pizza Hut partnered with Visa Checkout and
offered the first one million Pizza Hut fans who ordered a large pizza with delivery at
PizzaHut.com and paid with Visa Checkout, a voucher for a free, one-topping large pizza that would be redeemable on their next online order (Gerlt). The use of coupons brings existing
customers and new customers to Pizza Hut for all their pizza needs, but the use of competitor’s
coupons could bring even more business to the pizza chain, which Pizza Hut is not currently
using. Even though a competitor might have different deals for different products, Pizza Hut and
Dominos both offers two medium, two-topping pizzas that are close in price. If Pizza Hut allowed
its customers to use a Domino’s Pizza coupon when ordering two medium, two-topping pizzas at
Domino’s price, especially if Domino’s offer was cheaper, then Pizza Hut would gain more
business.
PizzaHut.com appeals to consumers through an easy-to-use interface on the main page of
their website. The main page consists of a rotating ad that shows three deals to choose from.
Below the rotating ad, is an advertisement for their two-medium, four-topping pizza deal for
$6.99 each, which does a great job of catching the attention of potential customers who are in
search of great deals. From the main menu, customers have the option to take their ordering
experience a step further by selecting the pizza tab where they have their choice of ordering off
of Pizza Hut’s classic recipe menu, new recipe menu, skinny pizza menu, gluten-free menu, or
the create your own pizza menu. When creating your own pizza, customers choose the size of
pizza they would like, the type of crust, the type of toppings, and the number of toppings, which gives
the customer total control over their order. When a customer has finished designing their pizza,
PizzaHut.com recommends other products from its menu that customers may be interested in,
such as soda, breadsticks, and even desserts. To make their website more appealing to
customers, Pizza Hut could incorporate more deals listed under the deals tab on the main page.
Since websites and apps use cookies to track visitors, mobile phone users who use their smartphones should see specific deals on the main page that cater to mobile phone users. Consumers who use their computers should see specific deals on the main page that cater to orders that are
placed online. By targeting their deals on the way consumers access PizzaHut.com, more deals
would be readily accessible, which could result in more sales.
PizzaHut.com and the use of their smartphone app target both families and young adult
males by offering simple promotions for both demographics that are searching for a simple
mealtime solution at a price that fits anyone’s budget. It does not matter if you are a single male
or female who is on their way home from work with no desire to cook, but wants something for
dinner that is quick, easy, and cost-effective; or a family of four who is on their way home after
a day of shopping with no food in the house, Pizza Hut’s diverse menu and deals will cater to
anyone needs at a price that will fit into any type of budget. To make their website a little more
user-friendly, especially for smartphone users, would be to improve their return customer sign-in
link. Instead of typing an email address, which can be difficult at times on a smartphone, would
be to allow returning customers to enter their phone number instead of their email address, and a
four-digit pin as their password. By simplifying the sign in process, customers would not have to
worry about entering the wrong email address, because typing on a smartphone can be difficult for
some users.
Fifty-seven years after opening their first restaurant, Pizza Hut keeps its customers
happy by offering a wide variety of items on its menu at an affordable price. Even though Pizza
Hut’s two key target markets, families and young adult males are different in nature, both
markets agree that value and convenience are key to keeping them happy and returning for more
of their product. With cutting-edge, hands-on technology that allows customers to create their
own pizza in a virtual environment at PizzaHut.com or on their smartphone app, Pizza Hut has revolutionalized the way consumers order pizza without ever having to call or step foot inside a
Pizza Hut location to place an order.

References
Friedman, N. (2014, May 24). The Secret Way Domino’s Pizza and Papa John’s Are Killing
Pizza Hut. Retrieved March 30, 2015, from
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/05/25/the-secret-way-dominos-pizza-andpapa-johns-are-ki.aspx
Gerlt, A. (2014, September 4). Pizza Hut and Visa Checkout Ready to Dish Up A Million Pizzas.
Retrieved March 30, 2015, from
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140904005212/en/Pizza-Hut-VisaCheckout-Ready-Dish-Million#.VRl27WNkAgY
imc2 (Producer). (2011). Pizza Hut and imc2
: Becoming a Multichannel Marketer. McGraw-Hill.
Retrieved from http://bevideos.mhhe.com/business/video_library/0073529931/mp4/
Clip_21.mp4
Kerin, R. A., Hartley, S. W., & Rudelius, W. (2013). Marketing. (11th ed.). New York, New York:
McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Vino, L. (2015, February 2). Domino’s Pizza Tracker Vs. Pizza Hut App: Which Won My Super
Bowl Party? Retrieved April 2, 2015, from http://www.mtv.com/news/2066270/dominospizza-tracker-vs-pizza-hut-pizza-app/
Wong, V. (2013, February 1). Did Pizza Hut Really Invent the Stuffed Crust Pizza? Retrieved
April 2, 2015, from http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2013-02-01/did-pizza-hutreally-invent-the-stuffed-crust-pizza