New Product Development
Concept testing takes many forms from early screening (with lots of basic ideas), to a detailed evaluation of a branded, priced, packaged item or service. It is important to design the research in the context of how much the client needs to learn about positioning concepts vs. final assessment. By comparison, testing at finished stage is only appropriate for a go/ no-go decision, and provides little learning as to what else might work.
SD Research recommend an approach that optimises learning where this is appropriate e.g. testing up to 20 basic ideas (with benchmarks) to map out the areas of interest.
The product needs to be developed and optimised against the concept rather than in isolation, concept/ product fulfilment is a key measure of satisfaction with the complete offering as it usually relates to repeat purchasing in the market.