Consumer-based concept building and optimization

In early stages of product development, a multitude of possibilities are to be taken into consideration. Which combination of features and functionalities generates highest consumer appeal? What is the ideal combination of design and functionalities in relation to price? What is the relationship between different functionalities? MetrixLab's Product Configurator (CONFIGURATOR©) gives you the answers to all these questions.

Outline

CONFIGURATOR© enables you to create, optimize and detail concepts. It will help you make a conscious and consumer-based choice with regard to the specific product details that will ensure the highest likelihood of success when brought to market. This method gives consumers an active role within the concept-optimization phase of the product-development process. After all, in this stage, the various possibilities with respect to design and functionality are still open, and finding the exact right combination is key.

Methodology and setup

CONFIGURATOR© enables consumers to "design" their own optimal product online and interactively by allowing them to select the key product characteristics themselves. All the choices they make, for instance, regarding design and key functionalities, are immediately visualized on screen. In addition, the impact of their choices on the price of the product is shown, making this a realistic exercise in which consumers have to trade-off design and functionalities with the price they are willing to pay. With the consumer in the driver's seat, CONFIGURATOR© helps you uncover

the ideal combination of design, functionality and price to be used for further product development.

• the importance of each individual product functionality/feature, like design, colour, packaging size, etc.
• the relationship between different functionalities (e.g., is a certain design selected more often in a specific colour or in a specific size than another design?).
• the relationship between design and functionalities on the one hand and price on the other (e.g., do consumers prefer a lower-priced design, or is design so important that they take a higher price for granted and trade-off on other functionalities?).

MetrixLab's CONFIGURATOR© is a four-step method: First, we screen possible participants to select the right target consumers for you. Next, participants are asked to define the main characteristic of your product that has the biggest influence on the design and the price of the product (e.g., the model) by choosing between several options.

Subsequently, participants are invited to design the product further to their preference as they are given the option to change functionalities like colour, size, weight, etc. With each change they make, they will receive feedback on the effect on price to make sure they make realistic choices. At the end, they are asked several evaluative questions to obtain additional insight into their reasons and reasoning during the design process and the trade-offs made.

Your benefits

CONFIGURATOR© gives you the means to optimize your concept-development phase by actively involving consumers in early stages of product development. MetrixLab offers you

• a quick and efficient method to evaluate 1000+ possible combinations for your product (e.g., in terms of design and functionalities).
• fun and engaging surveys for consumers, allowing them to design their own product.
• realistic results, since consumers immediately see the consequences of their choices and are invited to weigh and change them as they see fit, all in relation to price.
• insight into the relationship between different potential product functionalities and the trade-offs consumers make.

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