strategy and development of new products

Planning and development of new products / services

Positioning of the brand / product, related advertising communication, introduction of a new product / service into the market, possible modification of the existing ones - these decisions are of key importance to the success of the company in the market.

Research conducted by HumanGraph will help you to shape your offer and to formulate a marketing message meeting the needs and expectations of Customers.

Creativity workshops with employees of marketing/sales departments

During special workshops for employees of your company's Marketing Department or/and Sales Department conducted by experienced moderators from HumanGraph we will work out a common marketing strategy for a given brand / product / category of products in a long-term perspective.

Representatives of advertising agencies as well as of Brand Consulting are often invited to participate in such workshops.

Professionalism and unemotional attitude to the analyzed issues by the experts guarantee optimal solutions and proper structuring of the decision-making process.

Depending on the specific issues discussed, workshops will lead to providing a specific concept for the positioning of a brand / product, determining and defining the goals and stages of product development, preparing marketing communication strategy.

Workshops will be concluded by providing a specific plan of action by which participants are additionally obliged to implement the results of the workshop effectively, in accordance with the accepted schedule and division of duties.

Creative FGI's / IDI's

Using this method you will get tips which may help you in generating an optimal shape for a new product or service.

Participants of this research will be creative people and users of the category of a given product (experts). When working in a group we search for innovative, non-standard ideas that distinguish a new product in the market.

As a result of the discussion, a framework of new products will be prepared which will strongly correspond with the identified consumer needs connected with these features / product usage.

Delphi method

This method is used while creating new products characterized by advanced technology and a specific group of recipients and also in the case of strategic problems which require consulting people with high level of knowledge in a given field.

Participants of this research include Key Opinion Leaders - experts with unique knowledge in a given product field. Usually there are so few of them and they are so territorially dispersed or so engaged in their duties that it would be impossible to involve them in product creation by a multiple and direct interaction.

In the Delphi method, each expert presents their own point of view in writing and then gives it to other participants of the discussion. Opinions are exchanged in several rounds during which participants work out their common stance, suggest their own methods of solving a problem and justify the reasons for rejecting ideas presented by discussion participants.

Using this method, you will gain concepts of the product / activity prepared on the basis of a unique point of view of experts.

Concept labs

This technique consists in conducting 1 - 2 day sessions for carefully selected consumers (product users) and employees of the Marketing Department + representatives of the advertising agency (who will participate alternatingly) engaged in the project concerning working out of the product concept (group of experts).

Participants of consumer groups evaluate ideas suggested in the expert group and therefore stimulating the process of working on concepts.

When the research is done you will receive a shortlist of 2 - 3 product concepts optimised by adjusting it to the opinion of consumers participating in the research.

Concept tests

This research verifies the concepts created by the advertising agency. Target recipients evaluate the product before it is put into mass production or implemented and they specify its strongest and weak points.

When testing the concept we offer you a quantitative research (a large representative group of subjects) or a qualitative research (depth interviews, focus groups).

Testing products and services

At the final stage of implementation of new / modified products / services, the following issue, crucial for the success of the undertaking, needs to be tackled: which of two or three new versions of the product that may be chosen responds to Customers' expectations in an optimal way.

HumanGraph offers you a research which may bring tips for making such decisions.

Testing names, packaging, products/services

Qualitative research (usually focus groups) or quantitative research (realized in respondents' homes, in shops, offices, specially arranged halls - Central Location Test technique) may be conducted by us before a product is introduced into the market.

Concept & Usage test

This is an optimal form of testing the compliance of marketing communication with physical properties of a ready product.

This test is conducted in 2 stages. In the first stage respondents assess the concept of a new product and they are asked about their shopping intentions concerning this product. Then respondents are given an appropriate sample of a product to use it in natural conditions at home.

If the specific character of the product usage requires standardization of preparation / serving of a product in order to obtain comparable data from many respondents (e.g. chilling beer to appropriate temperature), this test is carried out as CLT.

At the end of the second stage of the research, we repeat our measurement by asking a battery of similar questions which the respondent answered after being presented with the concept.

With C&U research we wil provide you with information which will enable you to modify a new product and its marketing message in terms of coherence. We will also obtain extra knowledge on the target group of the product (which consumers, and to what extent, accept a given concept and which consumers accept the product and where the differences come from).

Price testing

We will conduct some tests for you aimed at optimizing the price strategy for new and modified products.

One or several sets of the following kinds of methods will be used: PSM (Price Sensivity Meter), DPA (Direct Price Acceptance), BPTO (Brand - Price Trade Off).

These tests will give you information on price flexibility of your product in comparison to competitors, on the probability of purchase, on the accepted price range and other indicators of price optimization aimed at maximizing the profits of your company.

Testing promotional materials (leaflets, posters, POS's etc.)

We will carry out a research for you which will test the quality and accuracy of promotional materials.

In this research we will apply both qualitative methods (FGI, IDI), in which accuracy of particular concepts is verified, and quantitative methods which check recognizability and quality of promotional materials.

We will also verify proper distribution/display of promotional materials using Mystery Observator.

In consequence, we will offer you information whether an advertising message is coherent and clear for recipients, whether it is read in the same way and in accordance with the intention of its authors and to what extent it is effective (how much does it inspire recipients to buy a product?).

Testing advertisements (copy tests)

We will carry out tests which will help you to make a final choice between several versions of ATL advertising (press, radio, television, outdoor).

Respondents will evaluate the quality and accuracy of promotional materials.

Depending on the level of completion of advertising messages, we recommend either qualitative research (FGI, IDI) or quantitative research (CLT) which verify the accuracy of particular concepts or their noticeability and the quality of ready advertising.

Targetting / selection of a target group

We offer research aimed at defining and selecting a target group for a given product thoroughly.

Desk research (analysis of data available from the research)

We will conduct an analysis of available sales, demographic, production, market or marketing data.

This data may be taken from previous the research, from sales databases or production databases, from widely available databases and studies (e.g. data from the Central Statistical Office) or from articles in specialist journals or any other kind of press.

As a result of the analysis, first the target and the market capacity will be established and this will serve as a starting point for tests based on primary sources.

Segmentation research

We will carry out tests for you which will allow you to distinguish market segments and recipient segments for a given product or service.

We offer advanced methodological and statistical analysis of consumers based on "soft" division criteria which significantly develop the methods of "hard" segmentation (based on social and demographic data, data concerning the amount of products bought in a given category).

We will also provide you with a multi-dimensional behavioural image (based on the criterion of circumstances of buying and using a product) and a psychographic division of the population of potential Customers of your product.

Our segmentation will take into account lifestyle variables and variables connected with consumers' needs met through the product.

Thanks to the use of statistical analysis (e.g. hierarchic cluster analysis, latent class analysis, Kohen's networks), we will choose attitudes towards the product and consumption patterns which are characteristic for each segment.

We will also reflect mutual direct and indirect relations between variables which describe these attitudes and patterns and will define the conditions of participating in particular segments by reflecting the real flexibility in varied circumstances of buying / using the product.

From segmentation research conducted by HumanGraph you will obtain an advanced tool for building the marketing strategy for a range of products. This will make it possible to address precisely the offer to a specific group of Customers and to formulate advertising communication adequate to the characteristics of the recipient.

U & A- Usage and Attitude

U&A is a comprehensive and exhaustive quantitative research conducted on a large and representative group of consumers.

It involves the entire relation of the consumer with products in a given category: shopping and consumption habits (what, where, when, how much, how often the respondent buys / uses the product) and an image of product category / brands in the user's awareness (what they like, what they dislike, what values are associated by the respondent with a given brand).

Results of U&A research will provide you with cross-sectional data necesary for modeling the strategy of product development. You will have a possibility to monit consumers' relations with a category / brand, thanks to which you will avoid potential threats. This will also give you an opportunity to enter new market trends by modifying the existing products or introducing new ones which correspond with the expectations identified in the research.

Positioning (maps of perception)

Maps of perception are a technique of data analysis which visualize the position of the brand in relation to competitive brands.

The final result of using advanced statistical techniques (e.g. analysis of correspondence) is a clear image of brand condition, easy to analyze and shown in the graph which illustrates relations between the distinguished attributes and specific brands taken into account in the research.

The graph shows brand positioning - a range of consumer's rational and emotional associations with the brand. Measurement of these associations is based on a range of statements related with the image of brands which may be an integral part of a U&A questionnaire.

Another benefit lies in taking into account the importance of particular brands for consumers in the analysis.. Thanks to this, you will obtain a kind of a "road map" with tips on the reformulation of marketing messages. You will also find out, for example, which attributes considered by respondents to be important are not associated with the brand now (message associated with these attributes must be strengthened) or which attributes, not very important from the perspective of respondents, are associated with the brand (consumers must be convinced of the importance of these attributes).