McDonald’s Cheese Stick Disaster Proves Importance of Product Testing

McDonald’s is in the middle of a public relations mess which all restaurant owners can learn from.

Always. Do. Product. Testing.

The fast food giant is under fire for selling their new mozzarella cheese sticks missing a key ingredient: cheese.

Social media has lit up with dozens of damming images of the hollow cheese sticks, followed by statements of outrage and disappointment by customers.

McDonald’s executives are responding to the mistake by saying that something went amiss in the baking process that caused the cheese to ooze out.

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What’s most bizarre about this situation is that McDonald’s just released the mozzarella sticks across the U.S. this month. As part of a new initiative, the “McPick 2” promotion allows customers to pay just $2 for two of the following: a McDouble, a McChicken, small fries, and mozzarella sticks.

Assuming the Golden Arches did product testing before the mozzarella sticks were released, you have to wonder what the heck went wrong?

It’s a painful reminder to those in the restaurant industry about just how important testing and market research is before a new menu item hits the masses. And this goes for any size restaurant. Mom and pop shops experience the same consequences of inadequate product testing that multinational conglomerates do, it just manifests slightly differently.

Harvard Business Review blames poor product testing as the reason why 75 percent of new product launches fail to produce the necessary financial returns.

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So what’s the key lesson in all this?

Don’t let your business fall prey to common product launch mistakes. Here are seven basic ways that restaurants can conduct product testing. Use them.

Events: Host an event for a local organization and give away your new restaurant menu item for free in exchange for feedback. Qualitative feedback: Use a target group of 5-8 people to bounce ideas off of about your new product. These folks should fit the demographic profile of your ideal customer. Quantitative feedback: Conduct a survey to get a sense for what people think of your new food item. Focus on getting as many respondents as possible. Save the qualitative data for your focus group. Review websites: Use Yelp or TripAdvisor to pose a question about your new product and then wait for responses. Ask the experts: Join an online community of restaurant marketing professionals who have successfully launched products like yours and pick their brains. Website: Set up a website describing your new food item and then solicit feedback. Social media: Ask for feedback on your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles, including any other platforms you use.

We hope these suggestions guide you the next time food genius strikes. Remember, your friends and family aren’t the most objective sources to solicit feedback from about your new food idea.

Keep your market research and product testing grounded in reality — and you’ll likely avoid the fate of McDonald’s.