Concept Testing

November 3, 2022

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You may have many ideas for new products. Or, maybe you want to update the products that you find interesting. But how to be sure that your audience will also like these features?

Concept testing is a process that helps you test these ideas and determine that these new or updated products are what your customers want.

Concept test is not limited to only product features. You can use it to evaluate a logo, marketing campaign, pricing, name, package, and more. So, let us walk you through the advantages of this in market research and tell you how you can conduct a concept test.

What is a concept testing survey?

It is a market research method to assess the viability of the product or service you want to launch. By surveying the target audience early in its development phase, you can gather insightful feedback that maximizes the odds of a successful launch.

On product launches, only 55% are on schedule, with 45% delayed and 20% on average failing to meet the target. Concept testing surveys help mitigate these roadblocks by ensuring that there is a need for these products and you can successfully give customers what they are looking for.

In market research, this survey helps you gather customers’ unbiased feedback. You can listen to customers’ voices to understand what they want and need. This allows customers to collaborate on product development and helps you boost engagement with them.

Read how Voxco helped Stratégir conduct product testing with Voxco multi-mode.

What are the benefits of concept testing in market research?

Concept test helps you minimize the risk by evaluating the new concepts before you have invested all your resources in them. This helps save time, effort, and money. There are several other benefits five of which we have discussed below.

It helps you hone the product and ensure it fits the target market’s demand.

By gathering customer feedback you can filter through bad ideas and save your brand from a failed launch. A bad idea can cost you more and negatively impact the brand’s reputation.

Concept testing surveys provide actionable data on what your customers will like to see and what they want.

It helps you make smart decisions.

If you don’t test before launching, chances are you have re-do the whole product or service. This will only lead to delay and cost you more.

With concept tests, you can gather insightful data before product development and thus make the right choices and decisions.

It helps you optimize the product as per customers’ wants.

By directly asking customers what they think about the product concepts, you can identify what variable will make customers buy the product.

→ See if they are comfortable with the price.

→ If they like the concept’s benefits.

→ If they think the concept will win against the competition.

Test out all the aspects of the product concept to see what can solve customers’ problems.

Have you ever purchased a product similar to this?

How interested would you be in buying this product if we launch it today?

How much price would you assign this product if you were launching it?

What do you think about the packaging design of this product?

It helps build strong relationships with customers.

Inviting customers to contribute to the product concepts shows that you value their opinions. This will help your brand look transparent to the audience. Conducting concept testing surveys will demonstrate that your products are meant for the audience, increasing brand awareness and boosting loyalty.

It helps gain the support of the whole organization.

Planning, developing, and launching a product requires support and feedback from seniors, stakeholders, executives, and all higher-ups. With the data gathered from the survey, you can provide them with reliable evidence that proves the viability of the proposed concept.

This way, you can gain confidence and support from the entire organization to proceed with the product development.

When should you use concept testing surveys?

A concept test is a part of a product launch. However, it is more than just a part of the pre-development stage. The test is essential from ideation, and development, to launch.

It should be used to identify the need in the market. Gather customer data to see the gaps between existing products and the entire product category.
Assess the product-market fit by comparing various product concepts.
Use surveys to identify customer wants and demands. Ensure that the product concept meets and needs of the target audience.
Finally, use it to optimize the product that appeals to the customers. Evaluate pricing, packaging, marketing campaigns, and ad copy.

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How can you run a concept testing survey?

To make the process easy, we have put together a guide for you to conduct an effective concept test.

Set your objectives.
Determine the right concept testing method.
Map out the flow of the survey.
Select the sample audience.
Run your surveys via suitable channels.
Identify the best concept.

You can follow these steps to identify which concept appeals best to your customers.

1. Set your objective

Determining the objective of the survey ensures a smooth sailing survey process. Once you know exactly what you want to study, you can create an effective survey in no time.

Your survey objective should be clear for your questions to align because the survey you create will answer your team’s doubts.

Consider your survey gaol in the following line of thought.

The likelihood of customers’ purchasing your product. Quantify the overall reaction of your customers towards the proposed concept.
Reception of the product in the market. Quantify your customers’ likes and dislikes regarding the concept’s various attributes.
Standing out among the competition. Determine if your product will be a replacement or addition to the market.

These are just three examples of goals you can set as objectives. Your objective will help you ask the right questions and gather the right data.

2. Determine the right concept testing method

There are four methods of testing a concept in market research. These methods differ in how you display single or multiple concepts to the audience. Each of these four methods has benefits and helps you gather unique data.

Monadic testing

In monadic testing, you segment your target audience into groups. Each of these groups is then shown a single concept.

This way, you can engage with each group and ask follow-up questions to gather in-depth feedback on each concept.

Sequential monadic testing

In this testing method, you segment your audience into groups as you did in monadic testing. But, here, you show all the concepts to each group for evaluation.

While this may take more time, it is cheaper since you don’t need a large audience for the survey. Moreover, by showing all the concepts, you can gather detailed feedback on every concept.

Comparison testing

As the name goes, in this method, multiple concepts are shown to your target audience. This method helps you compare the concepts and identify one that resonates best with your audience.

Promotmonadic testing

A combination of all; in this method, you use sequential monadic followed by comparison testing. The audience is asked to pick their favorite concept, giving you a complete insight into all concepts.

Product Testing Guide - Free!!

With effective product concept testing, you can gauge customer sentiment to discover the winner in a pool of numerous product ideas.

Our guide can help you build an effective program to win over your customers.

3. Map out the flow of the survey

The flow of your survey is an important aspect of concept testing. Start by introducing the survey objective, so the audience knows why you are conducting a survey. Follow it up with some qualifier questions to only allow relevant audiences to take the survey.

For the main section of your survey, follow the order as mentioned.

Start by understanding customers’ purchase history.
- What brands have they purchased from recently?
- What’s the frequency of buying?
Introduce the product concept.
- The benefits of the concept to the audience.
- Is it value for money?
- Does the packaging suit the customers’ tastes?
- What do customers think about each feature?
- How is it different from other existing products?
Compare it with existing products.
- Do they think this will replace the current product they are using?
- Would they use it as an additional product?

This is an example of how your survey questions should be arranged for you to gather deep insights from the customers.

4. Select the sample audience

Selecting an ideal audience is a key to gathering relevant and insightful data. You can create a sample size by segmenting existing customers or utilizing an online survey panel.

You can start by segmenting your existing customer base by excluding those who wouldn’t have any use of the product. For example, if you are developing a new dish of vegan substitute for chicken in your restaurant, you can filter out customers who are not vegan.

This way, you can narrow the customer range and gather accurate and reliable data.

Another way is to invest in an online survey panel. This tool allows you to create an ideal sample based on the parameters you set. An online survey panel gives you access to pre-qualified and vetted respondents worldwide.

This also allows you to reach out to diverse communities and gather their opinion.

5. Run your survey via suitable channels

Selecting the right tool to share your survey can also impact your data. There are many channels to share surveys today, thanks to technological advancements.

You can share your surveys via online channels – email, SMS, website pop-up, and social media. Or, you can conduct telephone surveys and mobile-offline interviews (conducting offline interviews by collecting data on mobile devices).

Each of these channels has its advantages. Select the one that best meets your research needs.

6. Identify the best concept

Now that you have conducted your concept testing survey, you can use different statistical analyses to uncover hidden patterns and insights. Software such as Voxco assembles the data on the go, converts them into insights, and gives you real-time insights.

Now you can identify every concept’s weaknesses, strengths, and USPs and make the right decision.

Voxco helps top 50 MR firms & 500+ brands gather actionable insights and make data-driven decisions.

See what Voxco can do for you with a personalized demo.

Conclusion

Concept testing is more than a poll asking which of the two your audience like. It requires careful consideration of the aspects you want to survey, selecting the testing method, the channels, and the audience.

It can be tricky and time-consuming, but the end result can help maximize the possibility of a successful launch.

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