Product launches shouldn’t feel like a roll of the dice, leaving you with uncertain outcomes.
When you’ve put countless hours and resources into development, production, and branding – you should see your investment pay off. This is where test marketing as a solution becomes relevant.
At PickFu, we have a 16-year track record of helping business owners and marketers test products before launch by validating business ideas, designs, and marketing with their target audience.
In this guide to test marketing, you’ll learn how to launch products while minimizing risks and boosting confidence. Let’s dive in.
What is test marketing?
Test marketing is a strategy for businesses that are launching new products or services. It allows you to experiment with different market segments before a full rollout.
For instance, a food company might release a new snack in a few stores in different states. A business may run an app marketing strategy by offering a beta version of an app to a small group of users before wider release. Even movie studios show test audiences alternate movie endings to learn which version lands better.
The image above shows a test run by an apparel company asking women which clothes set they’d buy for their children. Option A was the winner with Option C as a close second, helping the company narrow down which designs to prioritize during production.
The brand also learned that parents cared about whether a product was durable and less likely to show stains, based on the respondents’ comments. One woman said “I kind of went for dinosaurs because they are my boy’s favorite, then I chose… for how easily dirt or stains would show.”
Test marketing helps with concept testing in new product development by engaging a small group of people. You get to observe customer reactions and gauge sales patterns before you undertake large scale launches.
The pros and cons of test marketing
With test marketing, you can learn more about your market environment: your audience, competitors, and the context and perceptions around your new business idea. The most important benefits are reducing the risk of product launch failure and therefore receiving a higher return on investment. It also gives you specific information like:
- Estimated demand: you can get a feel for potential sales by watching how consumers behave in a test market (like offering free samples of your product to a few select stores).
- Response to pricing strategies: find the right price by trying out different price levels with groups of customers.
- Marketing and branding effectiveness: carry out brand market research to learn if your content does a good job connecting with people better. We’ll explore this with examples later.
- Consumer feedback: use insights from test markets to assess customer satisfaction and fine-tune your products and packaging.
- New market behavior: if you’re expanding to different markets, you should learn about consumer behavior in different locations. For example, if a company in the U.K. expands to Japan, test marketing can help them understand if their product will work in a new location and cultural setting.
Carrying out test marketing ahead of a large-scale launch gives you a competitive advantage – you get relevant information to confidently break into new or larger markets.
How the New Coke product launch is an example of test marketing failure. Image source.
There are many clear benefits of leveraging test marketing, but they also present obstacles to businesses. Consider the following cons:
- Standard test marketing demands significant upfront investment in prototypes, identifying testers, running tests, advertising, etc.
- Results from test markets may not always predict success in larger demographics and can lead to bad outcomes. For example, Coca-Cola spent millions testing their “New Coke” formula with 200,000 people. The test was successful with participants liking the new formula. However, the nationwide launch ended up being a complete disaster.
- There’s a risk that competitors could learn about your test product and undermine its future launch.
These disadvantages of test marketing are important. However, they’re a non-issue if you know which tools and testing frameworks you can use to gather high-quality real-world feedback reliably, quickly, and affordably.
Let’s explore the types of test marketing and data collection methods that keep your product launch on track.
How to carry out test marketing
There are a lot of different ways you can approach test marketing. We believe in keeping it simple and straightforward. Here’s our recommended approach to a solid test marketing plan.
1. Define your objectives
Start with a few clear goals for your test marketing campaign. Be as specific as possible.
For example, you may choose to test pricing strategies or marketing techniques. Or you might want to uncover potential issues in your app or product functionality.
Different objectives mean different methodologies. For instance, if you’re testing product pricing, you might run an A/B test comparing reactions to two different price points for the same product, or another test like the Van Westendorp pricing model.
No matter what your objective is, clearly defining it will help guide the rest of the process successfully.
2. Identify your target market
Who do you want to test your small-scale launch with?
Your test group should represent your ideal customer’s key demographics, such as gender, age, income level, and so on. Also consider your test audience’s hobbies, lifestyle habits, and interests, as these can impact their purchasing behavior.
For example, one business conducting market research for their hydration vests asked if respondents preferred vests with water bottles or bladders. They targeted runners and joggers – their ideal audience – using PickFu.
In this case, the majority of respondents preferred water bottles because they were easy to clean and convenient. However, those who preferred bladders highlighted their usefulness during intense activities.
Here’s the PickFu AI analysis of the data:
The poll data reflects a variety of preferences among runners regarding hydration methods:
- Water Bottles: A significant number of respondents (around 50-60%) prefer water bottles. They cite reasons such as ease of use, convenience, and simplicity. Many find water bottles easier to clean, refill, and carry. They also mention that bottles are lighter and less cumbersome than hydration vests, and do not cause extra weight or discomfort while running.
- Hydration Vests with Bladders: 30-40% of respondents prefer hydration vests equipped with bladders. These individuals appreciate the hands-free convenience, better weight distribution, and the ability to carry more water for longer distances. They also value the ergonomic design and comfort of wearing a vest, which allows them to focus on their run without worrying about holding or accessing a water bottle.
- Mixed Preferences: A smaller group (about 10-20%) uses both methods depending on the distance or type of activity. Some runners prefer vests with bladders for longer runs or hikes and switch to bottles for shorter distances.
- Other Considerations: A few respondents mention cost, aesthetics, and personal comfort influencing their choice. Some find vests too bulky, expensive, or less visually appealing. Others prefer the simplicity and familiarity of water bottles.
Overall, the data indicates a nearly even split between those who prefer water bottles and those who prefer hydration vests with bladders, with some flexibility depending on specific running conditions and personal preferences.
Asking for feedback from your target audience gives you the most powerful, relevant insights. Make sure you use a reliable customer insights platform in addition to tools like Google Analytics and your own customer data to reach the right people.
3. Select your test markets
Are you expanding to a new market such as a different city, region, or even continent?
Test marketing is invaluable in these situations. Location-based factors – especially language and cultural differences – can make a huge impact on your product launch, and it can go disastrously wrong if you’re not prepared for them.
In addition to the target audience demographic details we mentioned above, choose your test market based on where your product or service is going to be offered. Consider factors like population density, competition, and market potential to get the best responses.
Say your product isn’t likely to attract rural dwellers – your test marketing campaign should focus on large cities and urban areas instead. If you’re exploring another country, you’d need a platform that can connect you with actual audiences in those places. For example, PickFu can connect you with potential customers in places like Japan, Germany, Australia, and several other countries – and provides auto-translation to help you easily do research across the globe.
4. Develop your test plan
Next, outline the details of your test. This should include testing methodologies (like surveys), the timeframe for collecting data, your marketing mix, and more.
We might be biased, but PickFu is a great way to run fast, easy, and affordable polls and surveys that help you improve your business ideas. Our platform includes a built-in panel of millions of verified consumers, which you can target to match your ideal customers.
You can run a variety of tests using PickFu, including:
- Head-to-Head (A/B test): compare two options to see which one your audience prefers.
- Open-Ended: ask respondents a question, and they’ll share their thoughts and feedback in their own words for deeper, unbiased insights.
- Ranked: ask participants to rank multiple options, helping you identify the most appealing versions of your product or marketing designs.
- Star Rating: provide quick and easy user testing by enabling respondents to rate products on a scale (1 to 5 stars) and share their reason why. This is a great way to run a customer feedback strategy that gauges overall product satisfaction.
- Click Tests: ask your audience where they would click on an image to gauge reactions, areas for improvement, or what draws their attention first.
- Surveys: mix and match multiple question types with the same audience to get in-depth feedback for your product launch.
You can use PickFu polls and surveys to test everything from your digital marketing and social media marketing campaigns to your product designs. What’s unique is the mix of hard data and qualitative written feedback you’ll receive with every test, giving you an in-depth look at how a small portion of your market might react to your business idea.
Other types of market surveys and methodologies you can use are in-person focus groups, usability tests, and multivariate testing. Choose the method that helps you achieve the objective you set in step one.
5. Execute the test
It’s time to launch your test marketing campaign and monitor the results!
If you’re carrying out long-running tests, you should engage with your test respondents and check their feedback as they try out your product over time.
Doing rapid research for your test marketing campaign with PickFu? You’ll see results coming back in minutes, and most tests finish within a day, allowing you to take action quickly.
All that’s left is to analyze your results and apply what you’ve learned.
6. Analyze your results
Once your test concludes, it’s time to sift through the data and uncover useful insights.
You might find that your audience’s preferences clash with your expected results. For example, Vendo Commerce assumed that people would prefer a product image that showed a hairbrush out of its packaging.
However, results showed that a picture of the hairbrush in its packaging rated better with customers. Vendo updated its content immediately and saw an increase in purchase orders overnight.
Embrace your test findings to refine your product or strategy. Let data lead your product launch decisions and boost your chance of success during the full-scale launch.
Real-world examples of test marketing techniques
Whether you’re selling digital or physical products via e-commerce stores, your visual and written material will create strong impressions of your brand. Let’s look at how you can market test images and text elements to make an impact from day one.
Logo designs
Your logo should tell a story about your brand. It can convey professionalism, creativity, or a sense of humor. But how do you know which logo will resonate best with your target audience?
Simply run a test marketing campaign.
Here’s one PickFu example – the business owner asked people to choose a logo that conveys luxury. Many respondents chose Option A: “The graphics, font and especially the bird of paradise looks exotic and rich. It’s subtle and has a pleasing simplicity. Option B is perfectly fine but not as eye-catching, mostly because it’s in black and white.”
Book cover designs and titles
Launching a new book? Remember that your book cover can be as important as the actual content when it comes to sales.
Author Sean Rosensteel ran multiple test campaigns to pick the best title, subtitle, and book description. Non-fiction readers and enthusiasts helped choose the most compelling titles and also weighed in on the book cover design.
In just two weeks, he finalized his book design and it went on to become a #1 bestseller on Amazon, something that most writers can’t conceive of happening. And there’s more – running polls uncovered a market segment he didn’t think of: lifelong learners. Tests can carry out multiple functions at once – as proof of concept testing tools, audience research tools, and so much more.
Product packaging
Follow Blue Wilderness’s example and test multiple versions of your product packaging. Here, the cat food company learned that it’s blue packaging made a better impact than its pink one. Customers said that it stood out more and conveyed trustworthiness.
Minor changes in packaging or product functionality can create a significant difference to the user experience. Tests like these means that you waste no time driving the most conversions possible from launch date.
Ad copy
As a marketer, you know that conveying the right message is vital in driving conversions.
And one of the advantages of test marketing is getting custom feedback to write marketing and advertising copy that works.
Here’s how a matchmaking business called Keeper conducted message testing for a billboard ad. They asked respondents to choose the most compelling ad copy that would entice them to try their service.
An overwhelming majority chose Option D as it made a direct and believable claim about its services. According to one tester, “Only D is decent. The rest are bad and don’t send the message you want to send.”
Product descriptions
After a product name catches a potential buyer’s attention, it’s the product description that does the heavy lifting to convince them to take action.
Use customer feedback to narrow down the most effective product descriptions.
Check out the example featured here – a supplement brand ran a simple test and asked users to pick a product description that would compel them to buy. Most people chose Option A, stating that the word “daily” played a key role in their decision.
One person said, “I chose A first, because ‘daily’ makes it sound like something that is good to take all the time and promotes general health.”
Changing even a single element can make a big difference to your conversions and sales.
Running a cross-market test with PickFu
What does a practical test marketing strategy look like for a business that wants to launch in another market?
We created a simple poll featuring two logos and tested them with German and U.S. markets, asking the respondents to rate which logo better represented a technology business. The goal was to see if there was a significant cultural difference that would impact brand perception.
We found that both markets overwhelmingly picked Option A as the best logo for a tech company. Both sets of respondents found the color blue appealing and indicated a cloud technology service because of the nodules in the picture.
One person said, “Everything about this logo’s design says it’s computer related. Truthfully both of them do but this one is better executed. The other option looks like a kid drew it.”
You can apply this type of test marketing to any area of your product launch and confidently create ROI-driven campaigns to help your business grow with minimal risks.
Make test marketing a breeze with PickFu
Test marketing can be complicated and expensive – but not if you use the right tools and testing frameworks.
PickFu’s DIY market research platform offers you the easiest, most affordable, and fastest way to validate your product features, messaging, and market interest. It offers reliable respondents and high-quality insights when you’re seeking the best place to post your survey or test market interest without long delays.
Ready to get started? Sign up for free to carry out your test marketing strategy today!
FAQs
Do you need support in running a pricing or product study?
You don’t have to run tests alone – you can work with market research firms, consultants, or dedicated consumer research platforms to get support. These professionals and platforms have expertise in designing effective studies, collecting data, and analyzing results. Working with a reputable software or consultant can help you get more reliable insights.
How can you integrate a test market into your marketing strategy?
You should include test marketing while building your marketing plan. Don’t wait until the very end when your marketing assets are done to start testing. Do idea validation when you’re developing a new marketing campaign. Next, test your actual slogans or marketing copy and evaluate your distribution plan. By integrating test marketing at different stages of your product rollout, you’ll get the best impact.
