For more than 25 years, Logit Group has worked in quantitative and qualitative research, but our areas of expertise go beyond traditional online sampling to areas like in-home usage testing (IHUT). If you’re not familiar with this method, it’s a really cost-effective way to test your product with real people before moving forward with a full-scale product launch.

Testing The Market Before You Hit The Market
There are risks in creating a brand-new product without testing anything. When using IHUT, you have the opportunity to ship products to participants to use at home before you hit the traditional markets. Their feedback is gathered using various means such as follow up telephone or online surveys, or even in-person interviews. This way, individuals are fully engaged in the whole process from start to finish. Since IHUT relies on a real-life environment rather than a controlled market research scenario, it is more likely to result in actual outcomes on product satisfaction, usage, and potential improvement areas.

applying makeup

How Logit Conducts IHUT

When we do IHUT work with a client, we recruit respondents via an online panel that fits a particular desired market segment—the target audience. After respondent selection, the products are then sent to the participants. At different times during the usage period, participants receive an invitation to fill out an online questionnaire or a different type of feedback tool.

One of the surveys may capture the participants’ first impressions and experiences with the product after the first week. A final questionnaire can help determine the experiences and satisfaction with the product in detail, as well as help identify areas for improvement. We recently conducted IHUT work for a national Dairy company company that wanted to understand what consumers thought of its packaging and product taste. The research included two different phases—an eye-tracking exercise and a packaging assessment. We invited 500 product users to participate in the 25 minute in-person test. 375 concept acceptors were given product to take home to understand any changes in their satisfaction and acceptance of the product.

Using the IHUT methodology, Logit Group was able to understand participants’ first impressions, appeal, and purchase intent. As part of some performance accept/reject analysis, we could track results over time to understand changes in consumer preferences and opinions in relation to how long they have been using the product.

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The Uses of IHUT In Further Research

Overall satisfaction, as well as more pinpointed satisfaction on specific product features, could be measured to provide first insights into potential areas of improvement. In the case of a longer usage period and multiple questionnaires, levels of satisfaction can be measured over time. To focus on potential areas for improvements, I always like to recommend open-ended questions to then really dive deep into what the participant is thinking about a product.

Throughout the IHUT process, data is being analyzed to provide clear, relevant results and recommendations. By the end of the research project, the goal is to know exactly whether or not your product is truly ready for full market launch or requires additional improvement, as well as its potential in terms of acceptance and how to best position it within the market space. IHUT can also help you understand whether there are any geographic differences that you need to think about when marketing and launching your product.

When working with highly skilled analysts like those at Logit Group, IHUT allows you to understand some of the most important checks on your product before launch by means of real-life opinions, comments, and data.


About Aref

Aref MunshiAs Vice President, Sales & Research Services for The Logit Group, Aref Munshi’s main responsibilities include, managing existing clients. He has been providing qualitative and quantitative support services to clients across the healthcare, consumer & business industries. With over 30 years of data collection experience, Aref’s strength is his holistic market research skill set. From client services, to operations, Aref is the perfect client advocate and research problem solver. He has held senior management roles at two of the larger data collection companies in Canada. First 25 years at RIS Christie and the last 7 with The Logit Group.