How Domino’s used bad reviews to boost sales 14.3%
In 2010, Domino’s ran a national TV campaign featuring its own worst customer reviews. Lines like “Domino’s tastes like cardboard” and “Mass produced, boring, bland pizza” aired in front of millions of viewers. Then the ad showed exactly what the company did about it.
That quarter, US same-store sales rose 14.3%.
The Tactic: Steel Manning
What Domino’s did has a name: steel manning. It means stating your customer’s objection so clearly and fairly that they feel genuinely heard before you respond. The opposite of a straw man argument. You’re not dismissing the criticism or burying it in fine print. You’re putting it on a billboard.
Why It Works
Most brands avoid negative feedback in public-facing copy. The instinct is to control the narrative. But when a prospect already holds that objection, staying quiet doesn’t make it disappear. It just means your copy never addresses the one thing standing between them and a purchase.
Naming the objection first does two things. It signals honesty, which builds trust. And it gives you the floor to respond, which no one can take away once you’ve already acknowledged the problem.
The Operator Takeaway
Conversion Rate Experts outlines a four-step method for applying this to your own copy, along with a note on when steel manning can backfire. If your sales page, landing page, or onboarding flow is quietly losing conversions to an objection you’ve never addressed out loud, this is worth thirty minutes of your time.
I’m founder of BizStack at Cagri Sarigoz LLC and a passionate advocate for entrepreneurs.
With over 14 years in tech, marketing, and AI, including my role as Head of SEO at CitizenShipper and co-founder of TaleBot at Intale AI, I’m dedicated to sharing genuine, useful product insights and tips.
At BizStack, I aim to cut through the digital noise to provide clear, actionable advice.
And more than all else, I’m a father to a (always) little girl and a husband.
Contact me at [email protected] for assistance.
