In the product development journey, there are several stages, and for each of those there's an appropriate research method. Let's look at some! Concept testing Concept testing is when you ask people what they think about your idea for a product. You show them a picture or description of the product, and then ask them what they think. This can be a great way to get feedback on whether or not people would actually use your product. Beta testing Beta testing is when you give your product to a small group of people before it’s released to the general public. This allows you to gather feedback and make sure that there are no major problems with your product before it goes to market. Exploratory research With this type of research, market researchers will begin by examining data about consumers, their pain points, and their overall product usage at the exploratory stage. Normally working closely with the Product team to make sure these insights are reflected in the product roadmap, they'll delve into data about clients, their pains spots and general product usage. Competitive analysis One of the first steps in any good product research strategy is understanding what your competition is doing with their product. This even works if you don't have your own product yet. This type of research helps you to understand both the strengths and weaknesses of your competition and how you can position your own product in the market. Ideally, you want to find areas where your competitors are falling short and fill that gap with your own offering. Customer satisfaction surveys Customer satisfaction surveys are conducted after someone has already used your product. This allows you to gather feedback on what people think about actually using your product—not just whether they'd consider buying it. You can use surveys to ask customers about their satisfaction levels, what they like and don't like about your product, and what features they would most like to see added or changed. Usability testing Usability testing is all about making sure that people can actually use your product as intended—and that they enjoy doing so. This type o0f testing usually involves sitting down with users and having them complete specific tasks using your product while being observed by researchers. This helps to identify any areas where users struggle or where the experience could be improved. Messaging and marketing testing It's not just about the product: your marketing efforts around it also influence how people perceive your product. In a later stage, once you've got the product itself figured out, you can start fine-tuning the surrounding marketing. Product demand analysis Product demand analysis is useful because it helps you understand how much people want your product. This way, you can make sure that there is enough demand for your product before you release it to the public, and de-risk making wrong investments or damaging your reputation.