Papa John's Case Analysis

Business differentiation

The business environment of any particular business is associated with change of market trends, changes in the cost of business operations and other factors that are related the rise or fall in competition. Often, many business environments are forced into making strategic decisions that are aimed at proving differentiation in the market as well as enabling the company to meet and attain its business goals. The type of differentiation techniques that will be used depends on many factors that shape the business enterprise as well as the variables presents in the business environment. However, in any case, the techniques implemented by successful, market players after provide them with an opportunity to leverage their business processes and compete favorably in the business. Since the establishment of Papa John's International, the company has grown up from a small pizza shop selling Pizza to tavern's customers to an international establishment having franchisees in key international arena. All this are as a result of well though differentiation strategy, thanks to the visionary leadership of John Schnatter. 

Assessment of Papa John's differentiation strategy  

From the case analysis, it is very clear from the start the Papa John's International is one of the business establishment that is aimed at edging competition and remaining ahead of competition. With Schnatter being a man with passion for Pizza, Papa John's International has benefitted from his visionary leadership and philosophy that has made the company unique and successful in the delivery of high quality Pizza even in a market where there are numerous players competing for the same market. With good understanding of the business environment, Papa John's International has come out a successful due to the use of a careful mix of strategies that has made it come out with innovative products that meet the requirement of the clientele. The differentiation strategy employed by Papa John's International is indeed an answer to the complexities that exist in the Pizza industry as well as the needs of the firm to attain its core business values.

From the use of quality ingredients to the delivery of its high quality Pizza, Papa John international has emerged as one of the business players that understand its customers well and geared towards the satisfaction of the need with regards to pizza. Indeed, it can be noted that Papa John's International has created a differentiation in the Pizza industry through the use of well outlined strategies that aim to increase profits, reduced cost, provide growth, give values to the customer and produce a known brand signified by value. Through the use of well-developed strategies, Papa John's International has managed to increase profit returns, establish more business presence in global arena, deliver products with ease, maintain high quality of products and provide more value to the client.  Simply put, the strategies put in place by Papa John's have proved to be successful and results oriented. Through these strategies, Papa John's International has emerged a formidable player in the restaurant industry.

Despite the uniqueness and novelty of Papa John differentiation strategy, there is need to review the strategies and provide more alternatives that can cushion the firm against contingencies that might occur in the business environment. To achieve this, Papa John's International need to research on new solutions to the problems and challenges it is facing so as to eliminate or put to the minimum the number of bottlenecks that can derails its success in the industry. Papa John's International has achieved differentiation in several areas on the basis of quality. The kernel of Papa John's International differentiation is pegged on the core value of delivering high-quality pizza to its clients. In this regard, all of firm's processes and activities are fine-tuned towards the realization of quality such that, the customers receive the best quality pizza that no other competitor can provide.

Dimension of differentiation

The success of Papa John's International has been brought about by differentiation not just in one area but in multiple domains. Indeed, Papa John's International has been successful since it has established meaningful differentiation in all the dimensions of differentiation. This is because the firm has strived to improve itself by harnessing opportunities presented in the differentiation domains. For instance, Papa John's International has differentiated itself from its competitors through the offering of new products in the market. With the entry of Papa John's International into the restaurant industry, the firm subsequently introduced a superior high quality traditional pizza. This offered the firm an edge over its competitors who were not offering that kind of pizza in their restaurants. This strategy provided a unique launching pad for Schnatter business in Pizza. Usually, business can differentiate them by developing unique products that is used as the basis of their entry into the market. This strategy changed the whole the whole customer experience within the Pizza industry. With more clients being impressed by the pizza offered by Papa John's International, the firm moved a notch higher in the pizza industry.

On the other hand, Papa John international has emerged as one of the most successful establishment through its dedication and focus on a particular market niche. The firms have placed focus on the market that is in need of quality pizza that is made to their taste. With the understanding of what the customers want, Papa John's International has been able to improve its production process so as to deliver nothing less than quality pizza. In regard to aligning itself with a cause, Papa John has realized the need to contribute to the development of the community through its involvement in the activities of the community. The firm's involvement and contribution in offering scholarships to need students while at the same assisting in fund raising demonstrates its emphasis in community development.  The company has also offered unique customer experience and simplicity of operation both of which immensely contributed to its differentiation. With good customer experience, the firm attracts and retains its clients and at the same time builds loyalty around their brand, a necessary recipe for success.

Value of differentiation to customers

The decision of Papa John's International to engage in Pizza meant that the firm had to come out as one of the best pizza producer. To achieve this, a number of differentiation techniques were implemented in order edge out competitors as well as provide quality to the clientele.   The philosophy of Papa John's International is to produce quality pizza at a higher price rather than focusing on price reduction strategies. Indeed understanding the benefits of the differentiation will establish the reason as to why customers are benefitting from Papa John's International and why this makes the customers willing to pay for pizza for a premium price. The unique quality pizza from Papa John's International was unmatched and thus meant that customers had to pay for more. Quality was achieved through the use of quality ingredients all processed at the firms Quality Centre. With introduction of simplicity in the ordering and delivery process such as the use of messages and online ordering provided clients with ease. As a result paying for a higher price was therefore justified. The differentiation on the basis of community involvement is without doubt a contributing factor to the success of the Papa John's International as its high prices paid off. The customers therefore feel the high prices are justified since the firm injects back their earning to the development of the community around them.

Rank of differentiation ways

Despite the multiple ways in which Papa John's International has differentiated its business, the rank of the ways vary and is as outlined below.

1.    Product features

2.    Product reputation

3.    Consumer marketing

4.    Distribution channels

5.    Location

6.    Linkages among functions within a firm

7.    Service and support

8.    Product customization

9.    Product complexity

10. Linkage with other firms

The way of differentiation is ranked with the most important appearing at the top of the list.