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Qualitative research allows flexible and creative exploration of consumer perceptions and attitudes for idea and concept generation for new product development.

Use Qualitative Research For Product Concept Testing Research

Qualitative research is often used for product concept testing research to get customer input for new products. The rich, varied and expressive results can bring new product ideas to light for your team.

Get Customer Input On Concept

There are several qualitative research techniques that are especially suited to get customer input for the product concept testing research phase of new product development:

Individual in-depth interviews conducted by a moderator with a single participant, ideal when dealing with confidential or sensitive topics. Useful because there are no group influencers, but can be costly to conduct. Also can be conducted by telephone.
Dyads and triads are conducted by a moderator with two or three participants, and used when the researcher wants to minimize the influence of very dominant participants, such as when one participant has an extreme position or opinion on the topic. An experienced moderator can use differing opinions among the participants to generate real insight, but must be conducted in-person.
Focus groups vary from 90 minutes to two hours per session with eight to ten participants led by a moderator. Clients usually monitor the focus group session behind a one-way mirror. Focus groups are ideal for new product development on a short time frame. Turnaround is quick. Clients can observe and hear direct responses. An experienced moderator is needed to manage focus groups and minimize the impact of group influencers.
Mini-groups are similar to focus groups but with fewer participants, four to six instead of eight to ten. It's ideal when there are a lot of objectives that need to be presented to the group and has the same positives and negatives as a focus group.
Online focus groups are held in a “virtual facility,” and the group is conducted in a written format rather than in person. The moderate asks questions using software that communicates to all participants. It's a good format for testing visual concepts and ideal for participants who are spread out geographically, but does not allow for the study of non-verbal communication of the participants.
Ethnography research involves observing a group of participants in the environment that the product concept testing research is trying to gain insight into, such as observing how a consumer prepares an evening meal at home. Sessions are usually audio or video taped. This is more thorough than other methodologies, but the cost is significantly higher and if not conducted properly, it could be biased by the participant being too careful in his or her actions.