Quote:
Originally Posted by BrianG
But some of that is just common sense really.
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you're right - a lot of it is common sense.
one of the coolest methods of market research that our agency does (we're a multi-billion dollar a year agency - the largest independently held agency in the country) is focus groups. we bring in a sample of the target audience to a room with 2 way mirrors - the key is to bring in people that exemplify the full age range you're looking for, the spending range, the key target buyers, and anything else to represent a range in the criteria you need for your product. they answer questions about what they think about competitor's products, what they like/dislike about them (cost, how user-friendly it is, how beneficial, etc.) and the most important part is showing and explaining your potential product, and get their feedback on that - what they think of it by itself, and also what they think of it vs. the competitor's product(s). granted it's a very small segment of the total population of your target audience, but it's real-world feedback that can be key to have before launching your product/service etc. Of course, in most cases it means re-vamping your approach, but still. it's the same premise on pre-screening movies before it hits theaters and such.
i can just hear everyone in the room when looking at the powerstrokes: 'these things are cool, but they're too expensive for just SHOCKS!' lol.