Deploying customer intercepts, in-store interviews, and mobile surveys to test new concepts is often a key step in new product or service development. If not done right, it can produce useless or (even worse) misleading results.

Earlier we had made you aware of the dangers of “inadequate concept specification”, “missing or bad pricing”, and how they can be avoided. Presented below is the third common pitfall associated with this type of research – and how you can avoid it.

Third Common Pitfall: Surveying the wrong population

Problem: Most new products or services are intended for a certain target population. If your sample is too broadly defined, your customer intercept, in-store interview, or mobile survey results will be distorted by the inclusion of opinions from people who you’re not interested in. If your sample is too narrowly defined, your store intercept or on-site survey results will be distorted by the exclusion of opinions from people who you are (or should be) interested in.

Solution: Take the time up front to define your target audience in terms of demographics, category behavior, or other characteristics. This definition can then be implemented in the customer intercept, in-store interview, or mobile survey through sample specifications and/or screening questions. Quotas or weighting may also be needed.

Interested in learning more? Call us at 1-800-549-7170 or send us an email for a free 30-minute consultation on this topic.

Gold Research Inc. has extensive experience in journey mapping, path-to-purchase research, deploying customer intercepts and mobile surveys for concept testing, marketing testing, satisfaction research, shopper insights, and mystery shopping. We can also act as an extension of your research team in helping with data processing, analysis, report development, and survey programming.