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Donatos: Finding the New Pizza Assignment
Liberty University
BUSI 600: Business Research Methods
Professor Charles Williams
February 19, 2023
Author Note
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Donatos: Finding the New Pizza Assignment
Map the Research Design Used by Donatos for New Product Development.
Donatos typically used an explorative method for new product development. However, in
this case study, Donatos was forced to try different methods of research to understand why
customers were refusing to eat the crust from their pizzas. When Tom Krouse, Chief Concept
Officer for Donatos, noticed employees were also leaving their crust behind during meetings, he
realized he needed to find a way to appeal to the new age of customers. Customers were
beginning to put more emphasis on watching their carbohydrate intake. This included refusal to
eat the crust from a pizza which consists of almost nothing but carbohydrates. Krouse then
decided to implement an observation study and a communication study to help collect the
information needed for a new product development.
An observation study is one in which behavior is systematically observed and recorded
with the goal of describing a variable or number of variables in a study (Chiang, 2023). In the
case study for Donatos, it is specified the variables being observed to be the actions or reactions
from the participants while taste testing the new products, the visual reactions from the
participants to the pictures being displayed to them, and the participants reactions to the
suggested price. The person conducting the observation can acknowledge and record how the
participant reacts physically and emotionally to each portion of the testing.
Donatos furthers these observations through communicative research. The
communication method uses surveys through questionnaires or personal interviews to collect
data (Schindler, 2022). Donatos uses concept screens, queries about the products uniqueness, and
questions about the likelihood of purchase of the presented product or products. With this
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communication research method, Donatos will be able to understand whether they should pursue
the new product or cut their losses and move on.
Evaluate the Wassup Meetings as an Exploratory Methodology to Help Define the
Research Question.
The goal of the “Wassup” meetings held monthly by Donatos was to confirm alignment
of their business objectives to the current market they were serving (Schindler, 2022). These
meetings are exploratory in they provide details of pop culture changes and the effects that those
changes might have on people purchasing Donatos’ pizza. A company must start with addressing
the cultural needs for the market they wish to perform in and follow that up with aligning the
business strategies to meet those needs (Craig, 2018). Without creating that connection or
relationship with the customer base, a company’s performance will most likely drop and could
ultimately eliminate the company’s existence.
In the case for Donatos, the “Wassup” meetings resulted in discovery that a large portion
of their customers were worried about their carbohydrate intake. Most standard pizzas consist of
high amounts of dough, which is high in carbohydrates. If Donatos continued to operate without
addressing this cultural change, they would lose out on over twenty-six percent of the possible
market according to the numbers provided to Donatos from the HealthFocus Trend Report
(Schindler, 2022). Losing out on this amount of market share would certainly not result well for
Donatos and their business goals. Therefore, these meetings were critical in pushing for research
to help align Donatos with the culture they were serving to.
Evaluate the Test Market Donatos Used. What Were its Advantages and Disadvantages?
Donatos actually tested three different research questions once it was decided they would
pursue a crustless pizza for production. The first question Donatos tested was what ingredients
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would provide the makeup of the crustless pizza. With this question, Donatos used employees
from central locations to taste test the different variations. There are a few advantages to using
employees to taste test the product first. An employee is most likely the most familiar with both
the process of making the standard pizzas and with the goal taste and foundation Donatos desires
with their products. However, there are disadvantages in this particular case as well. It is
mentioned that most of the employees making the pizzas were around the ages of sixteen and
seventeen (Schindler, 2022). This can be a disadvantage in using people with limited life
experiences to speak for the total desired population.
The next question Donatos tested was discovering the best name for the new product.
Donatos used a quick weekend phone survey with three names to choose from. Some advantages
to using this method are the cost effectiveness and ability to reach greater geographical groups
compared to an in-person interview (Schindler, 2022). However, the disadvantages could be
getting incomplete answers due to having to keep the survey short and not complex or lack of
responses, since they only surveyed over a weekend’s time (Schindler, 2022).
Donatos final testing question was how the customers in specific areas felt about the new
product of crustless pizza. Donatos tested in two stores with the goal of using the results to
determine if the product was sufficient to push into the rest of their market. The advantages to
this method are it includes Donatos’ actual customer base to determine the success and before
the product is pushed to other stores, Donatos can create “word of mouth” marketing. Word of
mouth marketing or advertising is essentially free advertising and promotion of the brand (3B1,
2022). There is a disadvantage to concentrating to one or two geographical locations, and that
would be the possible exclusion of different cultures. What one geographical location’s culture
desire may not match others that also fall into the customer category for Donatos.
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What Measurement Scales Would You Have Used on the Survey That was Part of the
In-Restaurant Product Tests?
The in-restaurant product tests surveys were for both delivery and in-restaurant
customers. For the delivery, it would be best to use a computer-administered phone survey. This
could be simplified to ask yes or no questions about the customer’s experience with both the
visual appeal or presentation of the crustless product and the taste comparisons to other Donatos
products (Schindler, 2022). As for the in-restaurant customers, it would be best to use a CAPI or
computer-assisted personal interview. With technology advancements this measurement could be
used if the customer is visible to the interviewer while using the checkout computer to conduct
the survey (Schindler, 2022). These methods create efficient and cost-effective ways to collect
and weigh data.
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References
3B1. (2022, January 4). 5 Benefits of Word of Mouth Marketing to Businesses. https://3b1.ie/5-
benefits-of-word-of-mouth-marketing-to-businesses/
Chiang, IC. A., Cuttler, C., Jhangiani, R., Leighton, D., Price, P. C. (Eds.). (2023). Research
Methods in Psychology (Edition, 3). Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial
Share Alike.
Craig, W. (2018, May 29). What Happens When You Align Culture With Strategy.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamcraig/2018/05/29/what-happens-when-you-align-
culture-with-strategy/?sh=2515cbe237f2
Schindler, P. S. (Eds.). (2022). Business Research Methods (edition, Vol. 14). McGraw-Hill
Education.
