Product Testing

Hall tests and in-home tests are used to directly expose products or concepts to the consumer for critical evaluation.

Hall Tests - utilise easily accessible town centre venues which offer a controlled and neutral environment, ensuring all respondents evaluate the test product in identical conditions. Respondents are carefully screened and recruited on the street and brought into the venue to undertake the test and complete an interview. This method is very cost effective and can generate over a 100 responses per day depending upon location, target audience and the length and complexity of the test.

Typical this methodology is used to test products for taste, perfume, appearance or texture, usage or packaging, or for assessing advertising or other marketing communications.

In-Home Tests - allow respondents to test products under normal conditions in their own homes. Their experiences are recorded via a self-completion questionnaire, diary or during a face-to-face follow up interview. Products are typically placed with respondents for a week or longer.

These tests may involve purchasing products from the consumer to use in the tests, for example garments which can be cut in half and washed using different detergents for comparison.

In the past we have used in-home placements to evaluate products such as washing-up liquid, powder and liquid detergents, fabric softeners, air fresheners, electric toothbrushes, paper products, chips, snacks and ready made meals.

Quantitative Research

Quantitative research uses carefully structured questionnaires to capture and measure the views of large numbers of respondents. Respondent samples are carefully chosen and controlled to project the results onto a wider population with a high degree of statistical certainty.

In general the larger the numbers of respondents, the more viable analysis by different sub-groups becomes, but in practice sample sizes will vary depending upon budget, timescale and methodology.

We use a number of different methods for collecting quantitative data including:

• Street Interviews
• Exit Interviews
• In-Home Interviews
• On-Line Interviews
• Postal Surveys
• Telephone Surveys
• Staff Completion Audits
• Traffic & Footfall Counts

In close consultation with our clients we will choose the most effective method to produce the best and most telling results for them.

Ask The Expert

Paul Dobbie is the Market Research Manager with local full service research agency Warwick Equest Limited. Paul is a full member of The Market Research Society and has a passion for delivering actionable customer insight to his clients.

Although an experienced researcher, Paul also has over 20 years experience as management consultant, principally working in the areas of retail and marketing. This has given him a client-side perspective of the research industry, having appointed and worked closely with a number of different agencies throughout his career. It has also given him an appreciation of research that delivers not just results but clear direction and actionable recommendations.

Paul’s guiding principle is that the customer is the single most important asset to any company, organisation or business venture, and that you can never know too much about them. This, he believes is the raison d’etre of all good market research.

And he means “customer” in the broadest sense of the word. You might refer to them as your clients, ,colleagues, stakeholders, patients, passengers, residents, public or supporters depending on your organisations own perspective – Paul even has one client who refers to them as inmates!

Paul’s work experience includes:

P&G - On going consumer recruitment, in home and hall tests in support of the Fairy, Vicks, Pringles, Lenor, Ariel, Iams and Bounty brands.

Dallas Carpets - - Store exit research, customer mapping and advertising awareness for local home improvement retailer.

O2 - detailed consumer research programme to assess the impact of the brand re-launch and measure customer acceptance of new format shops and in-store services.

Alterra - development of a 20 year marketing strategy for Juan Santamaria Airport, Costa Rica, including customer segmentation and offer planning.

Boots - Identification of customer engagement concepts on behalf of Boots order to drive customer spend, visit frequency and loyalty.

Parker Foods – evaluation of consumer acceptance of a new food product prior to UK launch.

Copenhagen Airport – Development of 5 year marketing strategy for Copenhagen Airport Shopping Centre, including identification of key passenger profiles and future needs and wants.

Monkey Jungle – assessment of the market potential to develop a walk-through zoo in the North East of England, identifying propensity to visit, likely visit frequency and optimum price points.