Testers versus users -- Revisited

After a recent presentation of "Researching Research" a member of the audience mentioned that the example of testers vs. users given in the presentation was a better example than the one I had used in one of my January 1995 Views publications. The example I used in the presentation was one of my very early experiences in researching the effects of a test protocol; actually, the experiment was conducted in the late 1960's.

We were about to conduct a CLT recall of a laundry detergent test, conducted among 360 female heads-of- household. We also had a hand dish washing detergent study cancel. From the cancelled study, we had 240 blind samples of a current market product. We divided the returning laundry detergent users into two panels, odd and even-numbered. After the laundry detergent interview was completed, we asked the even-numbered panelists (120 of them) if they would like to participate in another test. Those that said "Yes," were given a bottle of the dish washing detergent and were told we would call them in two weeks to conduct the interview.

For the odd-numbered panelists, we told them we had some leftover dish washing detergent and did not want to send it back to the plant. If they wanted a bottle, they could have one.

After two weeks, both panels were called and interviewed. The results of the study showed dramatic differences in the responses between the odd and even-numbered panels. Those that were asked to "Test" the dish washing detergent, responded in much greater detail than those who were "given" a leftover sample.

Is there a right and wrong protocol? No. I believe there is a time and a place for both types of research. Both approaches bring valuable data to the table. It is important to know when to use each approach. I also expect that the difference between the two panels will be a function of the test product's quality where excellent and poor products will show bigger differences between panels, while average products will result in smaller differences.

AN INVITATION

I'd like to extend an open invitation to the readers of the Views to share their research experiences. I would expect that the Company and Brand names would be anonymous. At the discretion of the writers, their names would be shared or kept secret.

My objective in the talks that I give and the writing of the Views paper is to stimulate ideas and research into improving the state of the art in consumer and market research. Your contributions would be greatly appreciated.