![\"pizza](\"http:\/\/www.bazaarvoice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/pizza0.bmp\")
<\/p>\nThey called it the \u201cPizza Turnaround.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The Bazaarvoice Pizza ThrowdownTaste tests and focus groups had execs at Domino\u2019s Pizza<\/a> cringing as unhappy pizzaphiles gave brutally honest feedback on the taste of their pizza. Domino\u2019s executives had a choice to make: go about their business \u2013 as many brands would \u2013 or learn from this negative feedback and change their 50 year old recipe.<\/p>\n Domino\u2019s chose wisely, embracing customer oxygen<\/a> and revamping their recipe. We hear the \u201cwhat about negative reviews?\u201d question all the time. What Domino\u2019s finally realized is an idea Bazaarvoice promotes to our clients each day \u2013 negative reviews are a gift, an opportunity to improve your products and services<\/a> to further delight your customers. We\u2019ve seen this philosophy work wonders for clients like Oriental Trading Company<\/a> and Land of Nod<\/a>.<\/p>\n Where many brands would privately have gone about their business by rationalizing or ignoring the feedback, Domino\u2019s did the opposite. And the pizza chain took their efforts a step further, launching a national campaign<\/a> promoting how bad their pizza used to be. Their message was simple: \u201cWe were failing you. We finally heard you. Here\u2019s what we did about it. Won\u2019t you try us again?\u201d<\/p>\n As passionate advocates of customer oxygen, we naturally applauded these campaigns. But we were curious, as the ads no doubt intended \u2013 is the new Domino\u2019s recipe really better? We decided to conduct our own scientific test (NOT\u2026 but we think close enough) to see how listening to and acting on the opinions of their customers had benefited the chain.<\/p>\n The Bazaarvoice Pizza Throwdown<\/strong><\/p>\n Tasters’ stated preferences before the taste test<\/p>\n We found ten self-proclaimed pizza connoisseurs to participate in a taste test of Domino\u2019s against its top two national competitors \u2013 Pizza Hut<\/a> and Papa John\u2019s<\/a>. We ordered large cheese pizzas with original crust from each, testing the competitors on the pizza basics.<\/p>\n Before the test, we asked the tasters to tell us which pizza they thought they liked best. Papa John\u2019s was the clear favorite, with 60% of the vote.<\/p>\n Each taster was blindfolded to ensure responses were based solely on taste. They were then asked to taste a slice of each competitor\u2019s pizza, and give their reviews, rating each pizza on sauce, crust, cheese, and overall taste.<\/p>\n The Results<\/strong><\/p>\n We weren\u2019t sure what to expect. Even if Domino\u2019s didn\u2019t win, we thought they still had a great story to tell, as they\u2019d demonstrated action and accountability to customer feedback. But fortunately for this story and for Domino\u2019s, the new and improved pizza was the clear winner, with 50% of the tasters picking the chain\u2019s new recipe as the tastiest pie.<\/p>\n Domino\u2019s outperformed the competitors in every aspect of the test, earning 3.8 out of a possible 5 stars for overall taste.<\/p>\n You can watch how the taste test was done in our video here and on Youtube<\/a>:<\/p>\n![\"graph](\"http:\/\/www.bazaarvoice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/pizza11.bmp\")
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\nPizza components’ taster ratings