6 BUDGET FRIENDLY WAYS TO TEST NEW PRODUCTS FOR YOUR START UP BUSINESS

Coming up with a product idea to solve a problem, then designing and launching it is relatively easy to do with the right financial support. On the other hand, what's not easy is knowing the extent to which your product will be accepted by your target customers once it lands in the market. In this blog, we'll be going through the six ways to carry out product testing that'll help you determine how your product will perform in the market and is also easy on your start-up capital

Why Carry Out Product Testing?

To determine the profitability of a product once it hits the market, business owners ensure they perform product testing at different stages of the product's development.

Carrying out product testing helps a business owner in various ways, such as:

• Determining the profitability of a product idea

• Developing products that meet customer's current needs

• Designing products that meet the standardized government regulations

• Preventing wastage of resources as a result of product failures and defects etc.

6 Types Of Product Testing Split Into 3 Stages

There are three stages involved in your product existence journey.

• Stage A is the developmental stage.

• Stage B is the pre-launch stage

• Stage C is the post-launch stage

Each stage has its different product testing modes, with each serving different purposes.

STAGE A

1. IDEA TESTING - This type of product testing is done to find out if a product is needed in the market. This is typically done by sending out survey questions to the target audience either offline or by using tools like google forms or Typeform to reach them.

Key Advantage: It helps in determining the profitability of a product

2. QA TESTING - This is known as quality assessment testing. This type of product testing is done during the development stage to ensure that the product behaves as expected when it finally gets launched.

What you need to do is test the behavior of your product under different controlled conditions. This test would only cost you testing equipment and the product materials themselves.

Key Advantage: It helps in identifying product behaviors and problems earlier on so that appropriate solutions can be developed.

3. A/B TESTING - This type of testing involves creating two different versions of the same product with the aim of knowing the version that customers respond better to.

What you need to do here is randomly select a few of your target audiences, present to them the two versions of your product, and ask them to choose which one they prefer.

This particular test would only cost you little to nothing, depending on how you choose to gather your audience for the test.

Key Advantage: It helps you create products that meet up with the preference of your target audience.

STAGE B

1. MARKET TESTING (PROTOTYPE TESTING) - This type of testing occurs after the product has been completely developed and is ready for launch. But before the product is produced on a large scale and launched to a wide market, a lower quantity (your prototypes) is produced and sent out to be tested by real-life users. There are two formats for carrying out this type of product testing:

• The product is sent to randomly selected target customers in their location, to be used at their comfort with feedback sent in at preset intervals during the usage period.

• Randomly selected target audiences are brought to a controlled environment where they can interact with the product. Feedback is collected in the same environment. Randomly selecting target audiences allows for bias-free feedback and opinions.

What you need to do here is create a few samples of your product prototype, then organize market testing that fits your budget.

Key Advantages: It helps prevent the wastage of resources stemming from product issues or failures.

It also helps save the cost of customer product returns and refund requests

STAGE C

1. USER TESTING: This is done after the product has been launched publicly and is being used by customers. It involves sending out surveys with tools like Typeform to collect information on the experience users are having with the product.

What you'd need to do here is create a questionnaire around your product and have your audiences fill it out.

Key Advantage: This will help you locate areas where you need to improve.

2. REGRESSION TESTING: This type of testing is done to determine the new type of features the current product needs to perform better. This is very common in tech products. The experts carry out this particular product testing rather than the customers, to ensure that an upgrade is made and the product functions normally after the upgrade. The cost of this type of test varies.

What you need to do here is have the team in charge of this product upgrade do their job.

Key Advantage: It helps ensure that your product stays relevant with important new features while still maintaining its usage efficiency.

2 Way To Implement Product Testing

Of all the six product testing types, you may choose to;

• Apply different tests types in each stage of your product development, a method known as "Agile"

• Or apply a test at the beginning of your product development and the next test applied at the end of your product development, a method known as a "Waterfall"

It is however in your best interest to apply different product testing types in your product development journey, to prevent assumptions on how your customers would respond to your product. Real information is power, after all, you are creating the product for customers and not for yourself.