Concept testing is one of the most frequent market studies in innovation processes. Its objective is to sift and prioritise different ideas at early stages of the innovation process in order to focus R&D efforts on the concepts that have the greatest potential. Creating concept tests is very simple, agile and quick studies that can make the difference in making innovation more efficient and more successful. That is why many brands from all sectors use them as a fundamental aid to ensure the success of their innovation processes.
In this context, a concept is a description of a new product or service that is being considered for market launch.
A good concept usually includes information about
This description should be objective and expressed in a clear and simple way so that anyone can understand it without being an expert. It should be very synthetic, neutral and should avoid jargon and advertising language. If it makes it easier for consumers to understand, images or sketches can be included to reinforce the description.
Depending on the maturity of the category or the disruptive nature of the concept, a greater degree of information will be required for the consumer to understand what makes the product attractive and different, but in any case, the concept should not exceed a few lines of text.
Now that we know what a concept is, we can imagine what a concept test is. It is market research that presents one or more concepts to consumers for their evaluation. Gathering consumer feedback has three main uses for brands.
A concept test is a very common, simple, quick and cost-effective market study. It is one of the clearest examples of how a small investment in research can avoid significant losses for brands. Launching innovations without research support is a high-risk gamble.
When it comes to concept testing, there are several methodologies that can be used and each has its advantages and disadvantages.
If your budget allows, this is the best concept test you can do.
In a monadic concept test, a single concept is presented to each participant, who must evaluate it in isolation. This provides an unbiased assessment of the concept without being influenced by other concepts that have been presented to them previously. This avoids unwanted biases. In addition, as each consumer only evaluates one, the questionnaire can be a little longer to collect a greater wealth of detail to help refine the concept. It is also easy to define and easy for respondents to answer, so it is usually preferred by everyone. The only drawback, if you have several concepts to test, is the cost. With monadic concept tests, you will need as many samples as concepts, which makes the cost rise rapidly as you add concepts. Therefore, if you have to test several concepts, you may prefer one of the following options.
Comparative concept tests are often used in the early stages of the process, when you want to test many concepts and there are budgetary constraints. With a comparative concept test you can easily make a first screening of concepts before evaluating the finalists in more depth using monadic tests.
In this test, several concepts are presented to the participants, who compare them and select their favourite or rank them in order of preference. Critics of the comparison test argue that with this methodology the consumer evaluates each concept in comparison to the others, which will not happen in reality. The brand will not launch all products, so in the absence of some options, consumers are likely to vary their perceptions and preferences.
If you have to test a limited number of concepts and you have a tight budget, you can use a sequential monadic concept test.
This type of concept test is halfway between monadic and comparative. In it, several concepts are presented to each participant, but independently of each other, so at each point in time the consumer evaluates only one concept in isolation from other options. If desired, at the end of the questionnaire, they can be asked to compare the concepts to obtain a ranking. This methodology does not require as much sample as a set of monadic concept tests, and is more cost-efficient. However, it should be borne in mind that it also introduces a bias, since when concepts are evaluated one after the other, the assessment made of the first ones will influence the opinion of the following ones.
It should also be borne in mind that if the number of participants is large, it will not be possible to ask all participants to evaluate all concepts in depth – that would make the questionnaire too long – so that the total sample would need to be divided into segments for each group of consumers to evaluate a few of them. In practice, this makes the survey more complicated, so it is not recommended if you want to assess more than four or five concepts.
As mentioned above, a concept test is a very common and easy to design study. Your organisation may have done concept tests on a regular basis. If so, it may be a good idea to start from those models, as you can compare the results with your previous studies. If you don’t, don’t worry. Here is a step-by-step guide to creating your concept test.
You will need to create as many concepts as you want to assess. Remember that when we described what a concept is, we told you that it should be written in the language of the consumer, very succinctly. Sometimes there is a temptation to enrich them with sales language. Be adamant with your organisation’s stakeholders that the language is clear and neutral, as this will influence the quality of the results.
Choose a monadic concept test whenever you have only one concept to assess. Use the comparative if you are at an early stage and have many concepts. And the sequential monadic only if you have few concepts and a tight budget.
The sample should be part of your target audience, the one you are addressing with your launch. If you are going to sample a consumer panel, you may be able to access shoppers in the category who have already been identified. If not, you will need to include the necessary screening questions to sift out members of your target audience.
At We are testers, we can help you define the questionnaire based on your needs. If you want to do the questionnaire yourself, here is a list of items that different researchers usually include in their concept tests:
Once you have created the questionnaire that fits your objectives, validate it and test it with a few people. When you are convinced, launch the survey.
After a few hours in the field (days if your target audience has a low incidence) you will be able to access the test results and check the acceptance of your concepts. It is time to share the results with the right people and make decisions!
Concept testing is a fundamental study in the innovation process, but it is not the only one. Before launching a product on the market, many decisions have to be taken and many of them can be supported by research to ensure the steps and increase the chances of success. These are other studies that are usually used in an innovation process:
Carrying out the most appropriate research at the right time will greatly increase the chances of a successful launch and the return you get. All these studies can be contracted one at a time as you go through the process, or you can contract a credit plan, usually cheaper as you contract more volume.
Conducting your concept tests with We are testers is easy and convenient. We have experience in evaluating concepts of all kinds of products and services and support you as much as you need. If you want, you can create the study yourself on our research platform, or let our team of research experts take care of everything. We can also provide you with the sample through the consumer panel of 130,000 individuals we make available to you. In some cases, you won’t even need to enter filter questions, as we have plenty of data collected to go straight to your target audience. And remember that we can programme all kinds of tests on the platform, so we can accompany you throughout your innovation process and ensure the success of the steps you take.
Contact our experts to find out all the details and start launching more successful products today.
Update date 10 September, 2024
