Editing Concept testing (section)

==Evaluating concept-test scores==

Traditionally concept-test survey results are compared to 'norms databases'.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Thomas|first1=Jerry|title=Concept Testing (And The "Uniqueness" Paradox)|url=https://www.decisionanalyst.com/whitepapers/concepttesting/|website=Decision Analyst|publisher=Decision Analyst|accessdate=21 April 2017|ref=2|date=2016-01-11}}</ref> These are databases of previous new-product concept tests. These must be 'monadic' concept tests, to prevent interaction effects. To be fair, it is important that these databases contain 'new' concept test results, not ratings of old products that consumers are already familiar with; since once consumers become familiar with a product the ratings often drop. Comparing new concept ratings to the ratings for an existing product already on the market would result in an invalid comparison, unless special precautions are taken by researchers to reduce or adjust for this effect quantitatively. Additionally, the concept is usually only compared to norms from the same product category, and the same country.

Companies that specialize in this area, tend to have developed their own unique systems, each with its own standards. Keeping to these standards consistently is important to preventing contamination of the results.

Perhaps one of the famous concept-test systems is the Nielsen Bases system, which comes in different versions. Other well-known products include Decision Analyst's 'Concept Check', Acupoll's 'Concept Optimizer', Ipsos Innoquest and GFK. Examples of smaller players include Skuuber and Acentric Express Test.