Definition: Test marketing is a marketing technique to try out a certain prototype or a recently developed product within a small sample of customers to evaluate its degree of acceptance.
By testing the product in a small audience the business can gather crucial information about consumer’s perceptions, preferences and opinions that will help them to decide whether to launch the product or to keep improving some elements before a formal launch.
What Does Test Marketing Mean?
The product development process requires a lot of information in order to guarantee that what is being created actually fits the need of customers. A customer-centric approach will first research the market’s requirements before starting to design the product, but even though the information obtained might be useful and accurate the product should be tested in small scale to make sure it is well received among the target audience.
This is where test marketing techniques are productive, since they save the company considerable amounts of money coming from situations such as returns or warranty claims.
If the product is properly exposed to a small sample of individuals who test it and issue their opinions, the chances of success increase or certain aspects that need more work emerge to avoid finding their existence after the product is fully released, which could be a very negative scenario for any business.
Example
Pop Sound Co. is a company that sells microwave and ready-to-eat popcorns with different flavors. Their product is very successful and according to a recent research report they are the top alternative for people who see movies at home. The R&D Department is currently developing a new cheddar flavor and they want to know if the formula they employed to create it is well received among consumers.
In order to do so, they hired a marketing consulting firm that conducted various focus groups. The individuals that participated in the groups confirmed that the flavor was accurate and delicious, so Pop Sound quickly released it to the open market.
