WINNIPEG – Innovative pizzaiolo Larry Pagdato is looking
to the Internet to boost sales at his two Pizzaland outlets in
Winnipeg. His web site went on-line in mid-December and has attracted a
lot of attention.
WINNIPEG – Innovative pizzaiolo Larry Pagdato is looking to the Internet to boost sales at his two Pizzaland outlets in Winnipeg. His web site went on-line in mid-December and has attracted a lot of attention.
He reports that in March alone, the web site registered 44,700 hits.
“Business generally drops off in February,” he notes, “but this year, sales remained at the same level as during peak periods.
Pagdato’s original vision for his web site, www.pizzaland.ca, was a simple page of information about Pizzaland and its products.
“The fellow who built the web site suggested that for a little more money, I could have something more elaborate,” he says. “I decided to go with it.”
To generate more interest in the web site, Pagdato has a monthly trivia contest with prizes generally combining pizza and other gifts such as tickets to professional sporting events. He and his staff also encourage every customer who orders – in person or on-line – to enter Pizzaland’s grand prize draw of free pizza for a year. The contest is running from February until the end of August.
“One of the ideas behind the contest is to be able to collect customers’ e-mail addresses so that we can send them information about specials as well as birthday greetings on-line,” Pagdato says. “My goal is to have collected 1,000 e-mails by the end of the year.”
He notes that the Pizzaland web site is also attacting testimonials from satisfied customers some of which Pagtado is posting online.
Another promotional idea that Pagnato is working on is using his web site for joint promotions with other businesses.
As a result of the success of Pizzaland’s success on-line, Pagdato has cut back on his media advertising. He hasn’t entirely foresaken print media though. He is also putting out a monthly newsletter.
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