Test Marketing

Test Marketing is the 7^th stage to New Product Development, the stage at which the product and marketing program are introduced into a more realistic market setting. (Grewal and Levy, 2010) Test marketing cost can be high, and it takes time that may allow competitors to gain advantage. (Grewal and Levy, 2010) However, it is very effective because it determines the weaknesses in the marketing strategy, which will reduce the risk in product failure. (Kotler and Armstrong, 1991) In order to test all variables in the marketing plan different characteristics need to be measured. Test marketing decisions include, how many cites will be tested, the length of the test, what information to collect, what action to take and the 4P’s (price, product, promotion place). These findings will be inserted in a Gantt chart. This will then give the marketer an idea on how the market will react to the new product/service.

            T20 cricket went through the test marketing stage when it was introduced to the market. It was first introduced in England and Wales, however, now it spared around the world. The first official Twenty20 match is played at the Rose Bowl between Hampshire and Sussex on June 13. (Daily Telegraph, 2014) This event was shown nationally by sky sports. This would be a result of effective text marketing since they determined their weaknesses and reduced these to hinder product failure. The England and Wales Cricket Board spends $365,000 on a consumer research study into the causes and effects of declining crowds at county matches. (Daily Telegraph, 2014) This was a one-year process since the ECB marketing manager Stuart Robertson hosts a meeting in 2002 with media in Valderrama to name the new format and competition. (Daily Telegraph, 2014)

           

The test market decisions that will be undertaken from Polf will include, how many test cities, which cities, length of test and what information to collect? This aims to determine the reaction of probable buyers.

How many test cities?	Polf will be tested at three different cites. So that the test will be done by a variety of different people.
Which cities?	Newcastle, London and Edinburgh will be the test directly in the city center.
Length of test?	The length of the test will be about 5-10 minutes so that people can try the new format.
What information to collect?	The information collected should show what the reaction of the potential market.

It is also important to think about the 4P’s (price, product, promotion place). The price of the test marketing will probably be expensive, however it will help with the promotion of the format. A risk Polf will have to consider when text marketing is that competitors may interfere and copy the format. A Gantt chart can be done to see what components will be actioned. See appendix A.

References

DailyTelegraph, (2014). From marketing gimmick to billion-dollar industry, we track the evolution of Twenty20 cricket. [online] Available at: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/cricket/from-marketing-gimmick-to-billiondollar-industry-we-track-the-evolution-of-twenty20-cricket/story-fni2fnmo-1226863155983?nk=194dda5cf8a110a2f6b7fdb0e0c310c2 [Accessed 24 Jan. 2015].

Grewal, D. and Levy, M. (2010). Marketing. Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G. (1991). Principles of marketing. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall.

Appendix A: Gantt chart for Polf

Product Development

Product development is the 6^th stage in the New Product Development (NPD) framework. The product development process is a sequence of steps or activities that an enterprise employs to conceive, design, and commercialize a product. (Ulrich and Eppinger, 2012) In this process the organisation decides how to position their product/service in the market. It can also be defined that product development occurs when a concept is converted into a physical offering or when the service is created (Beech & Chadwick, 2007) Product development includes product/service construction, packaging, branding, positioning, attitude and usage testing. Each of these stages is essential to identify the position the product/service has in the market.

T20 Cricket is a new format sport. The increase of speed and the reduction of time introduced a whole new market segment. It targets families, children and teenagers. Through branding T20 cricket, positioned themselves to see how their customers would react to this format. Since the target market reacted very positively they could continue to grow this new format. When T20 started, everyone took it quite lightly as a bit of fun, whereas over the years it's become a very big event and there's a lot of prize money at stake now. (Ramprakash, 2012) Customer satisfaction was calculated through surveys. Fan research was conducted and, ultimately, from a county point of view, Twenty20 cricket was born from that consumer research. (Ramprakash, 2012)

Positioning, branding decision and attitude and usage testing are the three main aspects of product development that will be used for the new sport format.

The target market for this new format is golf players and pool players who like to try new concepts. This sport format is male and female for all ages. Polf is important because it combines the tactics used in golf and pool with enjoyment. A survey has been completed in appendix A, which shows the response from pool and golf players about Polf.  Generally they like the idea of the new format and would participate in this sport. Using a Perceptual Map Golf, Pool and Polf can be directly compared on price and customer satisfaction shown in Appendix B. This they the sport can be positioned against its competitors.

Branding decision include name of new sport format, logo, exclusivity and trademark protection. The name of the new format is Polf, it is easy to remember and simple. A logo has been developed in shown in appendix C. The logo consists of two pool cues and one golf flag, to show the combination between the two sports Golf and Pool. Exclusivity will be created because this sport will not be available everywhere since it is a new format. The trademark such as the logo will help the customer recognize the format.

Attitude and usage testing should identify how satisfied the customers and the customer’s perception of the new sports format.  The customer satisfaction can be seen from the survey and the Perceptual Map in appendix A and B.

References:

Ramprakash, M. (2012). Has Twenty20 changed cricket?. [online] BBC Sport. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/19624160 [Accessed 21 Jan. 2015].

Ulrich, K. and Eppinger, S. (2012). Product design and development. 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, p.12.

Appendix

Appendix A: Customer Survey

Customer	1	2	3	4
After hearing what Polf is would you play this new format?	Yes	Yes	I don’t know	Yes
Could you see you playing this new format with your friends just for fun?	Depends	Yes	Maybe sometimes	Yes
Do you think that there was a gap in the market, which is now closed through the new format?	I think it brings a new element to pool.	Yes	In a way, yes.	Yes

Appendix B: Polf’s Perceptual Map

Appendix C: Polf’s Logo