Problem

A manufacturer of bathroom and kitchen faucets sought to determine the viability of bringing to market a new type of kitchen faucet targeted for adoption among DIYers specifically. In order to mitigate the risk of loss and market failure, this manufacturer commissioned a product concept testing research project from our team at The Farnsworth Group.

Process

The research project began with a series of discovery meetings to unearth the deepest root questions needing to be answered in order to ensure the findings would contribute to a well-informed decision by executives. In this specific product concept test, the manufacturer needed concrete answers to the following primary questions:

• How interested are DIYers in two specific features added to a traditional faucet?
• What are the top perceived benefits and potential hurdles in communicating new concepts?
• What is the ideal price range?
• Which names do DIYers prefer for these concepts?

Answers to these root questions, as well as richer data indicating to what degree the market would or would not adopt such a product, would drive the manufacturer’s choice on whether or not to invest in product development and how to direct marketing, sales, and channel teams to take the product to market among DIYers.

The primary research team at The Farnsworth Group collaborated with the manufacturer to develop a robust, yet targeted quantitative market research questionnaire to field among DIY respondents. To analyze the data sets, the research team utilized Monadic Testing and Gabor-Granger Price Sensitivity Analysis among other data analysis techniques to present the findings and strategic recommendations to the client.

Outcome

With these findings and recommendations in hand, the manufacturer was able to quantify DIYer interest in each faucet concept and make an informed decision regarding which concept to launch first into the DIY market. Further, they had in hand a set of ideal price points for each concept via the price sensitivity analysis provided.

No new product launch is without its own challenges, though, so The Farnsworth Group team also defined and presented recommendations for how to best overcome the hurdles to adoption of each product concept. To ensure the manufacturer had a robust trajectory to align the efforts of product, marketing, sales, and channel teams, the report provided also included recommended product names for each concept based on specific findings from the DIYer study.