Concept and product testing - Essay Example

?Concept and Product Testing Executive Summary Concept testing involves conducting a research in the market for the product idea. It simply means testing the idea in the market among the people. The research is undertaken through the method of survey by forming appropriate questionnaire. This step is undertaken to introduce the product idea to the customers, see their reactions for the product idea and gather suggestions to add-on. Similarly, product testing also consists of conducting a research on the product. The manufacturer produces a few product samples. This helps the customers to see the final product and judge its features and its look. Both concept testing and Product testing is very important because the failure rate of new products are very high. So concept testing is done to test the idea among the customer and product testing is done to check the feedback of the customers for the final product before commercialization. The research undertaken for testing the concept of the product turned out to be positive. 100 participants were considered for the research. These 100 participants consisted on people from the age group of 13 to 35, in which two groups were made (Students and Working Professionals). The majority of respondents liked the product idea and its features. They also gave few suggestions. Now, after receiving a positive response for the product idea, sample products are manufactured and even the suggested ideas are added to the final product. Research is again conducted on the product to test the final product in the market. Again same 100 respondents were considered. Almost 76 % participant considered the product among their purchase list. The participants from student group found the price to be high. So they would prefer a lower price. Otherwise, the feature and the look were well accepted. People found the display of the Kindle amazing. The eBook reader received a very good response from the people. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Introduction 5 Research Method 9 Results 11 Product Testing 12 Objectives of research 15 Research Techniques 16 Results 18 Limitations of the Study 19 Conclusion 20 References 21 Bibliography 25 Appendices 27 Appendix 1 27 Appendix 2 29 Introduction A product is regarded as any offering in exchange for a price. It can be tangible as well as in-tangible in nature. After the completion of developing the product, the marketer can plan to launch the product into the market. New product development takes time and it is also quite risky and costly. The failure rate of new products is really high in the market. This happens due to several factors. But the most common factor is lack for proper market research. The marketers should do a proper market research for his product. If they are successful then, after developing the product, another product research is also necessary. This will not only give a true picture to the market, but also save him from incurring huge losses before developing the idea or concept (Lesch & Rupert, 1994, p. 5). It is a well known fact that if well-structured concept testing or product testing method by knowledgeable researcher can really help a company to improve its ability to create successful innovative products or services. However, the result of concept testing is not really achieved in reality due to low quality of research. The advancement in the technology and digital media has affected all of us. Similarly, the advent of eBook readers has created a buzz in the market. The increase in popularity of reading books in electronic form has encouraged the marketer to think about product named Kindle. It’s a new idea that will help in creating a device in which one can read numerous books and other reading materials in electronic form as pdf files (Parrickrau, 2011, p. 211). The product idea called Kindle is actually an electronic book reader. It would like a book publication in electronic form. In that device people can read books, see images, etc. Uncountable numbers of books can be stored in a single device. This device would be sleek and stylish. It would be of low weight and easy to carry (Thrall, n. d.). Concept Testing In developing a new product we come across a very important step know ac Concept testing. When a marketer plans about producing a new product, he starts thinking about many ideas that would be preferable according to the resources available with him. Then a screening is done taking into account all the pros and cons of most of the ideas. One a few or one of the ideas is selected in order to plan on it further (Avlonitis & Papastathopoulou, 2006, p. 112-113). Now, the idea is the baby of that team of people who have generated this idea. But it may not be the requirement of the market and its customers. We know that necessity is the mother of all inventions. So if there is no need then the customers would not be interested in the product. The producer plans the production strategies and manufactures the final product. Then he sees that it there is no demand in the market for that type of product because people won’t need it. IN this case the marketer incurs huge lose and the resources he had also gets wasted. So it is always advisable to test the generated idea in the first place. The concept has to be verified first. For this purpose the best way is to conduct a market research (Baker & Hart, 2007, p. 302). Here, the innovative concept of an electronic book reader is studied. There are millions of book lovers and book readers are there in this world. I have segregated the two terms, book- readers and book lovers because every person who reads book does not love to read books too. So we can say that book lovers are sub sets of book readers. Now those who really love to read book, they always want to carry a book along with them while travelling to work or to different places. It is not possible for them to carry hundreds of books together wherever they go. So for those people Kindle, as the concept is named would be of immense help. This device would look like any tablet. It would store thousands of eBooks (electronic books) in PDF file format. It would look like a sleek stylish device for reading books, as many books as the reader wants (Physorg, 2012). The testing of concept in the market will show the needs and preferences of the segment targeted. There is several information that is derived through this procedure, such as the degree of satisfaction that customers will derive from the ides, the need of these types of technology such as a eBook reader. The interest of the customers related to the purchase of these kinds of products. These are the answers that can be derived from the prospect kindle customers. The concept testing of Kindle can be carried out through a primary study of the prospective customers by asking direct questions, such as by giving them the description of the product and asking their opinion on that. What additional advice or suggestions they can give to improve the idea of an electronic book reader (EBook Reader.org, n. d.). In would be always kept in mind that the result generated from the market research is not to be followed blindly. The customers are generally freckle minded in nature. Most of them switch preferences very easily. So, the marketer should be cautious while selecting the research tools. There are various drawbacks of the process of concept testing that was previously followed. They were really not adequate to identify and measure the preferences of the customers. They were not sufficient to highlight the significance of those factors which were responsible for governing as to why were the customers, the target market, and the market react differently to the presented concepts of the marketer. That is the reason why even after conducting the Concept testing, the marketer could not be sure of his idea (Panda, 2009, p. 321). But now several proven tools and methodology for concept testing has come up to give a clear insight of the new idea and its level of preferences in the market. Objectives of Research The objectives of conducting a research is to formulate the answers for those queries which comes in front of the marketer which introducing a new concept or product. Though different research have different motive behind them, so they are carried on differently. But there are few common objectives behind every research conducted. Firstly, research is done to get an insight of the surroundings and the environment of market. Secondly, a good research helps to identify the characteristic if individuals and gives an idea about their preferences. It also helps to identify the occurrence of an event (Scotland of Food and Drink, n. d., p. 2) The step of concept testing falls under the category of qualitative research. But still it would be depended on the objectives of the research that is undertaken. So this means that there is no standard format of research for concept testing. It depends on the concept that needs to be tested in the market. So first the objectives for conducting the research must be ascertained. The objectives would be the purchase intentions of the customer, their interest to make improvements in the concept presented. The significance of this purpose will ascertain the type of concept test. In the case of concept testing there is considerable scope for improvement because the customers in the market are asked to analyze the concept and give suggestions for improvements (Fraser, 1994, p. 5). So, we can say that our main objectives behind conducting this research would be: Testing the relevance of the concept, Customer is the king. So their attitude towards reading physical books and eBooks can be clearly understood. How much the book lovers and the book readers are willing to pay for a device which will provide them the opportunity to read may books and there is even no pain of carrying them around. A comparative study would also come up if there is any similar product in the market. Basically, the intention behind the research is to check list the preferences of the customers that they would want in an electronic book reader. The price of the product, the look of the product that would be preferable and the most important is that the available features in the product. The people would love the product more if along with reading books, they get to hear music from if by attaching a headphone (WCFLS, 1994). Research Method Research can be defined as a planned search for gathering information on a specific issue or product. The process of research consist of first identifying or defining the problem, then formulate a solution for the same by carefully collecting data from the market, then evaluating the data and finally analyzing its outcome (Kothari, 2008, p. 2). In the process of developing a new product, we first develop a new product idea. After proper screening and determining how the idea might take shape after production, a complete research of the market is done to check whether the idea developed would be acceptable in the market or rejected. So the initial testing is done before development process (Nel, 2007, p. 394). The methodologies utilized for these type of idea testing includes survey or interviewing focus groups, panel testing, telephonic interviews, or sending mail questionnaires to the focus groups. All these methods have their own sets of strengths and weaknesses. So these are depended on the idea of the product. But the most important fact is that, every concept testing research undertaken must answer a critical question that is the verdict of the customer for the idea proposed (Blankenship, Breen & Dutka, 1998, p. 265). In this case, we have developed an innovative concept. Now, innovative concepts are very risky and proper customer and market knowledge is necessary to float the concept into the market. For this purpose, the right research tool need to be chosen. To conduct a research on the concept of our product Kindle, we decided to target and focus on a particular group of customer. Since focusing on the mass would be unmanageable and give misleading outcomes. We will focus on the people between the age group of 13-35. We will stratify this range into two further groups. 1. Students 2. Professionals The reason behind selecting these two age groups are: Firstly, they are young and prefer innovation. Secondly, they do not fall under the category of loyal customers because they keep updating themselves with technology and need mind to switch for a different product if it is useful and advanced in technology. Thirdly, they do not compromise for high price. Fourthly, they are energetic and take active interest in research work. They provide information on their choices. They are not reluctant to use and adapt to new technology. The product Kindle will completely transform the age old reading experience of people around the world. So it is very important to choose the right focus group. After the focus group is selected and decided, the mode of research needs to be selected. Surveys can be conducted through the formation of proper questionnaire. It must be kept in mind that the questions in the questionnaire must be such that evaluating the answers will give the complete picture of the customer’s response and fulfills the objective behind conducting the project. Sending mails containing the questionnaire would also be a procedure for conducting a survey. But there are doubts pertaining to conducting surveys through mails because the customer might not take interest in answering the questions. S it is advisable to conduct face to face interview and ask the customers to take the survey in front of the researcher, so as to confirm the customers response or feedback on the testing of idea. Results This part of the study states the findings of the research that was done to test the innovative concept of Kindle, an eBook reader in the market. The result was mainly focused age groups ranging from 13-35. This age group included two groups, such as students and working professionals. Data Collection The survey was conducted through interviewing people from these age groups and also sending mails with questionnaires attached. So the data was received through mails and also directly by interviewing respondents. So, separate database was created to record data from students and professionals, so as to assess the results without any confusion (Panneerselvam, 2004, p. 17) Analysis The qualitative feedback on the product idea was carefully analyzed and all the demographic variables were carefully checked such as age, gender, education, etc and were recorded. Findings The survey was conducted on 100 participants. Among them 55 % were students and the rest 45 % were working professionals. Among 100 respondents 35 were females and the rest were males. Both the focus groups were keen on buying a product of this sort, such as an eReader. The participants from student segment seemed more interested to buy the product than the professional. For professionals reading books is not a compulsion. So only the book lovers were interested to buy. But the students studying in colleges, schools or universities had to carry and read lots of books every day. So they would look forward to kindle as a replacement. The price structure for Kindle would have to be reasonable. Students would also look forward for price along with quality. Product Testing Concept testing involves generating the idea and testing it through utilizing various market research tools. Finally the findings are analyzed and implemented. But this whole process is based on the idea generated, not on the product. It just creates a mental impression. So after getting a positive result from testing the idea, the idea is given shape. An actual product based on the idea is manufactured to test it among the customers. Customers take more interest in a tangible product than an idea. It will help the marketers to take a stand, by testing the functionalities of the product among the customers. This will also lead them to give points or scale the features with points (Kaden, Linda & Levinson, 2009, p. 43). Product testing is very important for the marketers because it gives them the scope for analyzing a quantitative data, which is much more realistic and dependable (Thomas, no date). When the product concept finally passes the business test, then the research and development or engineering department develops the concept into a physical entity. When actually making the product, the manufacturers face the problems. Forming an idea and making the actual product is different. They develop one or more physical versions of the innovation. Often products undergo a number of tests to ensure that it can endure all harsh situations (Kotler, 2008, p. 243). Testing the product is usually done carefully. It is usually targeted to selected target customers in a particular part of the market. It is the most important test because the marketer can actually predict the demand in the market for the type of product they are offering and can also evaluate the approximate numbers for sales and purchase. It gives the true picture of success or failure of the final product (Jain, 2011, p. 201). Not only the final customers, but product testing also helps in knowing the reactions of the dealers. Dealers’ feedback is very important because their suggestions will help the manufacturers to remove the deficiencies from the product before its final launch in the market. In case of Kindle, a comparative product testing can be done. When it comes to the choice of reading from eBooks, customers already have a variety of other choices in the market such as, iPhone, iPads, Sony readers, Nook and Kobo. They all fall in the price range from $ 180 to $ 1000. Previous product tests have already revealed that Sony readers has a good market position and it is popular among its customers for its price, easy to use features and readability condition for outdoors and indoors. The next in the league in the eBook market is the iPads. It also has a wide range of features (Bundaberg, n. d.) So, while planning out a strategy to test the product in the market, the marketer should keep in mind that what would be the expectations of the customers from the product, which is an eBook reader. The first feature would be the design of the product. Both touch screen and button navigated eBooks are available in the market. Moreover, some companies use E- Ink technology to give a feel to the reader, as if they are reading an actual book. Others use LCD color screen to give a realistic and clear view. So, it depends on the preference of the user, as to which design sells more in the market (Coprwa.org, 2012). The Content is the king in case of eBook reader. So device supporting more content is preferable. The next feature would be the battery life of the eReader. No one will want their eReader to stop working just as they reach an important part of the story. So the storage space and the battery life of the device is very important feature (BISG, n. d.). Then the addition features such facility to surf the Internet, formatting images, or storing audio files and sending emails are also features that are preferable by most customers. Objectives of research Even before producing the product, it is important to conduct necessary test to check the popularity of such product design and idea. This is an important step when the risk involved n the product is high. Especially, when the marketer is introducing innovation and for which new equipments and setup needs to be done. The significant objectives behind Product testing are: 1. It helps in understanding the market by giving a complete knowledge on the buying patterns of the customers in the current scenario. 2. The customers’ preferences are highlighted in this form of research or testing method. When the manufacturer creates the product, it represents the manufacturers ides but testing the product will give an idea of the customers view point too. 3. The intention of the customers regarding the sales and purchase can be understood. The positive and the negative features can be analyzed through testing. 4. This helps in improving those weak points before commercializing the product in the market (Jain, A. J & International Development Research Centre, 2000, p. 252). All the stated objectives are linked because they all target at one import objective that is customers need and preferences. Here the basic needs are those which a customer will always expect to happen. In case of eBook reader, a customer will always expect to easily read book of various kind in electronic (Pdf) format. Articulated needs are those that the customers would want the product to have, they would gladly want to express. This is why researches are conducted after developing a new product, such as Internet facility in an eBook reader. Exciting needs are those which will surprise the customers, like Internet surfing, emailing, or storing audio in MP3 formats in eBooks did surprise eBook readers from time to time (Trott, 2008, p. 490). Research Techniques The main motive behind conducting a research is to unearth the answers of certain queries, by utilizing various research tools or methodologies. It is undertaken to check the reactions of people on a particular concept or idea which is new, or to calculate the statistic of a particular group of people, so as to support a theory or strategy. Guidelines for formulating the research structure for Product testing are: 1. The test must represent the whole market. This aspect is very essential otherwise the projections based on these results will be faulty. So to conduct research in such a way, the target market has to be equally divided. It would be preferable if the target market is stratified, say in age groups in case of Kindle. The chosen target market should be not industry specific. It should consist of the normal market (Crisp, 1987, p. 387-388). 2. By testing the product also the result will reflect the tendency of the customers for repeat purchase. So if the test is conducted for a longer period then this trait of the target customers can be detected. 3. The market where the test is being conducted must be carefully controlled. 4. It is important to see that the testing of product in the market churns out the correct result. If the result is not proper, the finding can be misleading. 5. In order to ensure a better and more realistic result from product testing, it is advisable that an initial testing of the product idea is done. This will help the manufacturer to create a better product. While conducting a research for testing the idea or concept of the product, a survey method was applied because there was no tangible product available to show. But in this case, the marketer has a product with all the decided and recommended ideas. So here the research study will help to predict a more prominent result or output. The research for testing the product would be done in the similar manner. Here also a focus group will be targeted. A survey on them will be conducted through interview method or directly mailing the questionnaire to them. The only difference will be the difference in the questions in the questionnaire. Here the questionnaire will contain more product specific questions. So, questions based on the look, features of the Kindle, the price preferences of the customers for a product like Kindle, their eagerness to buy, etc were included in the questionnaire (Stopher, 2011, p. 91). The research on the concept testing of the product was more of a qualitative research in nature because it involved the likes and dislikes of the customers only. Since they could only relate to a product idea. But in case of product research customers can see the final product. So they can give specific points or numbers to quantify their likes or dislikes for any particular feature or features of the Kindle. Results After the product samples are manufactured, again research was done to test the reaction of the customers for the final product, Kindle. Here also the focus will be on the people from age group of 13-35. Data Collection Several moderators were appointed with the help of a renowned research agency, to conduct the survey on the groups focus on. The range of age group taken was further divided into two groups of people: Students and working professionals. Data was collected by different moderators for different groups and collected in different data sheets to avoid confusion and also to generate a fair result from the survey. Analysis The demographic data were carefully recorded such as the age, gender, etc. The quantitative as well as qualitative data are carefully recorded and analyzed. Since this research was done on the final product, so we can say that the result of this research is of more importance to the marketer (Kumar, 2011, p. 113-114). Findings The survey was conducted on 100 respondents, consisting of people from age group of 13 to 35. 65 % of the respondents were students while 35 % were working professionals. 45 were female and the rest were males among 100 participants. About 95 % of the people found that the Kindle has Great Looks, about 80 % of the people agreed that it is easy to navigate. Majority of the people agreed that even if the Kindle is priced same as the available products in the market, they would go for it. But students also added a footnote stating that they would like to have their Kindle at a slightly reasonable price, so that it makes the product affordable to them. So people also demanded for a range of products of similar kind. Limitations of the Study Though the research was carried out to test the concept and the product in the market but sometimes the product manager do not utilize the retrieved findings to solve the issues. Then the research quality also comes in play. Sometimes product managers do not utilize those research findings, which do not tally with the previous notions (Shajahan, 2005, p. 24). If we see the past results, we will get to see that most of the time testing also does not work. The failure rate of new products is really high, if even testing is done before launching the product. So, it is important to design a proper research plan, choose the right target group for carrying out the research and the most important step is to rightly interpret the results. Another important limitation is the time factor. Surveys are usually time-taking. But the market gets updated every day with new products. So by the time one does a complete survey and launches the product, many more product of the same kind is already there in the market. Though it is ensured that no errors are there, but human errors are bound to happen. The market is uncertain and so are the intentions of the customers. The features which the customers have appreciated might not be preferred by them in the future. So customers’ choices are unpredictable. The research agencies, with whom the research is conducted might not appoint proper educated personnel or moderators for conducting the research. These are few of the limitations which were faced during the study (Anbuvelan, 2005, p. 51). Conclusion Nowadays markets are flooded with products and services. Customers have variety of choices in front of them to choose from. They switch their loyalty from one product to another easily. But each and every product passes through several checks before finally coming to the market. Developing a new product is a difficult and risky task, especially when the product is innovative. In this study the new idea was to develop an eBook reader called Kindle. It is an innovative concept. This electronic device was supposed to store huge number of eBooks. It would help the book lovers as well as book readers such as students or working professionals in carrying number on books, journals or any electronic written or printed material in one sleek device. It would create a revolution in the publishing industry. Research was done to test the product concept in the market. Majority of the people liked the idea and were ready to spend money for this kind of devices. After the concept was welcomed, samples of Kindle were manufactured to test the product into the market. This time the Kindle received a warm welcome from the students as well as from book lovers and professionals. This was a positive response for the product. So the decision to launch Kindle in the market was taken. The study simply highlights that concept and product testing is very vital for new products. Marketers should pay ample attention to this aspect which thinking about something innovative or new. References Anbuvelan, K. (2005). Management Concepts for Civil Engineers. New Delhi: Firewall Media. Avlonitis, G. J., & Papastathopoulou, P. (2006). Product and Service Management. California: Sage. Baker, M., & Hart, S. (2007). Product Strategy and Management. London: Dorling Kindersley Pvt. Ltd. BISG. (no date). Consumer Attitudes Towards E-Book Reading- Volume. Retrieved from http://idpf.org/sites/idpf.org/files/digital-book-conference/presentations/DB11_Steve_Paxhia.pdf. 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Sampling, (Ed. 3). New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Appendices Appendix 1 Questionnaire on Concept Testing of Kindle No. Questions Answers (Tick on the appropriate choice) i. Name ii. Age (13-35) iii. Gender 1. Please rate the product Idea based on these following attributes. High quality Innovative Idea Well Built A good value 2. What is your overall reaction for the described product Idea (Kindle)? Poor Fair Good Very Good Excellent 3. Which other brands have you used? (Tick all that apply) iPhone Sony Reader iPad Nook Kobo 4. What did you like about Kindle? 5. What do you like least about Kindle? 6. What is the main reason for which you will buy Kindle? 7. If is product is available in the market, how interested will you be to buy the Kindle? 8. Which of the following best describes your need for the Kindle? Kindle would be really helpful for my studies. The product is same as I use now with minor improvements It looks okay. My current product would serve me better. No I don’t need this product 9. If the Kindle is priced similar to the other major brands available, would you say it is…. Very poor Average Fairly good Good Very good 10. Which qualities of the Kindle make it superior to other available products? 11. Other than the product itself, what would influence you most while deciding to buy a product? Internet review Word of mouth Sales services Advertising Others Appendix 2 Questionnaire on Product Testing of Kindle No. Questions Answers (Tick on the appropriate choice) i Name ii Age (13-35) iii Gender 1. Please rate the product Idea based on these following attributes. High quality Great Look Well Built Easy Navigation 2. What is your overall reaction for the described product Idea (Kindle)? Poor Fair Good Very Good Excellent 3. Which other brands have you used? (Tick all that apply) iPhone Sony Reader iPad Nook Kobo 4. What do you like least about Kindle? 7. What would be your price expectations for Kindle? 8. What are the colors you would want the Kindle to be in? 9. What other features do you want in your Kindle to have? 10. If the Kindle is priced similar to the other major brands available, would you say it is…. Very poor Average Fairly good Good Very good 11. What are the most important factor/ factors that you would look for in the Kindle? Value Performance Warranty Brand name Quality Shopping convince Easy/Fast Service Discount Good sales person/dealers Do not Know Others 12. Where would you prefer to buy your Kindle from? Dealer showroom Consumer Durable or Electronic shops Shopping malls Mobile stores Departmental stores Kindle Brand Shop Read More