Product benchmarking is a vital process that ensures your product is up to scratch. Yet, despite its importance, many brands forgo this vital aspect of consumer research.
So with that in mind, let’s examine product benchmarking in more detail and explain why, when executed correctly, it can help your brand deliver a product that is head and shoulders above competitors.
Central location testing is a vital piece of the puzzle for brands looking to gain consumer insights into their products. They tend to occur in neutral environments such as shopping centres, department stores, or other locations where the brand wants to have a presence.
They provide brands with the opportunity to gain critical customer feedback without many of the biases that can decrease the reliability of the findings and allow research teams to collect all-important non-verbal feedback.
However, not all central location tests are the same. Different central location test methodologies provide different insights into consumer reactions, and feedback varies across these individual methodologies. Below are some key differences in types of central location testing.
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.
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.
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.
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?
Whether you’re a startup launching a new product or an established internal brand looking to improve your products, taste testing is a great way to gain critical insights and feedback from potential customers.
Not only can you gauge how well your product is likely to perform when compared to the competition, but you can also identify potential areas of improvement and get a sense of what your customers are really looking for.
Over the years, businesses have come to understand the importance of conducting thorough market research before launching a new or improved product. But, of course, there’s plenty to choose from when it comes to consumer research methods. The most suitable one for your brand depends on factors such as the nature of your product and your target audience.
Getting your choices right is crucial. If you choose the incorrect research method for your product, you might not receive the insightful feedback you need to make the informed decisions regarding your product.
One of the best ways to eliminate bias from your consumer research is by utilising central location testing. But what does this mean in the context of conducting consumer research?
Central location testing is often referred to as hallway testing, as it is usually conducted in controlled community settings, such as supermarket aisles, shopping centres, and inner city-centre eateries. It is a type of product market research that gathers and records feedback directly from consumers.
During the central location testing process, all participants are placed in the same testing conditions, which allows for more objective feedback. There are different central location testing methods, such as the paired comparison test, repeat paired comparison test, and the sequential monadic test. The location and research method used depends on factors such as the feedback you require and the nature of your product.
Companies and brands of all sizes use central location testing as their preferred research methodology because of its cost-effectiveness, accuracy, and insight.
Central location testing is a cost-effective research method that allows for the collection of accurate data. During the testing process, all participants are exposed to the same stimulants, environments, and assessors, which allows for more unbiased and accurate data collection.
Central location testing also provides insight into what the average consumer thinks about your product. During the tests, participants usually engage directly with researchers, which allows the experienced WSS researchers to capture observational feedback such as the body language and the participants’ facial expressions.
The observational data received can be particularly useful when conducting taste testing using central location testing as it provides objective insights into what consumers think about the taste, smell, and appearance of your product.
Besides consumer insights, central location testing can also act as a helpful marketing and brand awareness activity. During the testing process, many consumers will be exposed to your product, and as they engage with it, you will, in turn, benefit from increased brand awareness. Consumer awareness directly impacts your sales, rendering central location testing ideal for both new and existing brands.
To enjoy the benefits of central location testing, you must choose the correct research method. At Wirral Sensory Services, we have helped leading UK brands to choose and conduct the most suitable research methodology for their brands.
Our team of trained researchers have more than 20 years of experience in conducting research within the food, beverage, and household products industry. The feedback our researchers provide is accurate, unbiased, and allows many of the UK’s leading brands to create products that consumers love.
Whether you are a new brand entering the market or an existing brand trying to expand your market share, the experienced researchers at Wirral Sensory Services can help your product succeed. Contact us today to learn more about how our research methodologies can help you create an industry-leading product.
Great-tasting food products do not just appear out of thin air. Before a best-selling food or beverage product reaches the supermarket or retail shelves, it’s always subjected to sensory profiling and taste testing.
Sensory profiling is an essential part of the testing and development process of food and beverage products. It is an impartial research methodology that allows for a specific analysis of the sensory qualities of products by highly-trained experts.
So, how can sensory profiling help your brand?
To turn your great idea into a profitable product, you’ll need time and the support of experts. While some brands only conduct market research before launching the products, successful brands include sensory research before launching new and improved products onto the market.
So, why should you invest in sensory research? Below we provide a guide to sensory research, explaining how it can help you develop an industry-leading product.
Sensory research is a science. The researchers use different methodologies to evaluate your product’s sensory attributes and characteristics such as taste, smell, touch, and appearance.
Sensory research is essential for your product’s success. At the end of the day, your product’s attributes determine how consumers experience it. More importantly, a consumer’s sensory experience can directly influence your profit margins as they won’t buy products they don’t enjoy eating, drinking, or using.
Sensory research is particularly important in the food and beverage industry. A recent study confirmed just how important the sensory attributes of a product are to consumers. Just over 86% of participants surveyed in the study said that a product’s taste is a very or extremely important factor in their food choices.
But taste is only one characteristic that’s important to consumers. If your product does not smell nice or the packaging is bland, it won’t make its way from the supermarket shelf into a customer’s shopping trolley. That’s why scientists, R&D teams, and even marketing departments all invest so much into sensory research and benefit from the insights provided.
However, sensory research is not exclusively consumer research. Unlike consumer testing, a trained specialist must conduct some elements of sensory research. Brands who want to use sensory research to enhance their products must partner with trained tasting panellists or insight specialists to ensure that their findings are accurate and useful.
In other words, while sensory research and consumer research sometimes overlap, a large proportion is carried out by trained professionals.
Sensory panels consist of trained panellists who objectively assess and test your product. Trained sensory panellists have above-average sensory acuity, which allows them to identify even the most subtle smell or taste.
The sensory research process will generally start with the trained panellists. Once the experts have assessed your product’s sensory nature and found that it is up to standard, you can choose to implement opinion-based sensory research, such as taste testing.
While taste testing captures your target market’s opinion of your product, the feedback from sensory panellists is even more critical. An objective, scientifically-backed product is more likely to meet subjective consumer taste preferences. The product will be more balanced and appealing. Without objective testing, you won’t know if your product has any fundamental issues, which could present problems in future product development stages.
Trained sensory panellists can save you time and money. They can provide critical feedback that can be used to tweak the product before it goes for further testing or moves into production.
At Wirral Sensory Services, we’ve seen just how vital sensory research is for all industries and all products. Although all types of product research can be beneficial, sensory research differs from many subjective consumer testing methodologies we offer, such as home-use testing or focus group studies. Sensory research allows for product optimisation based on objective, scientifically obtained findings.
Our sensory professionals can deliver vital insights into the taste, smell, touch, and even the sound of your product. The data collected during sensory research can then be used to develop high-quality consumer products that are more appealing to all your target audience.
Whether you’re an existing brand, launching a new product, or an established brand trying to improve your competitiveness in the marketplace, we can help. Contact us today, and one of our experienced team members can walk you through the sensory research process.
