CONCEPT TESTING: OVERVIEW

Some new products and services are groundbreaking, successful and quickly become integral parts of our lives. Others aren’t. Numerous studies have shown that as many as 80% of new product launches fail each year. If you or your clients have an idea for a new product or service, make sure there is market demand before you get in too deep. A small investment in quantitative research early in your exploration could save significant expense in the future.

WHAT IS CONCEPT TESTING?

A Concept Test is a research strategy designed to assess the market viability of a new product or service. It will help you determine how appealing the concept is, how likely consumers are to buy or use it, and to identify areas for further optimization.

STUDY DESIGN

Lab42 uses a very straightforward process for testing concepts. After screening for the appropriate audience, qualified respondents are exposed to the un-priced concept and asked a battery of questions to assess its appeal and potential customer motivation.

Best Practices

There are 4 main elements to consider when doing a quantitative concept test:

1. TARGET AUDIENCE

• Do you need to get both males and females?

• How many respondents from each gender?

• Who will be using the product (e.g., Millennials or moms)? Is it likely that others will use the product too?

• Do you need to define your audience by some specific behavior (e.g. home cooks or cyclists)?

2. RECOMMENDED PRODUCT DESCRIPTION/DEPICTION TO BE USED IN THE TEST:

We recommend exposing respondents to a clear depiction of the concept, either with text or an image accompanied by text.

• The image should portray the product as close to reality as possible, and the text description should be about three short paragraphs.

• We recommend omitting a price point initially, as that could create premature positive or negative feelings towards the product/service.

3. MONADIC VS. SEQUENTIAL DESIGN

You may have a few variations of a concept that you want to test in order to determine the most appealing and motivating version. If this is the case, there are two primary options for evaluating and comparing the variations: monadic and sequential testing.

• In a monadic design, each concept is tested in isolation of the other concepts, and each respondent only evaluates one concept.

• In a sequential design, a respondent is exposed to and evaluates all concepts, generally in random order, in one test.

Lab42 can help you decide which methodology is right for your test. With a large enough sample, a monadic design gives more reliable and better-differentiated results. Monadic is generally best used for comparing a smaller number of options (up to 4). Sequential concept tests can often be completed more quickly and are useful when comparing a large array of options.

4. RECOMMENDED SAMPLE SIZE:

Typically, when testing one concept, we recommend a sample of at least 300 respondents. However, before deciding on the sample size, consider the following factors:

• Size of target population

• Acceptable margin of error

• Subgroups required for analysis

• Methodology – monadic or sequential

• Confidence level desired

• Budget & time limitations

Deliverables

Standard deliverables include:

• Aggregate Overview: summary of all close-ended responses (PDF)

• Dataset: Individual observation-level data for each respondent, including open-ends

In addition to our standard deliverables, we recommend either a Topline Report or a 1-page Dashboard.

• A 1-page Dashboard allows for a birds-eye view on how the concept(s) performs on select key metrics. It also includes statistical testing between the different concepts.

• A 10-page Topline Report gives more detail and also includes key findings and recommendations. A Topline also typically includes breakouts for 1 to 2 subgroups.

In addition, Lab42 can provide cross-tabs or filtered reports to allow easy comparison of sub-groups of the population – dividing the sample by demographic cohort, a surveyed behavior, or a stated preference.