Month: November 2021

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While you might think that your product offers enhanced performance or lasts longer, you cannot make claims regarding those thoughts without first carrying out robust studies to provide evidential proof. The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) strictly prohibits making unsubstantiated claims in marketing materials (including product packaging). As a consequence, your brand will rely on efficacy testing to prove that your product operates in the manner you claim. With the scientifically-proven statistics that back up the efficacy of your product, you will also have proven that your product lives up to its stated performance. Below we detail three further reasons to put your product through efficacy testing.

Gain Reassurance and Confidence in Your Product’s Performance and Quality

It’s one thing to believe your latest product innovations perform in a certain way, but how can you be sure without objective verification? Efficacy testing provides your brand with the reassurance to ensure all your product claims are accurate. You also gain confidence in your product’s quality. Knowing that a small or non-existent percentage of users have experienced any issues while using your product gives you the confidence to take on current competitors who have won market share through their currently superior product performance claims.

Avoid Fines from Industry Regulators and Potential Lawsuits

As mentioned, making product claims without any evidence is usually a recipe for fines and penalties from industry regulators, and it could leave you open to costly lawsuits. If a customer uses a product as intended and fails to live up to claims made that lack any objective evidence, your brand could find itself on the wrong end of several lawsuits. By investing in efficacy testing, you can avoid such penalties and gain total peace of mind that your product claims will stand up to the scrutiny of any regulator or court of law.

Avoid Reputational Damage from Negative Media Coverage

Having to defend yourself in the media is never a good look. Unsubstantiated claims or lack of evidence for claim performances can come back to bite your brand in the form of negative media coverage. For instance, a customer having a bad experience or suffering an illness or injury due to using or consuming your product as intended can quickly go viral and push your brand into the spotlight. The reputational damage that can occur because of poorly substantiated (or unsubstantiated) claims can hurt future sales, lead to changes in market share, or even result in the closure of a whole line of products.

Choose Wirral Sensory Services for Your Efficacy Testing Today

Making unsubstantiated claims on your products is a risky game to play. It could leave your brand open to negative publicity, regulatory fines, or worse, debilitating lawsuits. The good news is that you can avoid these headaches with effective efficacy testing from experienced companies such as WSS. Not only have we developed and honed our processes to ensure our claim support evidence is iron-clad, but we also have some of the most experienced product researchers in the UK. So whether you just want to have an informal chat about an upcoming research project or have a full efficacy testing briefing ready to go, call us today on +44 (0) 151 346 2999 to get the ball rolling.

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Central location testing is a method of consumer market research that takes place in a controlled environment as opposed to an individual’s home, as is the case within home use product tests. By conducting product research with potential consumers in this manner, brands can secure a number of advantages. With that in mind, let’s discuss those benefits in a little more detail to allow you to understand why you might want to run your brand’s products through one or several central location tests.

Central Location Tests Minimise Bias

When conducting any type of consumer research, bias is always a problem. This is certainly true for home use product tests conducted by consumers themselves, where inherent biases are almost impossible to avoid. However, a central location test monitors everybody together in the same space, within the same parameters, without the chance of outside influences having an impact. Participants are asked the exact same questions in the exact same order, without confusion or pressure. This means that participants are free to express their true feelings towards the product in question whilst not having to worry about anything or anyone potentially influencing or impacting their answers. In short, it’s much more difficult to introduce bias to a central location test because the conditions are identical for everybody.

Central Location Tests Allow You To Observe and Note Indirect Feedback

One of the key advantages of this product research method is that you can also monitor and record indirect feedback such as body language, facial expressions, and vocal responses to the test. Participants may also express opinions regarding how the product feels, whether they like it or not, and even ask researchers questions. By watching and noting these unprompted responses through a central location test, you can more accurately gain insight into what people are really thinking.

Central Location Tests Are Quicker to Process Than Many Other Consumer Research Methodologies

Another great thing about using a central location test within your brand’s consumer research programme is that it’s also much quicker to complete. Online research or home use product testing can take several weeks to complete before analysis and reporting can take place. By contrast, central location testing can take place in a matter of days or less, depending upon how many locations you would like to test at. It’s also good to note that the team at Wirral Sensory Services will do all the legwork for you by finding participants, researchers, and suitable central location test venues. Once your product research project is over, we will then collect all the feedback received and review it for you. From there, we can create in-depth reports and other insightful analyses for you to review.

Choose WSS for Your Central Location Testing Needs Today

Central location tests represent one of the most objective consumer research formats available today. While it won’t suit all products and brands, we strongly recommend conducting research using this methodology to control as many variables as possible. From taste testing to packaging research, we have conducted hundreds of vital product research projects using central location testing here at WSS. If you’re weighing up whether to pursue central location tests for your new and existing product lines, why not email our team today at info@wssintl.com to learn more about how we can help your brand gain valuable insights from your central location tests?

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Sensory research is a vital part of consumer product research methodology. And yet, many brands still don’t realise that it’s not always technically part of consumer research since many sensory research methods depend on the work of trained panellists and research scientists. Therefore, with that in mind, this article will run through precisely what sensory research covers and why you need it as part of your product research portfolio.

What is Sensory Research?

As you might have guessed, sensory research involves studying and evaluating a product based on its sensory features (think sight, taste, touch, smell etc.). Sensory research is different to consumer research because it is often carried out by researchers, panellists, and scientists with specialist skills and training. This means that if you want to study the visual appeal of a new range of biscuits, for example, you might utilise a research team of psychologists and imagery experts to provide an objective review of the visual impact of your product packaging. Unlike traditional consumer research, which uses questionnaires or interviews to judge how consumers think about products, sensory research is more objective in nature.

What is Sensory Profiling?

The most common sensory research methodology is sensory profiling. This research method utilises trained panellists with higher than average sensory acuity and a greater ability to identify different tastes and smells. They consume the product and note the differences between a control sample and a variable sample. This research technique helps companies and brands to:

• Detect sensory differences between your products and those of your competitors.
• Monitor the effect of a change in ingredient levels via changes in the product’s sensory profile.
• Assess differences between batches of products to monitor quality control.

Does Sensory Research Ever Involve Consumers?

In short, yes. While many methodologies use trained R&D panellists and scientific researchers, subjective sensory data can still be collected from consumers to help make industry-leading products. For instance, by combining sensory profiling with central location testing, brands can identify key drivers for consumer acceptance. These insights allow them to create a “Gold Standard” product based on consumers’ sensory preferences. Other research methods such as taste testing, while subjective, are also considered to fall under the umbrella of sensory research as it asks for consumers’ opinions regarding the sensory characteristics of a product.

Why Choose Wirral Sensory Services for Your Sensory Research Needs?

Perhaps the clue is in our name. Since 1997, we have been providing best-in-class sensory research services to leading UK brands and international counterparts looking to launch their products into British and European consumer markets. Our sensory panellists are all extensively trained, and our team of researchers have carried out hundreds of sensory studies over our twenty-five-year history. We know what it takes to gain powerful insights into the sensory experience of food and drink products, and we’re proud of the work we produce. So if you’re looking for a sensory research company that has a long track record, an in-depth understanding of sensory research, and a willingness to go the extra mile for your business, then look no further. Talk to our team today on +44 (0)151 346 2999 to discuss your project requirements. We look forward to working with you soon.

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Home usage testing or in-home use testing (iHUT), if you prefer, is a product research method that allows brands to monitor the performance of their products within their intended environments. By allowing would-be consumers to put their new or revamped products through their paces, brands can gain deeper insights into how their products function and how consumers interact with them during their designated function. But apart from the obvious change of environment, what makes using this consumer research method a crucial tool on the armoury of leading consumer goods brands?

Home Use Product Testing Delivers More Realistic and Actionable Feedback

While there is always a time and a place to test products in controlled environments, they are not indicative of how a product will perform or be perceived in the real world. Home use product testing allows brands to understand what consumers think about their product in its intended place of use, the ways in which they use their product and, more importantly, assess the way consumers interact with their brand through their products. The ability for brands to determine how these experiences affect consumer loyalty is invaluable. In-home use product testing allows them to tap into less quantifiable qualities such as the extent of brand loyalty, how a product makes them feel, or how brands can improve products to improve consumer perceptions.

Home Use Product Testing Offers a Variety of Consume Feedback Options

Another reason brands like in-home use testing are because it provides a number of methods for soliciting feedback regarding a specific purpose. Rather than having one set method for recording results, companies can change up the way they gather feedback to suit their needs. From in-person interviews to online surveys and questionnaires, there are a myriad of options available for brands conducting home use product testing. By implementing multiple approaches to collecting feedback through in-home use testing, brands can assess different aspects of a product in order to get a more thorough and in-depth understanding of their product and how it stands up to consumer expectations. It also allows companies to gain in-depth insights into different consumer segments that will help target specific marketing campaigns, such as children or women.

Home Use Product Testing Helps Companies to Monitor and Track Performance Before Launch

One of the biggest fears of any company launching a new product is a design fault or performance issue that derails its potential success before it has a chance to get off the ground. Since home use product testing can last for the entirety of the product’s lifespan (if required), brands can closely monitor the product’s performance over longer periods. This allows them to determine if their product is living up to expectations over time and, if not, make changes or corrections before the product is launched. For example, let’s say that after several months of using a new dishwashing liquid, consumers are reporting that they can no longer get their dishes clean. After monitoring and receiving this feedback, the brand can determine that the ingredients in their product have serious longevity issues, causing them to rethink their formula. Catching these potentially fatal issues in testing can protect your company from costly recalls and reputational damage.

Choose Wirral Sensory Services for Your Home Use Product Testing Today

At Wirral Sensory Services, we have thousands of home-based testers (covering all consumer market segments) ready to be called upon. What’s more, our long track record of successfully carrying out home use product tests stands us apart as the UK’s leading provider of this vital consumer research methodology. So, if you want to better understand how consumers feel about your product when used in their intended home environments, please get in touch with WSS today. We are available by phone on +44 (0)151 346 2999 or via email at info@wssintl.com.