 Show Consumer Goods Test MarketThe consumer goods test market spells out all goods that are used directly by the consumers. The purpose of the tests is to know the consumer’s behavior towards the product and gather valuable feedback. The company testing the product usually takes customers through the entire testing flow: Trial → Repeat → Adoption → Purchase Trial: whether the consumer tried the product at least one time. Repeat: whether the consumer purchases the product a second time (after trial). Adoption: whether the consumer likes the product enough to repurchase. Purchase: how often will the consumer purchase the product. There are four types of consumer good test marketing techniques that can be used to gather feedback. Sales Wave Market TestThe sales wave market test determines a product’s potential to be consumed or accepted each time it’s offered to a consumer. During the course of this research, free samples are often distributed to the consumers to analyze whether they will accept them. That includes samples of perfumes, lipsticks, and other amenities that are offered to the existing customers when they buy something. Simulated Market TestA simulated market test determines the consumer’s preference to select and purchase a certain product. In this type of research, a group of people are invited to a store and offered exclusive discounts on certain product categories. In the store, the product they are testing for is placed alongside competitor/old products to see if the consumer picks the new product when offered alongside alternatives. In simulated testing, free product samples are distributed first to get the consumers acquainted with the product. After testing the product, they’re asked a question about it. We often see this in departmental stores where new and old products are placed together to track consumer behavior. Controlled Market TestA controlled market test is generally conducted in chain stores with the product’s initial launch. In this test, the new products offered by the brand are introduced with a sales pitch, advertising banner, or test presentation to attract consumers. The controlled market test is different from a simulated market test as the products are not distributed free of cost. It makes use of advertisement to attract potential consumers cutting the cost of free products while increasing product sales. Standard Market TestMost marketing researchers have established relationships among metrics such as promotional expenditures, trials, awareness, and repeat purchases. They use these metrics in mathematical simulations to make market share predictions. These predictions are used as inputs on the profit plans that estimate the payout period. Industrial Goods Test MarketIndustrial goods are goods that are further used to manufacture other products. In the industrial goods market, two types of tests are used to collect feedback about products or services. Alpha TestingAlpha testing is a cost-effective method of collecting initial feedback about a product. In this type of testing, the product manufacturer distributes prototypes within their own company and asks the employees for feedback. Mostly, the tech companies use alpha tests before they start the beta testing phase. Companies like Apple and Samsung let their employees test their latest gadgets. This allows the companies to gather honest, in-house feedback before the product is released into the market. Beta TestingBeta testing is performed with consumers from outside the company. It’s mostly conducted at events or shows where there are real-world consumers are present. This way, companies can gather real-world data with the lowest costs. A/B Test MarketA/B testing also known as the marketing effectiveness test compares two versions of something to determine the effectiveness of each version. While it’s mainly used in digital marketing these days, the method goes back about 100 years. (2) Digital marketers often use A/B testing while running campaigns on Google Ads, Facebook Ads, etc. They use various CTAs (call to action), visuals, and other audience targeting techniques to determine which one brings the most value at the lowest ROI (return on investment). In A/B testing, set A of testers is exposed to one advertisement and set B is exposed to another. It generally does not involve consumers directly and the analysis is done on the basis of engagement, click-through rates, and purchase rates. What is the primary purpose of the test marketing stage of a new product?Test marketing campaigns help identify the strengths and weaknesses of a new product by analyzing the reactions of key demographics before an official product launch. Test marketing can help to resolve customer needs before a full launch.
What are the two major uses of test marketing?Marketers use test markets to experiment with: Brand positioning. Product improvements and product cost reductions.
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