Chapter 16 - Market Research and Product Testing

gamma testing

gamma testing- standard testing of product in limited markets (you get your best data) it's an ideal product use testing- but in many cases forms go with beta testing -cost and time considerations -keeping ahead of competitors

what is product use testing?

product use under normal operating conditions some terms: -alpha testing: done in-house -beta testing: (field testing- limited number of end users) typical goals of beta testing: to determine if the product works and is free of "bugs"

concept tests

qualitative techniques, especially group discussions, are used to obtain target customer reactions to a new idea or products

arguments against product use testing

- a fortune: has already been spent on the product -market research sats the product is a winner -competitor is working on a similar product -may suggest lack of faith in product -customers have to learn how to use the product -competitor may steal our idea and beaut us to the market

consumer needs

-basic needs: those a customer would expect (ex: a consumer work expect a new car to start every time) -articulated needs: those that customer can readily express (ex: a consumer may express a desire for a heated sears in a new car) -exciting needs: those that will surprise customers and are not currently being met by any competitors in the category- new product developers want to uncover these

arguments for product use testing

-better to build off a technology base that provides some insulation from competitive copying than to worry about such copying -customer needs are complex- use testing can identify problems -delivering a total quality product - avoiding "horror stories" of poor product quality before product is marketed

Types of testing

-concept testing -prototype development -product testing (about to be launched) the main objective is to estimate the market's reaction to the new product under consideration, prior to investing in expensive production and promotional costs

Dyson, Hoover and the bagless vacuum cleaner

-illustrates of a successful product that was initially rejected by manufacturers, retailers and some consumers, but it turned out to be success -research showed that Dyson would fail within a few months

market pull vs. technology push

-market pull- traditional market research approach to gather consumer insight on product development (cupholders in minivan) -technology push- technology guides the product development process. Little consideration is given to the market --some marketing views suggest the process is no longer customer-led or driven by the market , and they would argue that is now occurring a technology push approach to product development. - that technology-push cannot be balanced with the market pull

data formats: Like/ Dislike

-survey like

marketing research methods

-surveys (most common, least insightful) -focus groups/activities -depth interviews -ethnography -neuromarketing

data formats: preference and descriptive

-type of survey

concept test formats

Qualitative techniques, especially group discussions, are used to obtain target customer reactions to a new idea or product -test centers (ppl go to test center and asked questions, when the product is too complicated to be tested out in the public) -intercepts/mobile testing (representative sample of consumers is recruited, usually in shopping centre, and brought to a mobile caravan and asked questions) -trade shows (manufacturer can see how buyers react to various products on display) -monadic tests (respondents are given only one product to try and asked their opinion) -paired comparisons (a respondent is asked to try 2+ more products in pairs and asked which pair they prefer) -in-home placement tests (product is placed with respondents who are asked to used the product in the normal way and complete a questionnaire about it) -test panels (representative panels are recruited and used for product testing)

gaining new customers of the future

[figure 16.3] - two by two matrix showing needs and customers, Hamel and Prahalad have shown that however well a company meets the articulated needs of current customers, it runs a great risk if it does not have a view of the needs customers cannot yet articulate: the products of the future.

installed base effect

radical product innovations frequently have to overcome the currently installed technology base- known as the installed base effect -the installed base effect is the massive inertial effect of an existing technology or product that tends to preclude or severely slow the adopting of a superseding technology or product - this adoption barrier may be insurmountable. Marketing efforts and promotion are tools for overcoming this inertia EX: DVORAK keyboard, provides faster typing speed but the QWERTY keyboard is still prefferred