Concept testing is the process of using quantitative methods (application of quantitative market research techniques) and qualitative methods (research techniques, used in marketing and the social sciences, where data are obtained from a relatively small group of respondents) to evaluate consumer response to a product idea prior to the introduction of a product to the market.

Following the exposure to the test concept, consumer respondents evaluate it on a purchase probability scale.  After respondents have been exposed to the concept, they rate the critical attributes of the test product, as well as its key competitors.  Furthermore, respondents establish an anticipated purchase cycle for the test product and convey attitudinal, behavioral, and demographic information that can be used to profile people who are either likely to try the product or those who probably will not try it.

The concept generation portions of concept testing are predominantly qualitative. Advertising professionals have created concepts and their subsequent communications for evaluation by consumers on the basis of consumer surveys or other market research, or on the basis of their own experience as to which concepts they believe represent product ideas that are worthwhile in the consumer market.  The quantitative portions of concept testing procedures have generally been placed in three categories:

1. Concept evaluations, where concepts representing product ideas are presented to consumers in verbal or visual form and then quantitatively evaluated by consumers by indicating degrees of purchase intent, likelihood of trial, etc.
2. Positioning, which is concept evaluation wherein concepts positioned in the same functional product class are evaluated together
3. Product/concept tests, where consumers first evaluate a concept, then the corresponding product, and the results are compared

Background on quantitative and qualitative research:

Qualitative research focuses on subjective data that is not easily coded into numbers. The emphasis is on words and feelings rather than numbers. Qualitative research tends to work with fewer subjects or respondents (cases) but analyses each case to a deeper level. It is particularly useful when management needs to answer questions relating to motivation and emotions such as consumer needs and perceptions, subjective opinions, brand images, brand personality and testing of advertisements. It follows that qualitative analysis is a set of techniques specifically developed to analyze qualitative data like content analysis, text analysis, and conceptual analysis.

As opposed to qualitative research, quantitative research is mainly concerned with numbers and data easily quantified. The most popular quantitative technique is the survey, often based on a large number of cases, where a broad overview of a market is required. Surveys can be administered by mail, telephone, face to face, or more recently by the Internet.

They usually take less time to complete by the respondent and most often require choosing between several responses, rather than long verbal responses. In market research, surveys often aim to understand a target market better by breaking down the sample by demographics, lifestyle, and usage behavior.

In the next Blueprint Newsletter…

Conjoint Analysis is a tool that allows a subset of the possible combinations of product features to be used to determine the relative importance of each feature in the purchasing decision. Conjoint analysis is based on the fact that the relative values of attributes considered jointly can better be measured than when considered in isolation.

References
Kevin J. Clancy, Robert S. Shulman, Marianne Wolf, Simulated Test Marketing, Technology for Launching Successful New Products, Lexington Books, Copyright ©1994 Encyclopedia