Brief on Measuring Preferences for Really New Markets

ARTICLE: Measuring Preference for Really New Products

RE: MARK: 4100

SYNOPSIS:

The article is about the problems faced when trying to evaluate consumer preferences for really new products. These products differ in that there are no products similar in the market. Consumers need some knowledge in order to evaluate the benefits of these RNPs. There is much uncertainty about the benefits of these products, thus it is difficult to obtain credible responses to methods use to evaluate incrementally new products. The researchers’ goal is to develop new methods or modify old methods of measuring consumer preferences.

The article elaborates further on the reasons why it is difficult to measuring consumer preferences for RNPs. Consumers must know what is the product, what benefits it provides, and how using it personally will benefit them. Information given during the measurement exercise may be lacking which means that participants will be unable to provide reliable responses. However, the researchers cannot give participants too much information. Data cannot be used for comparisons if the participants are given more data than what will be available in the marketplace. Researchers try to rely on information resources that the consumer may find in the marketplace like brochure and commercials. The experiments also used analogies during the studies to help participants understand the benefits of these really new products. For example, a person might be able to compare caller id with email because they both allow customers to reply only to those who have contacted them and whose information is stored in the system’s memory.

It is difficult for consumers to evaluate these new products because they lack experiences with them and they also must consider how these new products may change their consumption behavior. For electronic products like cameras, consumers may have to take and store photos differently than before.

During the studies the researchers tested subjects on their preferences using analogies and having participants to simulate how they would use the products in their daily lives. The products included products such as Dryel and Shout Wipes. The research