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Figure 9.3 (b) is a brand-positioning map, a perceptual map showing the current positions of three existing brands of instant breakfast drinks (Brands A–C) as seen by consumers in four segments, whose preferences are clustered around the points on the map. The brand-positioning map helps the company decide how much to charge and how calorific to make its drink. As shown on this map, the new brand would be distinctive in the medium-price, medium-calorie market or in the high-price, high-calorie market. There is also a segment of consumers (4) clustered fairly near the medium-price, medium-calorie market, suggesting this may offer the greatest opportunity.
Concept testing means presenting the product concept to target consumers, physically or symbolically, and getting their reactions. The more the tested concepts resemble the final product or experience, the more dependable concept testing is. In the past, creating physical prototypes was costly and time consuming, but today firms can use rapid prototyping to design products on a computer and then produce rough models to show potential consumers for their reactions. Companies are also using virtual reality to test product concepts. Consumer reactions indicate whether the concept has a broad and strong consumer appeal, what products it competes against, and which consumers are the best targets. The need-gap levels and purchase-intention levels can be checked against norms for the product category to determine whether the concept appears to be a winner, a long shot, or a loser.
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For one-time products, sales rise at the beginning, peak, and approach zero as the number of potential buyers becomes exhausted; if new buyers keep entering the market, the curve will not drop to zero. Infrequently purchased products such as automobiles exhibit replacement cycles dictated by physical wear or obsolescence associated with changing styles, features, and performance. Therefore, sales forecasts must estimate first-time sales and replacement sales separately. With frequently purchased products, such as consumer and industrial nondurables, the number of first-time buyers initially increases and then decreases as fewer buyers are left (assuming a fixed population). Repeat purchases occur soon, providing the product satisfies some buyers. The sales curve eventually falls to a plateau of steady repeat-purchase volume; by this time, the product is no longer a new product.
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The R&D department develops a prototype that embodies the key attributes in the product-concept statement, performs safely under normal use and conditions, and can be produced within budgeted manufacturing costs, speeded by virtual reality technology and the Internet. Prototypes must be put through rigorous functional and customer tests before they enter the marketplace. Alpha testing tests the product within the firm to see how it performs in different applications. After refining the prototype, the company moves to beta testing with customers, bringing consumers into a laboratory or giving them samples to use at home
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Expensive industrial goods and new technologies will normally undergo alpha and beta testing. During beta testing, the company’s technical people observe how customers use the product, a practice that often exposes unanticipated problems of safety and servicing and alerts the company to customer training and servicing requirements. At trade shows the company can observe how much interest buyers show in the new product, how they react to features and terms, and how many express purchase intentions or place orders. In distributor and dealer display rooms, products may stand next to the manufacturer’s other products and possibly competitors’ products, yielding preference and pricing information in the product’s normal selling atmosphere. However, customers who come in might not represent the target market, or they might want to place early orders that cannot be filled.
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Most companies will develop a planned market rollout over time. In choosing rollout markets, the major criteria are market potential, the company’s local reputation, the cost of filling the pipeline, the cost of communication media, the influence of the area on other areas, and competitive penetration. With the Internet connecting far-flung parts of the globe, competition is more likely to cross national borders. Companies are increasingly rolling out new products simultaneously across the globe
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