5.6.2 Consumer survey in the early stages of product
development

When more quantitative data are needed, for example in determining the target market and predicting the sales to the target market, a consumer survey using a randomly selected sample of the population is needed. Consumer surveys are usually personal interviews using a formalised questionnaire, but sometimes a qualitative unstructured interview can be used where there is little information about the new product. Methods of organising a consumer survey in product development projects are described in West and Earle (1987).

The consumer survey usually compares three or four new product ideas that have been generated. The information sought can be past and intended behaviour; general opinions and attitudes on eating characteristics, nutritional value, safety, cooking/serving/eating needs, size of packs and related cost; and demographic data such as socioeconomic characteristics and level of knowledge. It is useful to identify the usage patterns for products at present on the market and to assess consumer attitudes and opinions on particular types of products, as well as seeking information on the new products. The information can be analysed to give market share by consumer classifications, method of purchasing products, frequency of purchase and ways of using products. The researcher defines the market segments and forecasts the market potential. From consumers' opinions, attitudes and general comments, assessment can be made of product needs and the inadequacies of present products.

With information from the consumer survey, new product descriptions can evolve to product concepts, with definition of basic product attributes such as size, storage life, function, price range, ingredients, desired eating characteristics and cooking method. The target market segment(s) are identified, so that the choice of representative consumers for developing the product idea concept for the product design can be made. Consumers in the original focus groups are probably chosen as representative of the segment that the researcher believes will accept and buy the product. But there is a need to confirm this is correct in a larger survey. Target consumers can be identified on demographic factors such as age and education, but target segments based on such factors as usage of product, life style, personality and social groups can be more directly related to the product.