When it comes to deciding which product name to choose, or what claims to include on the packaging, there are a number of options you can choose from.
Depending on the number of designs or names you can use a Preference or Simple Choice steer to put all the options in front of the consumers. However, this type of test can in some cases be unreliable as consumers would respond unconsciously in store, rather than analysing claims and marketing messages.
An alternative to a Preference or Simple Choice steer for determining the best product claim is a series of Split-by-Description steers. They will show different text to part of the consumer panel with the aim to measure its influence on purchase decisions.
You might like to avoid asking the consumers directly e.g. “which of these claims is more attractive in a loaf of bread?” or “what do you think about when buying hummus”.
Instead you could ask e.g. “would you buy bread that…?” or “would you buy this hummus?”. The aim is to test products, not attributes.
Try to keep the options simple. It is tempting to figure out the best formulation of all claims in one description. You should try to isolate aspects so they can be tested and understood in isolation. If you mix claims, you’ll never know which one was most successful. Create options that typify and even over-exaggerate the idea. Once you’ve figured out which messages to focus on, you can run a separate set of steers to optimise the wording.
Example:
We ran some steers on the skin care brand Drunk Elephant, as they launched their product to a more mainstream audience here in the UK.
We ran a Preference steer suggesting four versions of the product, different only in the name. The name suggestions were taken from the product’s description in marketing materials and aim to cast light on what the product actually is. Preference steers present options in groups of three until all combinations are exhausted and produce both exclusive and all preference results. Exclusive preferences are consistent choices, where the same option is picked every time it has been shown. We obtained the following exclusive preference results:
A product name, different from the original, has gained 44% of exclusive preferences, while all other options lag behind with less than 19% each. Next we performed a Split by Description (a "blind test") steer to verify the result. We took the top two name options from the preference steer and launched a split-by-description steer, which shows different text to part of the consumer panel, while the image shown is identical for all respondents.
The “Super-Moisturising Overnight Face Mask” came out on top by a significant difference of eight percentage points.
In the case that the product is introduced in mainstream retail, adjusting the product name could help in marketing to skin care consumers who might have not previously heard of the US brand.
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