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Product Concept Testing
Concept Testing: How people, without prompting, interpret deliberately a sketchy idea for a new product or service. (Smith and Albaum, Fundamentals of Marketing Research, Sage Publications, 2005)
Concept testing is most often used in concept development to test the success of a new product idea before it is marketed. Concept analysis or concepts are often used as one step in the process of providing "proof of concept".
Potential consumers are involved to provide their reactions to written statements, images or graphics, or actual implementations of the basic idea for the product. Concept testing is most often a GO/No Go screening that serves to kill those concepts that have very little potential.
Concept testing and development provides the direction and guidance necessary to selectively identify and communicate key product or service benefits, uses, packaging, advertising, sales approaches, product information, distribution, and pricing.
A variety of concept testing options are available to help you minimize risk and maximize revenue when entering service, consumer product and high-technology markets. Our years of directing concept tests have produced a unique perspective on the particular needs of product and service users and decision makers.
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New
Product Concepts—which
benefits are most important to customers and which features are most likely
to lead to the fulfillment of that promise.
Features can be categorized into those which are "need to
haves" vs. "nice to haves."
Customer need must be identified and prioritized for product development
and advertising.
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Product
Modification/Upgrade—modifications and upgrades can reformulate and add new life to
existing products and services.
Again, identifying the optimal bundle of features is a priority. Differentiating those features that are "need
to haves" vs. "nice to haves” is critical in creating products or
services that are truly “New and Improved”
“New Release” and “Upgrade” worthy..
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Migration
path—Many
products and services offer upgrade or migration paths. For the customer, it is a reflection of a
need for the next level of sophistication.
Understanding the key features and benefits is critical in mapping
consumer needs to the likelihood of upgrading an existing product or adopting
a new technology. Our experts will
help you answer such critical questions as “Do benefits outweigh the costs
and challenges of changing?” Features,
Benefits, Brands, Image, Costs and Training are but a few factors that must
be considered.
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Product
Usability - Serviceability—The most effective concept tests assess the use
experience of a specific product or service and determine how that experience
can be improved. This research can focus on a variety of areas—ease of use
and similarity to current usage patterns, the ability to adapt and use
critical feature implementations, and the congruency with current image,
usage patterns and service provisions.
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Pricing and Incentives—no one underestimates the
importance of price expectations in new product adoptions. Price, incentives, bundling, cross product
tie-ins, and cost mitigating factors such as warranties… all change price
perceptions and perceptions of value.
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Key Components of Online
Concept Tests
The Qualtrics Concept Test Product increases effectiveness by tracking
concepts through a key series of psychological and behavioral evaluations.
Each of these testing stages focuses on critical needs of the customer
and produces actionable information that can drive your corporate product
formulation and promotional initiatives.
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Needs
Analysis—Identify
the core customer needs that lead to acceptance of new product concepts and
the new product concepts and ideas that are formulated.
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Habits
and Uses Analysis—Identify
the core customer habits and uses of the product class for purposes of
understanding and segmentation. Habits and uses are critical in understanding
the adoption of new product concepts and the new product concepts and ideas
that are formulated.
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Concept
Fulfillment and Preference Testing—Evaluate the product category as a focus for fulfilling
market needs. Inherent in this concept
test and fulfillment analysis is the tying of benefit fulfillment and needs
to the positive elements (benefits) and negative elements (inhibitors) that
direct the purchase evaluation process.
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Decision
Process Assessment—the
decision and purchasing process, the key influencers and decision makers are
all considered as part of the concept test. Each purchaser, decision maker and
influencer involved in the purchase process relies on different information
sources to establish the credibility of the product, integration process,
benefits and values actually received.
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Monetary
Returns, Psychological Returns and Total Cost of Ownership—Understand the specific costs and
financial benefits the new product brings to customers. We model and quantifying them so that they
can be used in advertising and sales collateral.
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Do You Need to Conduct a
Product Concept Test?
The following applications show the value of concept tests to companies.
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Are you
reaching out to a new market segment?
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Qualitative
and Quantitative research to establish that
opportunities for new product concepts exist (Needs Analysis)
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How do
your core customers use and interface with the product class?
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Qualitative
concept testing research to establish that compatibility and needs exist for
the new product concepts (Habits and Uses Analysis)
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Testing a
new product concept before the initial introduction?
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Quantitative
concept tests to assure promised benefits are fulfilled in the minds of the
customers and that negative associations are minimized in the purchase
evaluation process (Concept Fulfillment
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Rank and
select the best potential product concepts?
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Quantitative
research to determine fulfillment and preference (Concept Fulfillment
and Preference Testing)
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Determine
the optimal pricing point for alternative new product concept bundles?
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Quantitative
research to determine customer price acceptability curves (Price Testing and Value Analysis)
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Need to
make a final go/no-go decision regarding a new product concept?
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Quantitative
customer Delight analysis to gauge the customers' initial reactions to the concept
(Reaction and Adoption Test )
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Refine an
underperforming new product introduction?
Need to test customers' trial experiences to see if product or communications
adjustments can be made.
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Qualitative
and quantitative concept test to assess congruity of product benefit promises
and delivered performance with customer needs and usage patterns (Fulfillment
and Concept Delivery Testing)
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Taking Concept Tests to Market
How are concept tests made actionable to help you manage your products and priorities?
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Roadmap of Development Priorities:
Development plans
are cancelled for three new features because of low priority to customers and
high associated development costs.
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Scheduling and Launch Priorities: Based on the concept test, your
product is given new priority for launch because of the demonstrated greater
market potential. The concept test
identifies not only market potential, but avoids a potential failure that
could have been launched.
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Market Potential: New product uses are discovered
through a new product concept test that could double the market potential
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Product Superiority: New Features are added to the
existing the product to meet the demands of customers before the competition
responds. The proposed features of
greatest value to the customer receive top priority for development and
implementation. Your product or
service maintains the competitive advantage by further distancing itself from
the competition. Concept tests provide
the customer feedback you need to prioritize and implement ahead of the
competition.
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Eliminate Product Deficiency: The currently marketed product is
evaluated and product performance tests reveal flaws in the current design
and implementation. This information
is integrated and verified in the new concept tests.
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Promotion Planning: Concept tests combined with market
analysis help you to understand who is buying, where they can be reached, and
most importantly… what message motivates them to respond to your product.
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Increase Profitability: Concept testing shows that we are
delivering the best value in the market and have room for a 10% increase in
price for the new product
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Your project consultants will work closely with you and your staff to determine the best approach by developing research tools customized for your particular application.
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