Krispy Kreme is a benchmark customer evangelist company. In Creating Customer Evangelists, Ben and Jackie profile the many ways that Krispy Kreme cultivates a fanatical customer base that extols the virtues of the Krispy Kreme doughnut experience.
Krispy Kreme is much more than just a doughnut. For many, Krispy Kreme is a religious experience. The opening of a new Krispy Kreme location is an evangelical experience where the believers joyously welcome the non-believers into the Krispy Kreme family.
So, what happens when the buzz of Krispy Kreme wears off and when the opening of the 50th location in a market becomes a ho-hum experience? What can Krispy Kreme do to continue creating customer evangelists when the irrational customer exuberance begins to wane?
Ben and Jackie have a few ideas…
Buzz has a distinct half-life, and solid buzz is invaluable for new product introductions, store openings, etc.
As a company that started in the American South in 1937, Krispy Kreme still seems like a contemporary start-up. Yet, when we talk to the company's longtime customers, their passion is deeply rooted because of the product and its solid customer service. So much of what the company does now is the result of just doing what customers want.
Like Southwest Airlines, Krispy Kreme's growth has been methodical, and they've hired extremely well. Companies that grow primarily for growth's sake have a tougher time.
That said, Krispy Kreme's future big-buzz opportunities are probably overseas. Monday's Publisher's Lunch email newsletter featured an item that the biggest line inside Harrods' during a London book fair was for... Krispy Kreme.
Not that they've asked, but if Krispy Kreme wanted our advice, it would be: Continue to build community around their stores. Make some of them community outposts, a la Starbucks.
Also, Krispy Kreme needs a Mecca - a place where the truly faithful can make their pilgrimage and extend their emotional devotion. A Krispy Kreme hall of fame or museum. In a way, many of its stores are like that now, where the manufacturing process is completely transparent. But an official Krispy Kreme Hall - that would be big.
Krispy Kreme Hall, good idea. Maybe they should look at the success of the Guiness Storehouse
Posted by: John Moore(London) | March 16, 2004 at 07:44 AM
John, this is exactly what we were talking about. Thanks so much for the pointer to how Guiness does it!
Posted by: Jackie Huba | March 16, 2004 at 12:37 PM