The WOW Factor

The Wow Factor is that something about a product that causes people to say, ?Wow!?

A Wow Factor is a unique and compelling characteristic that impresses people to the point where they literally say, ?Wow!.? The Wow Factor makes you stand out from the crowd. Wow Factors are usually focused on what you sell and how you sell or service it. Companies can become client-centric and deliver exceptional sales or service. Wow Factors don?t have to be universal. A Wow Factor can exist for a local, regional, national or international product.

Domino’s is the largest pizza chain in the world. Starting in 1973, Domino’s Pizza had a guarantee that customers would receive their pizzas within 30 minutes of placing an order or they would receive the pizzas free. The ?30 minutes or its free? offer is often considered one of the most successful unique selling propositions in history.
Dominos ended the offer in 1993.

• Tom Monaghan and his brother purchased a pizza store called DomiNick’s in Ypsilanti, Michigan in 1960.
• In 1967, the first Domino’s Pizza franchise store opened in Ypsilanti, Mich. In 1978 the 200th Domino’s store opened. By 1983 there were 1,000 Domino’s stores and 5,000 in 1989.
• With more than 10,000 corporate and franchised stores in 70 countries, Dominos is the largest pizza chain in the world.
• In 2004 Domino’s became a public company on the New York Stock Exchange. Its trading symbol is “DPZ”.
• 2012 global retail sales were $7.4 billion. In 2013 its market cap reached $3.85 billion.

The LEGO Group was founded in 1932 in Denmark by Ole Kirk Kristiansen. The company is owned by Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, a grandchild of the founder. Legos have been named ?Toy of the Century? twice. Just six bricks can be arranged can be arranged in 915,103,765 ways.

• The world’s tallest Lego tower is 11-Stories tall and constructed from over 500,000 bricks and weighs more than a ton.
• The Lego Railway built in Denmark is 2.5 miles long and uses a total of 93,307 Lego pieces. It took 80 people around 6 hours to build. It took four hours for the train to go around the track start to finish.
• The Lego X-Wing, the largest Lego model ever built. The model of the classic Star Wars fighter has a wingspan of 44 feet and was built with 5,335,200 Lego bricks.

Zappos.com is an online retailer headquartered in Las Vegas. Started in 1999, the company was sold to Amazon in 2009 for $1.2 billion. Zappos is known for its extreme customer service. More than 75% of its business comes from repeat customers.

• Zappos encourages customers to order as many products as they want to try them on then offers free return shipping for a full 365 days
• The warehouse operation runs 24/7 to get the fastest delivery times possible even though its less profitable.
• On average, Zappos employees answer 5,000 calls a day, and 1,200 e-mails a week. Zappos employees are encouraged to go above and beyond traditional customer service.
• All new hires in Las Vegas go through four weeks of initial training.
• Zappos views the phone experience as a branding device, and speaks to virtually every customer at least once.

Total Wine & More was founded in 1991 in Delaware. It has 90 locations in 16 states and is the largest
independent fine-wine retailer in the United States.

• Each Total Wine store carries approximately 8,000 different types of wine, around 10 times the selection of grocery stores and a few times more than neighborhood liquor stores.
• Wine sales are two-thirds of Total Wine?s revenue, while spirits and beer split the rest evenly.
• Total Wine also carries 3,000 types of spirits and 2,500 different beers.
• According to Total Wine, employees have receive 150 hours of training on what goes into making wine, beer and spirits and where the best come from.

Recreational Equipment, Inc., known as REI, sells outdoor recreational equipment in 132 stores in 32 states. REI is the country?s largest consumer cooperative with more than 5 million active members. It?s 2012 revenues were $1.93 billion.

• FORTUNE magazine has ranked REI as one of the ?100 Best Companies to Work For? for 16 consecutive years.
• REI Adventures, the co-op?s travel company, takes adventurers and families to explore outdoor destinations on seven continents and 40 countries. In 2012 it served more than 8,100 clients.
• Since 1976, REI has provided more than $41 million of financial support to local and national non-profit organizations working on stewardship and outdoor recreation causes.
• In 2012 the co-op reduced its energy consumption by 0.2 percent, greenhouse gas emissions by 7.6 percent, and tons of waste to landfill by 1.4 percent compared with 2011, while the co-op continued to grow and expand.

Dale Chihuly is one of America’s best-known glass artists. His glass sculptures are featured in more than 200 museum collections worldwide.

• Chihuly’s largest permanent exhibit can be found at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.
• 1999, Chihuly mounted an ambitious exhibition, Chihuly in the Light of Jerusalem; more than one million visitors attended the Tower of David Museum to view his installations.
• The ?Chihuly in the Park: A Garden of Glass? exhibit in Chicago in 2002 drew 50,000 visitors a month.
• Exhibitions at museums worldwide will rent for as much as $500,000.
• In 2004, Chihuly’s earnings were estimated at $29 million, according to Dun & Bradstreet.
• The largest museum in the world devoted to Dale Chihuly opened in the Seattle Center in Seattle, WA in 2012.

The People?s Burger is a well-known burger in Seattle, WA. According to their website, their namesake burger is “a juicy beef patty not for the faint of heart. There is enough extras to feed a goat for a week. This thing is unstoppable. Beef patty, double cheese, lettuce, tomato, avacado, and a zippy secret sauce. Add an Egg for $1.00.” The People?s Burger is a food truck. The website says, ?At the Peoples burger we pride ourselves on fresh and local ingredients to craft our always delicious burgers. From our hand forged fresh ground beef pattys to our hand cut fries, everything we make is made in house. ?

• The People’s Burger was chosen as one of twelve “Go-To Burgers” in Seattle as part of Burger Week 2013 by Seattle.Eater.com.
• The People?s Burger is ranked as ?The Best Burger in Seattle? according to Ranker.com.
• The People?s Burger is a Best Pick for the Best Burger in Seattle according to Bestcovery.com.

Mercurys Coffee Co. was founded by Morgan Harris in Woodinville, WA in 1998. It has 6 locations and more than 40 employees. It?s location on NE 85th Street in Kirkland, Washington features a unique store design billed as ?America?s Most Architecturally Stunning Drive Thru Coffee Bar.? The parking lot where the building is located is several feet lower than the main street moving 38,000 vehicles per day. The building?s two-story architecture
creates a billboard for cars to see.

The company won King 5 Evening Magazine?s “Best of Western Washington” contest in 2012 and 2013. In 2013 it was voted “Best Coffee Shop” out of 384 nominees. In 2012 it was voted “Best Coffee Shop” out of 372 nominees.