The Marketing Power of Oprah (or at least her best friend, Gayle)

Oprah Winfrey and her best friend, Gayle King, attended the funeral service of Eunice Shriver in Hyannis, Massachusetts. While in town, Oprah and Gayle sampled a chicken pot pie that had been delivered to Oprah at her hotel. The following week, Gayle spent several minutes on her XM satellite radio show singing the praises of the pie that had been produced by the Centerville Pie Company in Centerville, Massachusetts. Within days of Gayle's endorsement, sales of pies from the Centerville Pie Company rose from 30 per day to over 100 per day. While additional orders came in from all over the country, the Centerville Pie Company had no system for sending pies through the mail, and the company wasn't even able to accept credit card payments. For a company that opened its doors only five months earlier, the growth in demand, while welcome, presented additional challenges. Despite twelve-hour workdays for the company's owners and employees, the company stated on its Web site in September 2009 that there was a ten-day wait for their pot pies, and pies were still only available for pickup directly from the store. As the owner of the Centerville Pie Company, Laurie Bowen, stated, "Bigger isn't always better . . . I just don't want the quality to suffer because of the quantity."

a. What factors have contributed to the success of the Centerville Pie Company?

b. Which of these factors was under the company's control and which were not? (I need explanation on this question)