Launching new products is hard. Innovation today is more challenging than ever, in a rapidly changing landscape of consumer needs, saturated product categories, and shifting consumer attitudes and behaviors. At its most basic, the innovation process goes like this:
Product testing & refinement. Products are tested as they move through the Research and Development process – sensory testing, pack testing, in home usage testing, concept testing, formulation (flavor/scent/efficacy) testing is executed through a variety of quantitative, qualitative, and hybrid approaches.
You’ve developed an innovative, exciting new product and are ready to get it in front of consumers. Before launching in full-force, however, you want to get some key questions answered –
To get these consumer insights and key questions answered, you can poll your team, colleagues across your company, and tap the ‘friends and family’ network that’s readily available and interested in testing your new product. This can be very helpful for the earliest feedback rounds as directional gut-check, but make sure you’re going in ‘eyes wide open’ – often times your closest friends and supporters will give feedback that’s biased, or less representative your target market.
This is where formalized product testing comes in, giving you a powerful tool to gather both qualitative and qualitative data on your product, as early as possible, to help maximize the success of your product launch and your company. Learn all about the different methods of product testing here.