W5 on Conjoint - Part 3: Activating Results
W5 on Conjoint is a three-part series exclusively available on W5 Blog. Click here to read Part 1: Conjoint 101 and Part 2: Tips for Success.
Where were we?
In Part 2, we explored how Conjoint research is actually conducted and tips for ensuring a successful study design. Remember, Conjoint strives to mirror real-world choices consumers consider when making a purchase by presenting numerous factors and alternatives aimed to capture how respondents would think and act in a real-life purchasing scenario. While the concept of Conjoint is straightforward, how you get there is not.
Ah yes. Now, what happened to the doughnuts?
In our previous posts, we talked about how Conjoint can be applicable if you were a bakery selling doughnuts and wanted to optimize the assortment to generate sales. While this was one of the more fun Conjoint studies W5 has conducted, it actually presented a surprising array of technical complications. At first glance, exploring consumers’ preferences for doughnuts seems straightforward, relatable, and fun.
However, while a vast array of different doughnut options are available in the world, some combinations of product options just do not make sense. We needed to make sure our survey (alongside our model and report) presented realistic results our client could activate, and bakeries could sell.
Go on…
For this conjoint it was necessary to set a large number of restrictions on product pairings to ensure that options presented in the survey were combinations that would truly be developed and offered in the market.
Among several considerations, we had to ensure we did not offer fillings for a doughnut twist; we had to present different pricing approaches for doughnuts vs. doughnut holes; and some theoretically topping/filling/coating combinations seemed straight up wild – beyond what the client and its retail partners would truly offer.
It was critical to truly represent a doughnut case in a bakery or grocery store as realistically as possible in the survey environment, in order to gain reliable and intuitive results.
So, what happened in the end?
The W5 doughnut conjoint required organization (of many product options), design (of combination logic), and exploration (of diverse consumer tastes and preferences) to yield clear insights for analysis.
It was a strategic challenge to understand insights among consumer sub-groups, based for example, on yeast vs. cake doughnut preference, or stores shopped for grocery bakery products.
In the end, it was affirming to see the results made intuitive sense – not just in the data and conjoint model. Net-net: People love chocolate!
(Chocolate cake, chocolate topping, chocolate sprinkles, chocolate whatever.)
Same #teamchocolate. But, what are other use cases for Conjoint?
For over two decades, we’ve been executing Conjoint research to support clients with knowledge that empowers them to make business decisions. Conjoint can be an ideal approach if you are looking to:
· Determine the Best Pricing Strategy
· Optimize Product (or Service) Configuration
· Inform a Branding or Communications Strategy
Interested in seeing more examples of W5’s Conjoint work in action? On the right, there are a few case studies featuring our previous work:
I have a Conjoint project in mind, what’s next?
We’d welcome the opportunity to learn more about your research needs and determine if Conjoint is the right approach. Feel free to reach out to acastelda@W5insight.com or book a call to keep the conversation going.
W5 on Conjoint is a three-part article exclusively available on our blog, The W5 Narrative.