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Product Testing
Product testing is, perhaps, the single most important type of
consumer research any company ever conducts. A company with consistently
superior products tends to consistently outperform its competitors in the
marketplace.
Achieving clear-cut product superiority in a category is the surest
way to build brand share, engender customer loyalty, and boost profitability.
Better products tend to command higher prices and be more responsive to
advertising investments.
Our Product-Testing Philosophy
Consumer tastes and preferences evolve over time. The consumer's
palate is a moving target. That's why product testing must be viewed as a
strategic, ongoing activity.
"Real environment" testing (i.e., testing a product the way it is typically
used by consumers) is almost always the most accurate method of product
evaluation. For example, it is generally best to let consumers evaluate food
products in their homes rather than in a laboratory or test kitchen.
Products should be tested using a standardized system, so that each product
is tested in exactly the same way. Our standardized system is Optima®.
Optima® Product Testing
Optima® is Decision Analyst's proprietary, copyrighted product testing
system. The Optima® questionnaire consists of the following modules:
-
Screening/Qualification Questions
-
Overall Rating of Product
-
Like Most About Product
-
Suggested Product Improvements
-
Diagnostic Ratings of Product Attributes
-
Ratings of Product Components
-
Intent to Buy Product, Priced
-
Expected Frequency of Purchase
-
Value Rating
-
Demographics
How Does Optima® Work?
Typically, a representative sample of category users (150 to 200 households) is
given a test product to use in-home for a few days. Then these consumers are
asked a series of standard questions about the product.
Based on internal diagnostics, normative data, and analytical models, these
questions tell us whether the product is optimal or not, and indicate what
needs to be changed to improve the product. Our primary analytic model is
Pii®.
Product Improvement Index® (Pii®)
Decision Analyst developed the
Pii®
mathematical model to help guide product development efforts for new products
and the reformulation of existing products.
Pii®was developed
primarily because of problems encountered in using various types of regression
models in product-testing analyses. Regression models assume that all of the
input variables are independent (i.e., not intercorrelated in any way).
The reality is, however, that virtually all of the input variables that might
explain a product's performance are typically intercorrelated. The result is a
regression equation that omits important input variables. For example, if the
color and the sweetness of a product happened to be highly correlated with each
other, the regression equation would omit one of the variables. We might think
we had a color problem, when in fact we had a color and a sweetness problem.
The
Pii®
model was designed to circumvent the "missing variables" problem associated
with regression. This model is based upon a type of correlation, using "dummy"
variables, to examine the relationship between the diagnostic ratings (e.g.,
too sweet, about right, not sweet enough; or too much salt, about right, not
enough salt; and so on) and the consumer's overall rating of the product. The
overall rating is typically measured with an 11-point scale.
The output of the
Pii®
model is a table of important explanatory variables along with the
Pii®
rating and the indicated action, as illustrated here.
| Diagnostic Variable |
Pii® Score |
Indicated Action |
| Too sweet |
18.65 |
Reduce sweetness |
| Too dark in color |
14.72 |
Make product lighter |
| Too soft |
12.95 |
Make product firmer |
| Not enough salt |
9.48 |
Add some salt |
| Not enough crunch |
5.23 |
Make product crunchier |
Generally, any Pii® score greater than 4.0 indicates that some modification
of the product might be necessary. The greater the Pii® score, the more
important that variable is and the more that variable should be modified.
Optima® Uses
The great value of
Optima®
is illustrated by its many uses:
-
To evaluate and improve existing products.
-
To achieve product superiority over competitive products.
-
To continuously improve product performance and customer satisfaction over time
(i.e., to optimize products).
-
To evaluate cost-reduction formulations while maintaining product superiority.
-
To measure the effects of aging upon product quality (shelf-life studies).
-
To provide guidance to R&D in developing or upgrading products.
-
To monitor product quality from different suppliers and/or different factories.
-
To implicitly measure marketing variables (i.e., packaging, pricing, sizing,
etc.).
-
To predict the success of new products.
Optima® Features
The essential features of
Optima®
are:
-
Monadic Design-Each product is tested alone. This
provides the most accurate evaluation of the product and the best diagnostic
feedback about how to improve the product.
-
Standardized
Systems-The sampling, data collection, data preparation,
and data tabulation methods and procedures (i.e., the system) are standardized
for each product. It is essential that every product be tested in precisely the
same way.
-
Standardized
Questions-The standardized questionnaire is modular in
structure and flexible in design. All of the questionnaire modules are
copyrighted by Decision Analyst.
Sampling Options
The recommended sample source for most product tests is
American Consumer Opinion® Online. This Decision Analyst panel of over
7 million online consumers is an economical way to screen for low-incidence
product categories, and it provides high quality data and fast turnaround at
the conclusion of each product test.
Other sampling options include mall-intercept, recruit to central location, or
telephone recruitment. In-store or on-site product testing is also an option.
Non-Food Product
Testing
The concepts, methods, and techniques of product testing can be adapted and
applied to almost any product category. Our staff has evaluated:
-
Microwave Ovens
-
Washing Machines
-
Airliner Seats
-
Retail Store Layouts
-
Restaurant Interiors
-
Calculators
-
Hotel Rooms
-
Computers
-
Software
-
Cellular Phones
-
Pagers
Additional Resources from Decision Analyst
If you would like more information on Optima® Product Testing,
please contact
Jerry
W. Thomas
by email or call
1.800.ANALYSIS (262.5974).
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