A TASTE OF FRANKENMUTH

A TOWN IN MICHIGAN THINKS ABOUT WORD 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
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FRANKENMUTHS CUSTOMER LOYALTY

Tourists visiting Frankenmuth were highly impressed by the warm, friendly atmosphere, the towns

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.

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WHAT APPEALS TO FRANKENMUTHS CUSTOMER?

As per a survey conducted by Frankenmuths 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

Frankenmuths 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.
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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)

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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
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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

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THANK YOU!
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