Product survey - LogRatio.com

A product survey can test the elements of the Product Strategy, both in the lab and on the field.
Do you remember those “Before and After” ads for laundry detergents, or the absorbance test for paper towels? In order to show those lab results on TV they had to demonstrate to local authorities that the claim was real and reproducible.

- Lab tests are conducted by the producer and concern the physical product duration (power batteries), safety (toys), perishability (vegetables), structural strength (Samsonite), bio-degradation (dishwasher pods), solubility (vitamins), mineralization (water), or any other relevant product characteristics.
- Field tests are typically conducted with a sample of product users.

Product tests in the field can be identified or blind, meaning that test respondents are aware of brand names or not, respectively. This is an important aspect of product testing. In a famous blind study, Coke, at the time purchased significantly more frequently than Pepsi, was preferred significantly less frequently than Pepsi in a large Taste study. Hiding the brand name changed completely the preference of customers.
Among frequently used tests concerning products:

- Concept test – Validity of an idea, slogan, product concept, etc.
- Product test – Products compared on technical performance.
- Look & Handle test – Reaction to package and product handling and look (e.g., woman bags).
- Sensation transfer study – Of a testimonial, packaging, selling idea, etc.
- Sniff test – Reaction to product smell (fragrances, coffee).
- Taste test – Aims to find the most appealing balance of ingredients that satisfy the expectations of customers.

To create a strong Product Strategy, products should be tested in the field, that is in the environment and the conditions under which users will normally use the product.

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Product survey for a new product

Most new products enter an existing market where comparable products already compete for customers.
In the rare case of new products creating a new market, chances are there exist substitutes for what the new product does (e.g., Swiffer vs. dust removal).
Therefore, when launching a new product, the first step is to conduct marketing research on the product with the objective of gathering evidence useful to create a strong product strategy that sets the way to create other strategies.

The Product Strategy covers three elements:

- Technical performance. This is what the product does.
- Design. How the product looks or works.
- Acceptance. The level of preference among product category users and buyers.

The idea underlying a marketing research process aimed to create a strong product strategy is to find that mix of performance and design that maximizes the customer acceptance of our product.

The product technical performance

The technical performance is what the product does.
For marketing purposes, the product technical performance is relevant when it can be differentiated from competing products, in which case it could be a strong contender to win the preference of customers. Not all products have a clear and distinguishable technical performance.
Swiffer’s superior ability to capture and retain dust is a strong, differentiating performance that can be, more or less easily, tested against competing products. But what is the unique, differentiating technical performance of a fragrance? Of a candy? Bread? Whisky?
Those products without a strong technical performance can look for differentiating elements in the product design.

The product design

The product design is how the product looks or works.
Anitra WC is an icon among examples of brands that have built market share on the differentiating strength of its bottle design. Most smartphones, sport shoes, TV sets, and many other products bet on design.
When the design lever is also impractical, for instance in the case of alcoholic beverages or fragrances, we can look for brand strength in the tonality of the Copy Strategy.

Marketing research for testing concepts and products

The acceptance of a new product is typically tested with people who are potential buyers and users.
The following is a sequence of marketing research steps that help to decide whether to kill a concept or develop it into a product that will eventually be launched on the market.

Depending on the type of product, one or another step may not apply.

Concept tests

In general, testing new-product ideas, hence concepts, shares these characteristics:

- A sample of potential consumers is shown one or more product descriptions, the concepts.
- Eventually, a description of existing products substitutable by the concepts is also provided.
- The potential consumers rate each concept on different attributes, eventually in comparison with competing products.
- The respondents list what they like and dislike about each concept.

When all data has been gathered, the concepts are sorted according to the preference they received.
This information helps marketers to decide whether to continue the development of the winning concepts into physical prototypes or products.
The physical product is then tested in a real consumption environment, often Hall or In-home test.

In-home and Hall product tests

In-home and Hall tests involve the consumption of the product or of the prototype.
These tests are used to collect the opinion of people knowledgeable about the product or the product category object of the test. They collect expert opinions concerning the product as a whole. Taste, smell, color, texture, handling, package, instructions, ease of use, performance at work, resistance, and the like may be the variables of the test.
This kind of product test can be monadic, meaning that only one concept of interest is tested, or it can be in comparison to other existing products.
In-home tests work well with products like food, cosmetics, appliances, cleaning, and other products typically consumed in a private setting, like the respondent’s house.
Hall-tests are typically held in places with high pedestrian transit, like malls, cinemas, central squares, streets, and the like. Among advantages, they can recruit a few to many respondents in a short time, respondents can be observed while taking the test, real purchase or consumption settings can be used, and particular processes or materials can be presented and explained. However, the results of Hall tests are not representative of the whole population consuming the tested product and cannot be used to make projections of the overall market of reference.
Product tests tend to question respondents on the pivotal elements of the Product Strategy: Technical performance and Product design. Among common metrics applicable to the Product Strategy and measured with product tests:

- Purchase intention.
- Price value.
- Product distinctiveness.
- Concept believability.
- Overall attitude.
- Reason for usage.
- Satisfaction.
- Brand switch.
- Propensity to recommend.
- Likes and dislikes.
- Purchase place.

Market tests

Market tests are conducted to measure the competitive strength of not-yet-launched products in a market setting as close as possible to real market conditions.
These are complex studies, representative of the overall market, where actual products are sold through common points of sale (POS) to real customers. Different price levels, package solutions, product formats, and promotional programs are among topics that can be evaluated.
One of the difficulties of market tests consists in the ability to reproduce the whole market with a selection of POS. In some cases, a few stores in a single town are selected. In other instances, there may be POS distributed throughout the whole country.

Whatever the approach followed, reproducing a market is a key challenge from the point of view of statistical accuracy and organizational procedures.
Another element of complexity may arise from aggressive competitors who may try to pollute the test results with fake purchases, visitors, requests, and the like.
Market tests are conducted with product versions like or very close to the final version that will be marketed. This means that besides the typical functional and structural characteristics of a product, aesthetic aspects typical of branded products should also be tested. Brand name, logo, colors, fonts, wording, and packaging are common aesthetic elements that should be defined before any market test.

Therefore, a valid market test requires creating part of the Communication Strategy in advance. More specifically, it is the Copy Strategy that should exist before starting any market tests. In fact, the Copy Strategy determines the elements of communication that should convince the customer to purchase our product. These elements influence the characteristics of the aesthetic elements of the branded product.