THE "GO TO" PLACE FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN SPECIALTY FOOD MARKETING.
Internet is one big Consumers Report archive
I like to compare notes with friends and colleagues about how we use the Internet. Turns out what I thought were ingenious & idiosyncratic methods for finding product reviews is pretty much what everybody is doing
For example, Amazon customer reviews & Ripoff Report are staples for me. I've even been known to type in the word scam or bogus next to a company's name in a Google search. That's my way of doing a criminal background check. :-)
All joking aside--I'm apparently not alone in these practices. As scientifically unsound as they might be, many of us have developed a series of litmus tests for deciding whether a product is worth buying or not.
For food items, I end up at foodie blogs, America's Test Kitchen Tasting Lab & gourmet cooking forums...sometimes even Amazon.
In fact, I rely much more on independent reviews than I do on website testimonials.
One company I've made an exception with is igourmet.com. Granted, they got a thumbs up in some gourmet publication (forget if it was Food & Wine)--but more than that, they charmed me with their entertaining & playful emails. They've even used humor at times--for example holding a contest for their worst smelling cheese. Using humor is considered risky in marketing circles...but I thought that particular email was brilliant--given that there's an audience for pungent smelling cheese.
I wrote to them and asked them how their emails converted because I just loved them. They are very secretive on that front. Won't say a word. But I suspect they do very well.
Anyway, my question is this:
Do you keep tabs on what is being said about your product--the good, the bad, the ugly? And if so, has it provided useful feedback on how to sell your product--e.g. how to improve an item, a selling point, customer service etc.?
This may not be a very big issue in the specialty food world Which is why I'm posing the question. I'm not sure which industries are impacted by my behavior--and the many who behave as I do.
cheers
Suzanne Ryan
www.thegourmetcopywriter.com/directresponse.html
.
For example, Amazon customer reviews & Ripoff Report are staples for me. I've even been known to type in the word scam or bogus next to a company's name in a Google search. That's my way of doing a criminal background check. :-)
All joking aside--I'm apparently not alone in these practices. As scientifically unsound as they might be, many of us have developed a series of litmus tests for deciding whether a product is worth buying or not.
For food items, I end up at foodie blogs, America's Test Kitchen Tasting Lab & gourmet cooking forums...sometimes even Amazon.
In fact, I rely much more on independent reviews than I do on website testimonials.
One company I've made an exception with is igourmet.com. Granted, they got a thumbs up in some gourmet publication (forget if it was Food & Wine)--but more than that, they charmed me with their entertaining & playful emails. They've even used humor at times--for example holding a contest for their worst smelling cheese. Using humor is considered risky in marketing circles...but I thought that particular email was brilliant--given that there's an audience for pungent smelling cheese.
I wrote to them and asked them how their emails converted because I just loved them. They are very secretive on that front. Won't say a word. But I suspect they do very well.
Anyway, my question is this:
Do you keep tabs on what is being said about your product--the good, the bad, the ugly? And if so, has it provided useful feedback on how to sell your product--e.g. how to improve an item, a selling point, customer service etc.?
This may not be a very big issue in the specialty food world Which is why I'm posing the question. I'm not sure which industries are impacted by my behavior--and the many who behave as I do.
cheers
Suzanne Ryan
www.thegourmetcopywriter.com/directresponse.html
.
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