Conjoint Analysis: A Strategic Tool for Product Research

Despite efforts by companies to offer products that meet customers' needs, a large percentage of them still fail. One of the reasons for product failure is negligence on the part of the company to find out what customers want and how they want it. The fulfillment of customers' needs and wants in a profitable way requires that companies understand the attributes of their product(s) that are most valued by the customers. Such information can lead to the creation of optimal value propositions. This study considered how conjoint analysis could be used to aid this process. It discussed the role of conjoint analysis in the determination of buyers' responses to a product during concept testing and test marketing and also for the modifications of existing products. It also demonstrated how Microsoft Excel could be used for conjoint analysis by companies when developing new products or when managing existing products in the face of intense competition.