DrBillToth-Blog

This supports the adage that when you speak poorly of others it reflects worse on you. AND that word of mouth is still King, er I mean Queen. Also note the focus is on sharing good experiences.

Consumers Believe in Positive Word-of-Mouth
EMarketer DECEMBER 2, 2010

Good news about brand buzz. Positive buzz carries more weight with consumers, according to research from Keller Fay Group. In a study of hundreds of thousands of conversations, the firm found about two-thirds of word-of-mouth brand references were “mostly positive.”

Two-thirds of study respondents thought positive word-of-mouth was credible, compared with fewer than half who believed negative buzz. Positive information was also more likely to be passed on to others, more than twice as likely to get people to look for more information, and had nearly four times the chance of pushing consumers to make a purchase.

Children’s products and food brands tended to get the most positive mentions, while companies in the telecommunications, financial services and healthcare industries were lowest. But even for those brands, the majority of word-of-mouth was still upbeat.

The Keller Fay research supports findings by women-focused marketing and communications firm Harbinger, which reported a greater motivation to share good brand experiences than bad ones at least among female internet users in North America. Consumers trying to give others advice seem to be more interested in directing friends and family toward brands they like.

Dr Bill Toth www.DrBillToth.com

We met a wonderful warm, humble man and his family yesterday morning…at the grand opening of his new 115,000 sq ft facility in our town.

Orphaned at age 7 in his native Greece after Communist insurgents killed his parents. An uncle brought him to Houston at age 15 along with his brother and sister. He started school at age 15 to learn english. His first job was delivering newspapers, ultimately growing his Sunday route to over 325 subscribers. He also worked in grocery store after school for 59 cents per hour until he graduated High School. He joined the US Army, became a member of the 82nd Airborne and served in Germany.

Upon his return to the US he and his brother started a household deodorant manufacturing and sales business in their garage with $250. they borrowed. They operated that business until 1978 when they sold it to Coca-Cola. At the same time in 1960 he also opened and ran a pizzeria in downtown Houston where oil well firefighters were the regulars.

In 1975 he and his family introduced the gyro sandwich to Houston with the opening a restuarant named after his wife, Athena. It became a hangout for now famous news reporters and other notables.

In 1984 George started Alpha Foods Company, then being the only frozen pizza distribution company west of the Mississippi. He filled a niche by focusing on providing frozen pizza to schools and military installations. He built Alpha into a world-wide distribution company, including being the primary distributor for the US Air Force. (I’m certain there’s an untold story there relating to his Airborne days.)

In 1988 George expanding into pizza manufacturing, choosing only the highest quality ingredients because his focus is on the experience of the end consumer. “Taste, texture and smell are the most important features of our product”.

In 1992 he began planning his expansion which culminated this week in the opening of his 115,000 sq ft facility in our little town of Waller. He will create 50 new jobs for the people of our town and has plans to triple that in the next 10 years.

George didn’t do all this alone – he gives primary credit to God, his wife of 47 years, Athena and their children. He is CEO, she is company president and his 3 children and their spouses are the senior management team. George has built his business with
the intention that his kids and their kids will continue to build and operate the business.

When I asked him which of his many accomplishments he was most proud of his immediate response was; “America and her people – for creating the opportunity to pursue our dreams.”

So the next time your kids have pizza at school, remember George, adversity, hard work, perseverance and Faith, for it is very likely Alpha Foods that delivered it to their school.