Abstract:

Product designing and pricing are two of the most important marketing decisions. Test marketing is one strategy to get better informations to evaluate the referent alternatives. Pre-test marketing evaluation is another research strategy which becomes more and more popular due to its favourable cost-time-accuracy profile. Still less expensive and time consuming are laboratory simulations based on conjoint and other decision analysis approaches such as information display matrix treatments A powerful new package of an interactive decision analysis system (IDAS) is presented. This approach amalgamates a realistic display matrix elaboration, a completely individualised conjoint analysis and some validity checks. The system develops understandable trade-offs of product features and prices on an individual level and offers opportunities for benefit segmentation. The system is interactive; within a researcher module the product area, the attributes and the levels to be analysed may be defined, within the respondent module one works through a sequence of tasks, thus delivering to the researcher the informations required. These informations allow to optimise the product features and price.