A Taste of Frankenmuth -CRM Group 6 IIM Raipur

 A TASTE OF FRANKENMUTH  A TOWN TOWN IN MICHIGAN THINKS ABOUT WORD OF OF MOUTH REFERRAL

THE TYPICAL FRANKENMUTH CUSTOMER Typical customer -White picket fence mostly from Indiana, Michigan and Illionois Decision maker is a female, 45 to 65 years old  Average household income of $40000 or more

Typical customer  – Families Families are general tourists in independent cars looking for a day trip destination Typical customer - Families Customers came in family groups, often from three generations Income of a typical guest was $40,000 or more Typical customer  – Families, parents would bring their children in Generations after generations of families visited the Christmas

FRANKENMUTH’S CUSTOMER LOYALTY 

Tourists visiting Frankenmuth were highly impressed by the warm, friendly atmosphere, the town’s

safety, the cleanliness and the attitude of business employers 







Such was the connect between the service providers and product consumers that customers would return several times a year, for life.

Moreover, customers displayed their loyalty by becoming “ambassadors for the Frankenmuth community” by recommending the place to friends, relatives and co -workers For instance, the owner of Bavarian Inn Lodge noted that while 33% of the customers visited the hotel through referrals an equal % of customer were repeats Similarly other resorts with satisfied customers recommended the place to approximately 3 friends or relatives with a few planning trips for the next year. 12/20/2014

WHAT APPEALS TO FRANKENMUTH’S CUSTOMER?



 As per a survey conducted by Frankenmuth’s Chamber of Commerce on what appeals to customers they

found the following: 1. Customers loved the safety that the town provided along with its cleanliness 2. The restaurants, tasteful appearance of the community and attitude of business employees 3. Warm and friendly atmosphere 





Perhaps the underlying factor here was the appreciation of the attitude prevalent in all the businesses of Frankenmuth of “no visitor leaves unhappy”.  Also their policy of fixing complaints as soon as they arise led extensively to making people so happy that they wanted to return Frankenmuth’s businesses relied on the power of customer satisfaction and created a pleasant and

unusual experience for visitors which attracted visitors from more than 30 countries.

WOME EFFECT FOR THE TYPICAL CUSTOMER AND THE LIFETIME VALUE FOR AN INCREMENTAL CUSTOMER



WOME for a typical customer= $607503.9



LVIC= $115.2

(Excel Sheet attached)

12/20/2014

IN WHAT WAYS CAN THE PEOPLE OF FRANKENMUTH CONCRETELY INFLUENCE WORD-OF-MOUTH? 

$20M investment program already underway to stimulate growth



Major infrastructure improvements underway



Implement marketing programs focused on capturing the value of word-of-mouth



Implement a referral program for visitors. Give visitors a tangible incentive to encourage friends and family to visit Frankenmuth



Develop employees through training them on how to serve customers.



Empower employees to resolve customer concerns without going up the management hierarchy



Satisfying the customers should be the motto of every company. Remember: no visitor leaves unhappy!



Join the rest of the world on Internet



Create occasions and traditions that encourage people to visit again



Turn visitors into “ambassadors for the community”



Make customers’ visits memorable and unique so that they have stories to tell that will be unusual, special

and distinctive when they return home 

Educate customers about the product to make them more effective ambassadors

WHY IS WORD-OF-MOUTH REFERRAL IMPORTANT?



Independent and honest source of information



More credible as comes from a friend not a company sponsored person



Provides the enquirer with an indirect experience about the product through the experiences of friends and relatives



Tailored to the people who are interested in it



Self-generating medium of informal advertising



Not limited by money or other such constraints like social, time, physical



Can be enhanced by internet or other digital media

12/20/2014

THANK YOU!

12/20/2014