Concept Testing: How to conduct a test

Do basic market research methods give basic results? Are advanced techniques only available to multinationals? Is there a solid middle ground for the ambitious on a tight budget?

Let's set the record straight on the advanced market research techniques you see advertised everywhere. Sometimes they are followed by mind-boggling features: Eye-tracking, neuromarketing, AI-powered sentiment analysis. Sometimes you'll just see the word 'advanced', without any further explanation.

We've run hundreds of product tests and been involved in countless market research processes, and know exactly what ''advanced'' means in practical terms. 

Firstly, each research question has a shelf life. Wait three months for answers and the product team has moved on, manufacturing commitments are locked in, or market conditions have moved on to the next best thing. 

But speed isn't the only thing that makes a technique advanced. It's also about intention. Choosing methods based on what you need to know, not what sounds impressive in a deck. 

So let's unravel what advanced techniques you need to know (or may already be deploying), and how you can turn a basic research method into an advanced one.

What makes a market research technique "advanced"?

Most content treats "advanced" like a hierarchy. You graduate from simple surveys to focus groups to neuromarketing. Beyond that, there's all kinds of AI-powered psychoanalysis. But does complexity really equal the process? 

Not according to our experience. Advanced means you've perfectly matched the method to question. A simple usage test that reveals behavioral patterns that you can act on instantly beats an expensive neuromarketing study that confirms what you already knew, and goes into a report. The advancement is knowing which technique answers which question, and having the infrastructure to deploy it before the insight expires. 

We've seen across thousands of CPG product tests that simple methods deployed strategically beat sophisticated methods deployed too late or in the wrong place. And simple methods chosen intentionally beat expensive methods chosen because the research vendor's marketing made them sound cutting-edge.

Advanced techniques share three characteristics:

• They answer a specific business question you need to make a decision
• They're chosen based on what you need to learn, not what sounds sophisticated
• They produce insights while you can still act on them

If your method of choice has speed, accuracy, and is actionable, you've got a winner—even if it's a good old questionnaire.

Say you're tracking how fast someone goes through a product. That's dead simple. But if your question is "will people rebuy this?"—that depletion rate data predicts better than asking if they liked it. That's advanced: matching method to question, not method to marketing.

What sounds advanced vs. what is advanced

The value doesn't lie in methodological complexity. It's all about strategic deployment and thoughtful selection based on what you're trying to decide.

How to turn basic research methods into advanced decision drivers

So the good news is: everybody has access to advanced methods, no matter their budget! Here's how that becomes practical in your next research endeavors:

Behavioral testing: from acceptance rates to revenue prediction

• Basic version: Send product, ask if people like it, collect ratings.
• Advanced version: Track usage patterns over time, including frequency, depletion, routine integration, to predict repeat purchases before you commit to manufacturing.
• What it reveals that ratings don't: Whether people use your product the way you designed it to be used. Whether it fits into existing routines or creates friction. Whether usage frequency supports your revenue projections.
• Why you'd choose this method: You need to know if people will rebuy, not just if they like the sample. Stated preferences can't answer that question. Behavioral data can.
• When to deploy: Early enough that findings can influence formulation or format, not just confirm what you're already producing.

Sensory evaluation: from simple preferences to in-store performance

• Basic version: Test samples in controlled settings, measure preference.
• Advanced version: Test over multiple uses in real conditions to understand how sensory attributes hold up when someone's on their third use, not their first impression.
• What it reveals: Whether "great first taste" becomes "gets old fast." Does texture that works once work repeatedly? Does scent intensity that seems perfect initially become overwhelming by day five?
• Why you'd choose this method: Single-session testing tells you about first impressions. Your business question is about sustained performance. Match method to question.
• When to deploy: Before finalizing formulation, when you still have room to adjust intensity, sweetness, texture based on sustained use data.

Conjoint analysis: from simple feature testing to granular pricing strategy

• Basic version: Test feature combinations to find preferences.
• Advanced version: Test pricing alongside features while you still have flexibility in your cost structure, before manufacturing commitments lock you in.
• What it reveals: Which features justify premium pricing. Where you can simplify without losing value perception. What combinations open up different market segments.
• Why you'd choose this method: You need to understand trade-offs before costs are locked in, not after. The timing is what makes it advanced.
• When to deploy: Before you've committed to ingredients, packaging specs, or supply chain decisions that determine your floor price.

Look for platform infrastructure that enables deployment

You can choose the right method for the right question and still get stuck if your infrastructure can't execute quickly enough. So what does continuous testing require?

• Pre-vetted communities so you're not spending three weeks recruiting for every study. You have a question Tuesday, you launch Wednesday.
• Logistics infrastructure that handles product delivery without manual coordination. You ship samples to a warehouse, the system handles distribution.
• Quality assurance that happens during data collection, not weeks later. AI catches duplicate responses, inconsistent answers, suspicious patterns in real-time.
• Platforms that make launching a study a same-day decision instead of a same-month project.

For brands that test continuously, problems are caught when they are still reformulating their product, so it's no biggie. They can iterate faster than competitors working in quarterly cycles. They test pricing strategies before manufacturing locks in their costs.

Why speed determines the success of your insights

Research timelines built for annual product launches don't work when development cycles are six months. If your research takes four months, you're testing for last cycle's decisions.

A complex methodology that takes three months to execute won't help if your team makes decisions in six weeks. A simple usage test that takes two weeks will.

So. Can you launch a study today if you have a question today? Do insights arrive while you can still change the product, or just in time to validate what's already locked in?

Your research timeline should be shorter than your decision cycle. Otherwise you're doing expensive documentation, not research that influences outcomes.

How to evaluate if your approach is advanced enough

Three questions to ask to make sure your advanced process is not just fancy-sounding:

1. Can you test when stakes are low enough to iterate? Or only when you're so far into development that findings just validate commitments you've already made?
2. Do you choose methods based on your business question or based on what the research vendor's pitch deck emphasized? The second approach gets you sophisticated methods answering the wrong questions.
3. Can you iterate based on findings? Or are you already committed to manufacturing specifications, supply chain agreements, and cost structures that lock you in?

If your infrastructure makes you wait weeks to start and weeks to finish, you're running thorough research too slowly to matter.

Your next study shows if you're working advanced

Next time you're about to commission research, write down the decision it needs to inform and the date you need the answer by. If the research timeline extends past that decision date, you've just funded a report no one will use.

Highlight's infrastructure exists because continuous testing requires different architecture than quarterly projects: communities already vetted, logistics already built, quality assurance already running. Which means when you have a question on Thursday, you're not waiting until next quarter's research phase for the answer. Check out how we do it.