Meaningful Concept Testing for
Novel Products and Services
"Customers do a poor job of reporting what they will do in the future,"
reports Scott Anthony in "Combating Four Innovation Lies,"HBR.com, June
3, 2011. Nevertheless, market researchers often ask their target group
if they would buy innovative new products or services.
Instead, market researchers should look at how the target group now
operates. "If [the target customers] are not spending money or time
solving a problem today," they are unlikely to spend money or time on
the problem in the future, according to Anthony.
The Best Predictor Is Present Behavior
If you are trying to gauge acceptance of innovative products or services,
you should
1) Evaluate whether the new products or services solve a significant
problem.
2) Learn as much as possible about the customer and how the customer
currently operates.
By studying current behavior, you can more accurately anticipate future
behavior. If the target customers are struggling to retrieve lost email
messages, they are more likely to wish to purchase email retrieval technology.
When you have innovative products to introduce, we can identify your
target market's real problems and find out how your target market is
currently responding to these problems. This will also help you confirm
whether you have identified the right target market.
Copyright � 11/11 Ruth Winett. All rights reserved.
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