Here’s why you should be using MaxDiff in your market research

 

 

First off: what the heck is MaxDiff?

In layman’s terms, it’s the process of elimination by comparing the best and worst factors. Sound’s easy, right? That’s because it is (for us data scientists at least)! When getting into the nitty-gritty, there’s more to it. In the past, we’ve included this technique and it’s done wonders for getting the insights we need.

Comparing Apples to Oranges

Let’s say you’re planning a road trip and you can’t determine which route is the best to take for a multitude of factors:

  Route A Includes:                                               Route B Includes:

• Beautiful scenery                                            • Familiar route

• Great food along the way                              • Cheaper gas stations

• Shorter travel time                                         • Longer travel time

• Don’t have to see the in-laws                       • Have to see the in-laws

You’re stuck between a rock and a hard place, right? Both routes have pros and cons so how are you going to determine which is the best route to take? Hello, MaxDiff (insert superhero music)!

MaxDiff allows you to compare each element and rank them from most appealing to least appealing – which might look something like this:

Best to worst options ranked

• Don’t have to see the in-laws

• Familiar route

• Shorter travel time

• Beautiful scenery

• Cheap gas stations

• Great food along the way

• Longer travel time

• Have to see the in-laws

Based on your decision to rank the best options compared to the worst options, you might choose to go with Route A.

Great but how can I use this at work?

We’re glad you asked! Have you ever noticed that one product claim drives more sales than what it does in another part of the country? With MaxDiff you can test which one claim will drive the best sales for both of your consumers. This helps you get better insights from consumers because they need to actually rank what’s most important and what’s not.

You see, whether it be packaging, pricing, or claims testing, getting that call to action can be difficult. If you’re unsure of which call to action is best for your product, we encourage you to give MaxDiff a shot. You can inquire here!