Let's survey our consumers!
The Business of Food
by Jennifer Barney
Let's survey our consumers!
2-min read
I once had a brand go to launch on the basis that 70% of their Facebook followers responded positively to a new product concept.
First of all, 70% is not impressive considering your FB followers are your most engaged, loyal customers.
But seriously, this is not good data (regardless of the %) to make a go/no-go decision on launch. It does not represent what shoppers, most of whom have no recognition of your brand, will do.
How well a product will do in market can only be tested accurately with general audiences that have no bias. The way to find those audiences is through orgs that recruit respondents for a fee (see last post).
Additionally, you can, and should, use your own consumer lists when seeking certain kinds of feedback. Such as:
When considering a brand refresh or rebrand
Understanding if your product is meeting expectations
Interest in new flavors or packaging
Brand stretch (limitations or opportunities) into new categories
Mostly what you are looking for with this kind of testing is guidance or warnings.
I’m not sure Colgate followed this advice back in the 80’s
Yup. Frozen entrees by Colgate. If only they asked.
The reason why results should be taken only as guidance is that each research objective will have different response bias when coming from your audience list.
For example, when presenting a potential new brand name, all you are really looking for is whether or not it alienates or confuses your existing audience.
Alternatively, when asking about new products you should expect some over-inflated level of interest. This is natural because these folks already know you, love you, and will be happy to see more of you. Use this questioning as more of a ranking exercise to understand line extension prioritization.
These surveys should be fun and easy and not be too demanding (read: long) on your fans. The biggest challenge will be getting people to opt in. You will need to offer incentives, and even then, plan for maybe a 10% response rate.
The best incentives, and in this order, are:
1. Cold hard cash
2. Free product
3. Deep coupon discount on product (40% or more)
4. Entry into a giveaway
Happy surveying!
All my best,
Jennifer
Find out what Fly By Jing's founder, Jing Gao is getting right about the premium foods industry her well-written, engaging Op-Ed in Food & Wine
"As I worked to get Fly By Jing off the ground as a boot-strapped founder, I met many investors (many of them white) who dismissed my early traction as a fluke, saying "Chinese food is niche, it will never cross over to the mainstream."
I'd love to hear from you - get in touch at jennifer@3rdandbroadway.com