Concept Development & Testing

Concept Development and Testing

The third stage of the NPD process is concept development and testing. Concept development is the ongoing, continuous approach of finding the most appropriate design for a new product. Multiple designs consist of different materials, technology and physical appearance in order to grasp what the key product elements are so that the most premium product can be brought to market (Armstrong et. al. 2009).  

Lamb et al. (2010) described concept testing has been described within concept development as the preliminary stage to evaluate and test the success of a new product before it is actually brought to market. The concept is presented to a potential customer through an image, a statement or a verbal description. The sports product, brand and category are also considered at this stage of the NPD process. Many questions are asked;

. Is there need for the product?

. Is there a gap in the market for the product?

. What are the benefits of this product in relation to that of a competitor?

. What is the perceived value of the product?

. What are the customers’ purchase intentions in relation to the occasion and frequency of the purchase?

This stage is crucial in the development of a new (sports) product.

            Concept development and testing is also seen within the sport industry when a new sports product is being brought to market. Nike implements CD&T when bringing a new footwear product to market. They gather a mixed group of dedicated athletes from a variety of different sports to give constructive feedback and criticism on the shoes they are testing. This is in order to produce only the finest, most desirable to bring to the sports footwear market (Nike 2013).  Also within the sport industry, The Human Performance Centre at London South Bank University wanted to bring their concept ‘youbreathe’ – a vibration-training device for the respiratory system. As their market is broad – from athletes to asthma sufferers – they had to apply concept development and testing in order to develop the most appropriate, customer-fitting product (LSBU, 2013).  

            In regards to the Cricket Spike idea that was brought through from the idea generation and screening phase, concept developments were created in order to test on the potential customers of the product. Three possible concepts of this are:

1)       Cricket trainer with a button on the sole that folds and unfolds the spike so that the athlete can have either a spiked trainer or general trainer.

2)      Cricket trainer with reeling system on the sole that folds and unfold the spike so that the athlete can have either a spiked trainer or general trainer.

3)      Cricket trainer with detachable spikes that can be taken off or put on by using a spike-remover device; allowing an athlete to have either a spike trainer or general trainer.

A concept scoring matrix was created after the concepts were tested by potential customers. This matrix discovered that concept 1 has the highest potential for success in the sport cricket marketplace.

	CONCEPT 1	CONCEPT 2	CONCEPT 3
EASE OF USE	5	2	3
TARGET MARKET (Size)	4	4	4
LOW NUMBER OF COMPETITORS	4	4	3
ENHANCING THE CRICKET SHOE MARKET	5	3	3
DEMAND	4	3	4
POTENTIAL PRODUCT GROWTH	5	2	3
TOTAL SCORE	27	18	20
RANK	1	2	3

N.B. 1 – Low, 5 – High.        

Word Count - 500.  

Reference List

Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M., & Brennan, R. (2009) Marketing: an introduction. Essex: Pearson Education.

Lamb, C. W., Hair Jr, J. F., & McDaniel, C. D. (2010) Essentials of marketing. Ohio: Cengage Learning.

London South Bank University (2013) Product testing and development. Available at: http://www1.lsbu.ac.uk/sports/hpc/technology.shtml Last accessed 25th November 2013.

Nike. (2013) Consumer affairs. Testing products for Nike. Available at: http://help-us.nikeinc.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/530 Last accessed 25th November 2013.