What consumers tell you when they try your product
Whether the idea holds up, how much they like it, where it should be tested, how far you can change it, and how it stands against the category. Those are five different questions, and each one has its own design.
Who answers, and what they tell you
This axis measures people, not product. The person giving the score buys and consumes the category — they are not on a trained panel — and what comes back is not a loose impression: it is four things you can count and compare.
- The score
- How much they like it, on a scale that lets you put your product next to the one already on the shelf.
- The comparison
- What they really measure you against: the brand they buy today, own label, or the product you want to displace.
- The segment
- Who likes it and who does not. A high average can be hiding two audiences that ask for opposite things.
- The intent
- Whether they say they would buy it, whether they would buy it again, and what it would take to switch brands.
The five designs, and when to use each
The question decides the design, not the catalogue. Some projects need one; others need two, one after the other.
- Concept testingDoes the idea hold up? Before anything is manufactured: what the concept promises, who it fits, and whether the product you made lives up to that promise.
- Product testHow much do they like it, and who does? The product in the hands of the people who buy it. Liking, purchase intent, and which audience answers better than the average.
- Home use test and CLTAt home or at a test venue? The two fieldwork settings do not measure the same thing. Getting the venue wrong changes the answer before you have asked.
- ReformulationHow far can I move the formula? Less sugar, salt, fat or cost, and the exact point where consumers stop accepting the product.
- Sensory benchmarkingWhere do I stand in the category? Your reference measured alongside the competing ones, to see which advantage holds up and which is only statistical.
What all five have in common
The design changes and so does the question, but not who answers: the same category consumers, recruited under strict rules, with quality control running while the fieldwork is live. That is where a study earns the right to talk about the market, and not only about the people who came through the test venue.
How that fieldwork is prepared is set out in full on Product test: the protocol decides who gets called and what they are given to try.
Case Studies: The ideal product for a new category →A consumer knows whether they like something. They have no reason to know why.
The five studies give you the score, the segment and the comparison, which is no small thing. The attribute behind the score comes from measuring the product as well.
What decision are you facing?
Tell us the product, the market and what needs deciding. We will tell you which design answers it, who has to be asked, and what you will be able to claim once the result is in.