You’ve come up with a big idea and project in mind and ample resources to make it work, even if all the odds are in your favour, but you know what’s missing? Customer feedback. Without proper feedback, you’re just going in the direction with no specific goal.
Without feedback, launching a new product is like stepping onto a stage without knowing who your audience is- it’s a gamble!
That’s where concept testing kicks in, eliminating the guesswork out of your innovation to truly make your idea shine! Let's explore how concept testing—complete with real-world examples—guides brands toward success while saving time, money, and effort.
What is concept testing?
Concept testing is a simple, yet powerful UX research method to see if your idea clicks with your audience before you invest heavily in it. Think of it as showing a sketch of your product to potential users and asking them, "What do you think?"
Whether it be refining a new app feature or testing a brand tagline, concept testing will let you know what works, what doesn't, and why.
Benefits of concept testing
Concept testing saves businesses from making expensive mistakes by showing potential flaws and proving ideas with real user feedback. Key benefits of concept testing include:
1. Increased profitability and retention
Concept testing allows business to increase their profitability by eliminating higher costs and losses. For example, if there is a bad customer review on an idea, then companies can work on the feedback so that when the idea enters the market, it makes sure to capture more customers. As 95% of customers share bad experiences, that can lead to potential customers staying away from your brand.
2. Reduced mistakes
Concept testing helps companies avoid blunders such as ineffective ad campaigns, poor packaging, product malfunctioning, etc., this way companies can plan better and reduce their mistakes to ensure better capitalisation of the market opportunities.
A major example is BP, a powerful oil-based company that spent 136 million pounds on a controversial logo, which was later attacked by its customers.
3. Improved user satisfaction
With concept testing, you get hands-on user insights into what features are really needed for your product, and you'll understand what messaging and channels will help in selling your products and services.
You'll get to gather actual data that leads to decisions being made. This data can be used to make informed decisions and maximise your ROI. Concept testing pulls you out of your head and puts your ideas into the real world, where you can see them through the eyes of your target audience.
Related read: The Concept Testing Breakthrough You're Missing
5 must-know examples of concept testing
Concept testing isn’t just a checkbox in the product development process, it’s a dynamic tool that applies to various stages of innovation.
Here are five real-world UX concept testing examples where concept testing played a pivotal role—or where skipping it led to major lessons:
1. Purchase intent testing
Imagine yourself going into a shop and laying eyes on something that truly catches your attention. You may feel intrigued-possibly even excited.
Yet the million-dollar question is, “Will you pull your wallet out and buy it?”
This is exactly what purchase intent testing tells, whether users are ready to pull out their wallets and purchase your product or not.
This method starts by assessing interest through unpriced purchase intent, ensuring the product itself resonates with your audience. Then, priced purchase intent takes it further by testing if customers are willing to pay the price you’ve set. Add purchase volume testing, and you’ll know how often they’d make a repeat purchase—a full picture of potential demand.
Want to learn about some more customer discovery tools? Read this guide.
Back in 2016, Tesla turned this concept into a blockbuster strategy. They came out with the Model 3, without design, just the idea of innovation. But here's the kicker-they asked customers to lay down $1,000 deposits to show their intent to buy. Over 400,000 people did, giving Tesla not only a green light to develop the car but also the funds to make it happen. It was a masterclass in testing purchase intent—and it paid off in electric style!
2. Product development concept testing
Source: Faster Capital
Launching a product because it feels like a good idea is a risky business. What looks amazing in brainstorming sessions can completely miss the mark once it hits shelves. That's where concept testing in new product development steps in to make sure your idea aligns with customer expectations and market demands before it's too late.
It's a testing method that will observe everything, from the design of the product and its features down to its usability. Product discovery refines one's offering to fit into the real world while ensuring that nothing important is left out. In many ways, this should be viewed as a go-ahead from one's target audience before the actual production.
Take Crystal Pepsi as a UX concept testing example, it was one of those ventures that sounded exciting on paper but suffered poor testing. When the actual product hit customers' taste buds, the hype quickly faded away. Thorough testing of the product during its development cycle might have helped such disasters early enough and could’ve spared the company from an expensive failure.
3. Advertising and campaign testing
It's easy to get lost in creating a campaign that feels like a masterpiece in a vacuum-but the real test is how it resonates outside your team. Testing advertising and campaigns is all about testing those discrete creative elements, such as landing pages, social media posts, or billboards, to make sure they effectively deliver your message.
The process takes your carefully crafted campaigns and puts them in front of real consumers for feedback before launch. It’s about understanding how your audience perceives your creative ideas and where they’ll perform best. This testing ensures you avoid the blind spots that often come from being too close to the project.
Pepsi learned this the hard way with its infamous 2017 ad featuring Kendall Jenner. The campaign focused on unity but was quite criticized due to its overall tone. A set of tests of the campaign through different groups of consumers might have flagged these flaws from the start and saved a brand reputation crisis.
4. Logo testing
Your logo is so much more than a design; it's the face of your brand. It's what your customers associate with your values, products, and experiences. With so many logos out in existence, it is so important to create one that does stand out for all the right reasons. And this is where logo testing comes into play.
Logo testing will help in knowing the reactions of your targeted audience for a certain design. It answers basic questions, such as: Which one pops? Which design resonates most with them? How will it look on different platforms and formats? This is a mix of creative and concept testing to make sure your logo resonates before it launches.
Source: Survey Monkey
When Airbnb launched its new logo back in 2014, it wanted to represent belonging and unity. But on social media, people compared it to Automation Anywhere's logo. Despite the backlash, Airbnb retained the design because it was bold, memorable, and reflected its brand identity. But the lesson here is clear: test your logo thoroughly to ensure it communicates the right message to your audience, avoiding unintended controversies.
5. Naming testing
A name is much more than identity; it creates perception and dictates the character of your brand. Be it Coca-Cola, Apple, or Airbnb, each has a unique associative feel that helped us understand this product or company. Testing a name in its early stage makes sure it fits well with your target group and integrates into your big marketing game.
Take Tinder, for example. Its original name was "Matchbox," which could have led to confusion with other products or services. The switch to "Tinder" was a brilliant move—it’s memorable, distinct, and perfectly aligned with its fiery logo.
Similarly, when Google was initially called "BackRub," it wasn’t as catchy or easily recognizable. Naming testing helped these companies choose names that stood out and stuck. This is why it’s crucial to thoroughly test your product or brand name before committing.
Making sense of concept testing reports
You've just wrapped up weeks of concept testing, and now you're staring at a mountain of data. What should be your next move? Transforming these insights into a research report that'll actually drive decisions. Let's explore how successful teams do this.
1. The foundation
Every great concept testing report begins with a story – your testing journey. Start by laying out why you're here: your objectives, methodology, and the scope of your investigation. Think of this as setting the stage for your stakeholders.
2. The insights
Raw data rarely speaks for itself. The magic happens when you weave together quantitative findings with qualitative insights. Instead of just reporting that 78% of users rated your design positively, explain what drove that satisfaction. Was it the intuitive layout? The innovative features? The seamless integration?
The best reports create a narrative thread. They show how different pieces of feedback connect and what that means for your product's future. When patterns emerge across demographics, these become plot points in your story..
3. The action
Here's where many reports fall short: they present findings but shy away from bold recommendations. Don't make this mistake. Your UX report should build toward clear, actionable next steps. Ground each recommendation in your findings: "Our user testing revealed significant navigation struggles among first-time users. Priority one: simplifying the onboarding flow before launch."
4. The clarity
Remember, your report competes for attention with countless other priorities. Cut through the noise by leading with major findings. Support them with data, not the other way around. When you write "Users were satisfied," you're missing an opportunity. Instead, paint the picture: "Power users completed tasks 50% faster, with 82% reporting increased productivity."
Think of your report as a conversation with stakeholders. Each section should answer their natural next question. This keeps them engaged and helps them follow your reasoning to its logical conclusion. By the end, they should not only understand what you found but feel confident about the path forward.
Conclusion
Concept testing is important to make sure your product, service, or idea resonates with your target audience before it launches. Whether through qualitative interviews or a quantitative A/B test, these strategies have the power to round up valuable feedback that will shape and mould the final version of your concept. By using concept testing survey examples, you can gather critical insights about what users want, what excites them, and what doesn't. This understanding allows you to refine your ideas, minimize risks, and increase the chances of success in the market.
Tools like Looppanel make it seamless and effective for testing ideas. Want to learn more? Book a demo with us today!
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
- What is an example of concept testing?
An example of concept testing is the testing of various ideas concerning products or their features with potential customers before launching, to understand their preference and purchase intent.
- What are the concept testing activities?
Concept testing activities include surveys, interviews, focus groups, and A/B tests in which participants would give their feedback about different product concepts, messaging, or designs. It will show customer interest and reactions, helping to fine-tune the final product.
- What are the 6 steps of concept testing?
The six steps of concept testing are:
- Define the concept
- Identify the target audience
- Choose a testing method (survey, interviews, etc.)
- Collect feedback
- Analyze the data
- Refine the concept based on insights gained.
- How do you write a test concept?
To write a concept testing survey question example, one needs to clearly define a product idea or a feature, outline the key benefits and points of difference, and establish measurable objectives; for example, customer interest and likelihood to purchase.
- What is the product concept testing example?
A product concept testing example could be a new eco-friendly water bottle designed to reduce plastic waste. This concept would be tested through surveys or focus groups to measure interest and appeal.
- What is an example of product testing?
An example of product testing is when a company launches a beta version of a mobile app to a small group of users, allowing them to test its functionality and provide feedback on improvements. This feedback helps refine the app before its full market release.
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