I saw a statistic on LinkedIn from PR and Communications firm Ketchum that stated: 91% of 18-34-year old’s trust online reviews when making purchasing decisions. As meat marketers we have many avenues to choose from to get the word out about new products; point-of-sale materials, SEO/keyword targeting, social media and influencers. But, in the current product marketing toolbox, did we miss potential low hanging fruit in online product reviews?

I can co-sign this statistic first hand. Since moving to a new city, I’m constantly looking at reviews to help make decisions; from which pediatric dentist practice to choose for my kids to which restaurant should we eat at next Friday or Saturday night. I’ll use Facebook polling to get recommendations, but my next step is to turn to Google reviews or Yelp for help deciding which to choose. Not unlike many women [or men], I typically respond “I don’t care” when asked “Where do you want to eat tonight?” The truth is…I DO care. When spending my family’s hard-earned money whether purchasing a more expensive grade of meat from the grocery store or eating at a nice restaurant, I want to make sure that it’s worth the money spent, therefore I often consult reviews.

This all got me searching for and wondering where one goes for meat product reviews.

I started with the websites of several large players across pork, chicken, and turkey, however since there is not a lot of direct to consumer purchase in the meat industry, I couldn’t find any on these players’ websites.

Next, I tried searching for a review of a brand name marinated pork tenderloin filet. I could of course find recipe reviews for different preparations using the selected cut, but I was looking for a review of the case ready product.

After that, I switched up the brand name, and found that this supplier incorporated product reviews into their website (the reviews weren’t great, but that is beside the point). I then did the same exercise looking at retailer websites and found some included product reviews and others did not.

I know product reviews are taken in the industry, but they might also get logged as customer complaints, so don’t forget your customer service teams. As a marketer I’ve worked on good responses to customer feedback and objections. Process is also as important as response; make sure you have a good process of getting that review or feedback to your marketing or innovation teams.

While we all might not post product reviews online for public consumption, maybe we should start? I believe product reviews not only help the consumer who is looking for information, but they also help us in the meat industry. A product review can be used as a piece of the puzzle combined with sales to help fuel product improvements. What if we viewed this feedback as just that, a product review, instead of maybe as a customer complaint that needs “resolved”?

There are so many ways to receive (email, social media comments, website, etc.) and look at consumer feedback now a days, but let’s not overlook the simple 5-star rating product reviews, that they are accustomed to using in their daily lives. How could this be incorporated for your [prepared/convenience] meat products?

Finally, here’s a question to get your mind thinking about your own business: How do you work with your retailers to receive consumer product reviews?

Are you helping consumers choose your meat product?

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