"Thank you VERY much for pulling together the summary for my new Home Décor business. The information provided was very detailed and insightful. Your efforts on our behalf will certainly help us as we enter a new business category.”
There is no better way to know how your product will perform in the home than real feedback from real consumers using your product in their homes.
We generally recommend 25-30 prototypes for placement studies, plus a few back-ups in case any problems occur. Placements can range from 6 weeks to 3 months depending on usage frequency/product type. In our studies, we recruit target consumers who own and use or who are hypothesized to be the target audience for new products. They agree to use the products at least several times per week and to keep diaries of their usage. We often have them submit photographs with each product use. We also evaluate support literature such as users manuals, recipe books, etc. These studies typically include multiple waves of satisfaction surveys with the products as well. It’s much better to know how consumers will receive your products and to work out any kinks before shipping large quantities that could results in returns to retailers, poor customer satisfaction, and significant losses to your company. Invest small dollars now to ensure large dollar gains later.