Optimisation techniques using preference mapping are highly effective in product development However, the consumer testing procedure is less than ideal for fine fragrances. An alternative methodology, developed for other applications but particularly suited to fine fragrance research is proposed. Parallel trials of the traditional and new methods applied to fine fragrance research have been conducted and their results are reported.
Over the last ten years major progress has been made in the area of multidimensional preference models and related measurement and analysis procedures. This has resulted in a rich collection of models and methods that can give very valuable insights into the factors that determine consumers' preference and choices. In this paper a review of this methodology is presented. First the theoretical roots of multidimensional preference models in economics and social psychology are briefly reviewed. Then a taxonomy of preference models is given. The main purpose of the paper is to put the various models and methods into a common reference frame, clarifying their possibilities and limitations and in this way to provide support to the researcher who has to choose his preference analysis strategy.
This paper outlines the conventional techniques of testing preferences; it suggests that, quite apart from technical discussions about the advantages of one or other preference testing method, when more than one preference dimension is brought into regard, the results of well-proved methods take on a radically different aspect. The problem dealt with is how the preferences for different informants, who may be different types of informant, for different products or services, under possibly different conditions or assumptions on the part of informants, can be represented. At first a conventional representation of a possible preference test is shown, and then a principal component analysis of the same data is mapped in an original way that is described in detail. The results are dramatically different from the more conventional representations of preference test findings the product with the most consistent and relatively high score is when one takes all the preferences for all the products into account simultaneously - the worst possible bet for the market.