UNIT 9: CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT & TESTING

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

▪ To position needs as the central issue in concept testing.

▪ To explain the link between product characteristics and customer needs.

▪ To describe the process of concept testing

▪ To outline the decisions managers need to make to design a concept test.

▪ To discuss data collection methods for concept testing.

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CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT & TESTING
▪ The screened ideas are developed into more fully specified
concepts, which are evaluated for their appeal to the
potential market segments for whom they are intended.
Concept development and testing involves designing and
presenting representations of the proposed new product
to a sample of its intended customers.

▪ The objective of concept development and testing is to

estimate market reaction to a product idea before committing
substantial funds to its physical development.

▪ The more detailed the information gathered at this stage, the

greater the chance of reducing total development costs,
as alternative concepts can be derived and tested more
cheaply than alternative, prototype, products. If a full
commitment is made to market research at this stage, the
prototypes developed will, in theory, more closely match
customer needs and preferences, requiring fewer costly
amendments later on.

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CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT & TESTING
▪ The dual tasks of concept development and testing are
intimately related. The first articulations of the new product
concept will be derived from the activities carried out during
idea generation and screening, but these articulations can be
reworked in the light of customerConcept
reaction,
developmentand retested,
and testing until
involves designing and
an acceptable concept is modelled, which
presenting can
representations ofbe progressed
the proposed new product

to physical development. to a sample of its intended customers.

▪ The concept testing cycle highlighted is repeated until the

company identifies the concept which exhibits the acceptable
level of appeal, both internally and externally .

▪ The number of iterative cycles at this stage depends on the

way in which the original ideas were generated and screened.
If ideas are generated and screened on the basis of market
research techniques such as perceptual maps, the most
appealing dimensions might well be present in the first
concept formulations and fewer iterations are consequently
required.

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PURPOSE
▪ Concept development and testing, generates two vital pieces of information. First, a more complete
picture of the product is developed, giving a better idea of costs. Second, since the product becomes
developed in terms of shape, materials, design and cost, the customer can better evaluate its appeal.

▪ Concept testing has an overriding purpose: to estimate customer reaction to an idea before developing
the physical product. A number of supporting objectives:
▪ To profile the market:
o current buying pattern
o existing segments
o customers’ view of the products available
▪ To assess likely purchase intention and position the product:
o trial and repeat purchase
o barriers to changing brands
▪ To make improvements to the new product concept:
o overall product concept
o features of the product concept.

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CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT & TESTING OBJECTIVES

▪ The sets of objectives are linked, largely through the

concepts of customer needs and preferences.

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EXCEPTIONS

▪ Concept testing is not always appropriate in every

situation. For example, concepts expressing new art
and entertainments are difficult to test, as the
success or failure of the final result is difficult to
determine, or indeed to re-create.

▪ Eg: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

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WHAT IS A NEW PRODUCT CONCEPT?

▪ Concept is a promise of the benefits which

will be derived from certain product
characteristics or attributes.

▪ These attributes are produced from the

manipulation of certain material properties,
either of which might be transformed by new
or modified technology.

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THE PROCESS OF CONCEPT TESTING

Concept testing is a test of perception, and as such is influenced by all that

influences perception, such as:

▪ Information given about the new product concept. The degree to which the
concept is explained and linked to other product levels (for example the
augmented product) will affect customer perceptions.

▪ Timing of the evaluation. The more time given to a customer to evaluate a

concept influences the response. If only a short time is given, only first
impressions will be forwarded.

▪ Context for the concept. The context for a product evaluation may be
defined in many ways, vis-à-vis competition, place of consumption or use of
the product, with reference to certain market segments and positioning.

▪ The nature of the product concept itself. This relates to the point where a
product concept fits on the continuum between ‘emotive’ and ‘functional’.

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THE PROCESS OF CONCEPT TESTING

▪ (1) definition of specific objectives:

▪ to assess likely purchase intentions
▪ to make improvements to the new product concept,
▪ to profile the market.

▪ (2) types of concept presentation;

▪ and (3) method for gathering data.

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Types of concept presentation

Commonly seven ways to present a concept to the market for evaluation:

▪ verbal presentation

▪ monochrome line drawing

▪ colour line drawing

▪ photograph

▪ storyboard

▪ mock-up

▪ computer simulation.

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verbal presentation

▪ A verbal presentation is the most basic type of representation. Verbal presentation

generally gives an incomplete picture of the product concept (which may result in
unreliable findings).

▪ Consider the following statement describing a ‘smart radiator valve control’:

The new radiator valve control consists of a small (4 cm × 4 cm × 5 cm) cuboid, which is
easily fitted to the existing valve by a simple screwing action. It has an attractive push
button surface which controls the amount of heat generated by the radiator. The control is
programmable by temperature, hour and day of the week, and can shut itself off when
draughts (for example from open windows) are detected.

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monochrome & line drawing

A monochrome line drawing can be used on its own

or with accompanying text.

A colour line drawing can be used to portray more of

the feel of the product

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mock-up
A photograph of a mock-up is normally used at the
concept development phase. Also, where a ‘new’ product
is introduced from a foreign market, photographs (or even
product packs) may be available to evaluate the concept.

A mock-up of the pack, shape or general form can be

used – but at the concept stage this is not a ‘working’
mock-up. This type of representation gives a customer a
better feel for the product he or she is being asked to
evaluate.

Where a product is likely to be viewed from one angle only, a pictorial (or verbal)
description will suffice. For example, a hob designed to be built-in is generally viewed
and used from one position only (above) and might be readily represented by a picture.
On the other hand, a free-standing cooker has several points from which it is viewed
and used – the hob, the grill, the oven, and so on, and therefore it may be more
comprehensively represented by a mock-up.

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story board
A storyboard is allows a presentation of the product in the context for which it is designed, frequently used to
evaluate advertising concepts.

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computer simulation

– or graphic – is used to represent the

product. This has the advantage of being
able to be rotated, enlarged, with the overall
designs and features highlighted as the
evaluator wishes.

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Location of tests

The choice is usually made between carrying out the

interviews at the respondent’s home, or in a neutral location
such as a shopping mall, a public thoroughfare, or a hotel
seminar room.

Industrial companies may also execute concept tests at

trade fairs or exhibitions, despite the drawback that
competitors are present.

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Question format - Monadic
▪ Monadic questions are those which ask
respondents about ‘one’ concept (hence monadic).
If the concept testing phase as a whole is focused
on several new concepts, then each one would be
evaluated by one sample only.

▪ The three product concepts, A, B and C, are

assessed by three groups of respondents. These
three groups, or samples, are matched. This means
they are similar samples in forms of demographic
characteristics, or indeed of characteristics which
might be used to segment the market for the
product, once launched.

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Question format - Comparison
▪ The disadvantage of monadic is that it is difficult to
assess whether differences in scores for products are
due to the fact that different people are testing them,
rather than due to a consensus view that one product
concept is better or worse than another. Using the
same people to test different product concepts resolves
this problem.

▪ In comparison testing, the same group of respondents

is asked about two or more concepts. Several groups of
respondents may be used in order to check the
reliability of the results.
▪ The differences in average scores for each can be
more reliably allocated to real perceived differences,
rather than differences among the groups of assessors.
In addition, it reflects more accurately the purchase
situation where a potential buyer assesses a new
concept in relation to ones he or she already knows.

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Question format

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CAUTION

▪ Concept testing is a useful tool for evaluating the customer’s initial reaction to
a new product, its results must be analysed with caution, as it provides an
indication of likely product acceptance and there is no guarantee that the
opinions expressed (either positive, or negative) will be translated into
relevant action (purchase or no pur- chase, respectively).

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