module 7

• Product Use Testing


  A process where current and/or potential customers evaluate a product's functional characteristics and performance under the conditions in which it is meant to be used, whether the conditions are real or simulated. The purpose is to prove the product's functionality.
• Premarket Testing


  A procedure that uses syndicated data and primary consumer research to estimate the sales of new product initiatives through forecasting of purchase intent and share. The product and the marketing program are tested together for the first time.
• Marketing Testing


  A process by which targeted customers evaluate the marketing and the new product in a marketing setting. The purpose is to evaluate the marketability and financial viability of a new product.
• Field Trials


  1. Extended beta trials where targeted customers evaluate the product

  2. Have a written agreement with the customer in advance

  3. Have personnel readily available or onsite in case of problems

  4. Regularly check in with the customer to gain their insights

  5. Establish expectations of what happens when the trial is over

  6. If leading-edge user analysis is used in the design, it should be carried over to the testing stage

  7. Ensure there is a confidentiality agreement in place
• Controlled Sale


  A product launch limited to a very few select customers or distribution outlets to test the market in a real environment, but tightly controlling the launch variables
• Types of Controlled Sales


  • Informal Selling
  • Direct Marketing
  • Minimarkets
  • Scanner Market Testing
• Informal Selling


  Business-direct-to-consumer testing of a new product, e.g. top ranking salespeople given the product (or description) and told to get orders, or launching the product on the Internet directly to customers
• Direct Marketing


  Sale by the manufacturer to the end users via mail, telephone, fax, and/or Inter- and intranets
• Acceptance


  A step in the "consumer response hierarchy to advertising copy" which reflects the translation of comprehension of a new product into preference for that product
• Attention


  A step in the "consumer response hierarchy to advertising copy" which is measured by indicators of whether the consumer will see/listen to an advertisement and note its content during exposure
• Attitude-change models


  The process by which consumers alter their beliefs or behaviors toward a product or service
• Believability


  A measure in the consumer response hierarchy that determines how believable a new product/service is in delivering on the promised value
• Blind and Comparisons


  Procedure used for conducting customer tests where the respondent does not know the brands of two products that are being tested