Concept testing

When you have a big idea that you want to get right, it can save you a lot of time and money to concept test it before you bring it to the world. Concept testing allows you to refine a product concept, ad campaign, new logo, or even a landing page by getting feedback directly from your target market. It can be as simple and quick or iterative and sophisticated as you need.

Here are some ideas to help beginners and pros get it right. And when you’re ready to delve deeper, make sure to also read our comprehensive guide to concept testing.

The definition of concept testing is the process of getting an idea evaluated by your target audience before it becomes available to the public. It includes anything from product concepts to ad campaigns.

As an example, say a marketing team holds a day-long brainstorming session to come up with ideas for an advertising campaign. When the session is over, there are dozens of options on the table, and a few seem like real winners. Here are some questions that a marketing professional might want to know the answers to before launching a campaign:

The answers to these questions make it easy to choose a concept to go with, and they help hone the final product.

Doing a concept testing project like the example above can take a lot of time but it ends up saving your organization time and money. Consider the following two benefits of concept testing:

Want to test a concept with customers or your target market? Learn more about your testing options.

1. It prevents you from choosing bad ideas. Companies of all shapes and sizes are vulnerable to making mistakes if they don’t test their ideas first. Below are specific examples as well as a study, showing that when a bad idea moves forward, it can be costly.

Unfortunately, the consequences of pursuing a bad idea are often significant.

A bad idea leads your business to have a negative reputation, which heavily influences your organization’s ability to grow, or even, remain stable. For example, the process of hiring becomes 10% more expensive when a company has a bad reputation, while the cost of retaining workers grows by more than 20%. And when your bad idea impacts a customer’s experience? 95% will share it with others, deterring prospects from purchasing your products or services.

2. It can help you get others in your company behind your ideas. Do you ever have ideas that you’re confident will work but you can’t get buy-in from your team? Proving that an idea is popular with consumers can convince your team to pursue it. After all, if consumers in your target market like it, who’s to say it won’t work?

Concept testing seems to be essential for marketers and product managers. But how do they really feel about it? To find out, we went ahead and surveyed them directly. Here’s what they told us:

72% of advertising professionals said it’s important to test an ad before it’s launched. Doing so can make the ad more successful, they said, because effective ads stem from an in-depth understanding of what consumers really want (and what they really don’t).

Product-focused managers strongly agreed: 85% said that testing is vital to their success at work.

Despite the importance they all place on testing, less than half of those we polled actually conduct concept tests. This means creating your own test may be a big opportunity to get a leg up on the competition.

You can also widen your competitive advantage by improving your ability to write surveys. For help on writing survey questions, check out our post on eliminating order bias. And before you look at your survey responses, learn about Top 2 Box scores.

How can you apply these concept testing methods? We’re glad you asked! All sorts of business challenges can be solved with the right type of testing. Here are a few examples:

Need to understand how customers might respond to your new logo? Or, trying to figure out if your new logo communicates a benefit (like trust, innovation, or fun)? Online surveys are a great way to test different creative concepts and designs—to ultimately come up with a logo that best visually communicates your brand.

To help you brainstorm your survey questions, check out our survey-methodologist approved Logo Testing Survey Template.

Don't want to create your own logo testing survey? Learn more about how SurveyMonkey's Logo Design Analysis makes it simple to get fast, impactful feedback about your logo designs.

Redesigning your site or launching a new one? Sharing your design concepts with people who will one day interact with them is a great way to see what a sample of your target population thinks—and of course, make sure you get everything right.

Before you begin collecting feedback on your website, take a look at the questions from our Website Feedback Survey Template.

Many online marketers test headlines, images, and content on their websites to identify winning combinations of messages and designs. Which ad tends to grab the most eyeballs? Is the ad compelling enough to click on? And do the people who click become customers soon after? This method of testing can give your conversion rate optimization efforts a real boost.

Move beyond the numbers and hear from individuals directly. Their feedback might push you in a new direction you hadn’t anticipated or validate what the numbers you already have to tell you. If you need help brainstorming, our Ad/Copy Testing Survey Template can help you ask the right questions.

Get fast, reliable feedback on your ad concepts without having to set up your own survey with our Ad Creative Analysis.

Planning to offer consumers an incentive for upgrading to a new product or service? Thinking about a new pricing system? Use migration path tests to assess initial reactions, and spot the key features and benefits consumers are looking for. Then, develop upgrade tests to see if your new product line will result in a boost in sales.

The name of your company or product has a big impact on its success in the target market. It tells them what you offer and the benefits they can expect to receive, and it can even elicit certain feelings. To help you test brainstorm the right questions for testing either company or product names, check out our Name Testing Survey Template.

SurveyMonkey's Brand Name Analysis can give you crucial feedback from your target market on your brand name, without having to spend time on survey design.

Related: How to name a company in 3 steps

How price-sensitive are consumers in your target market? And are they typically satisfied or dissatisfied with the value of products in your category? Find out with our Price Testing Survey Template.

Learn what your packaging tells consumers about your product. Assess if it’s unique, visually appealing, and considered high quality by your target audience with our Package Testing Survey Template.

Get high-quality feedback on your packaging designs, without going through the trouble of creating a survey with SurveyMonkey's Packaging Design Analysis.

Will your messaging resonate with your target audience? Does it effectively communicate the value your product or services have to offer? And is it believable? Ask your target audience to know for sure. It may also be worth checking with employees to see if they both understand and incorporate your messaging into their day-to-day work as well.

Find out if your messaging and claims resonate with your target audience quickly and effectively, with SurveyMonkey's Messaging and Claims Analysis.

Having trouble finding the right people to take your survey? Test any and every concept on your target market using SurveyMonkey Audience.

Find out which features a product should include, and which ones add nothing to your bottom line. This often involves determining the manufacturing quality of your product and understanding its ease of use. Use product concept and usability tests to ensure your product meets customers’ expectations.

Before you launch your survey, read about the best ways for asking product-specific feedback. Also, check out our survey methodologist-approved, Market Research Product Survey Template.

If this all sounds too time-consuming for your product testing project, our Product Concept Analysis solution can help you get feedback about your product concept, without having to design a complex survey.

Concept testing comes in a variety of forms—from product concepts, ads, or potential names for your company/product. The process of testing things on your target audience helps your team find out what works and what doesn’t before deciding how to best move forward. Over time, this helps your team focus on executing the best ideas while staying away from mistakes that leave a lasting impression—like this.