CONSUMER PRODUCT TESTING It may involve tricking consumers by having them evaluate the same product in three differently branded containers. It may aim to char- acterize consumers through depth interviews. Whatever the approach, consumers are under scrutiny, not the product. Consumer Product Testing Consumer product testing, on the other hand, should aim to test the product. At present there is some confusion of objectives about product testing because of two factions: the marketing people and the technical people. Marketing people have the task of taking the product, packaging it attractively, naming it, selecting a desirable label, getting it into distribution channels, developing enticing advertising copy, and pricing the finished product--all this by a target date that probably was set as soon as the green light was given to the technical staff to develop the product. Little wonder that they want to modify the product test with marketing-type questions. But all too often the marketing people appear not to remember that their best efforts will come to naught if the product is not right. They can attract first purchases, but they cannot bring about repeat buying unless the prod- uct they are trying to sell is in fact acceptable to consumers. On the other side, the technical people have the responsibility of creating the product, and they necessarily have a different set of ques- tions to be answered: Does the product meet its concept or design conceived for it? If not, how far along is it? What are its negative features? What are its positives? If it does meet the concept, is the concept acceptable ? Is the product right ? In the authors' opinion, a consumer product test should test the product, and only if this primary objective will not be sacrificed may marketing-type questions be included in the test. COMPONENTS OF CONSUMER PRODUCT TESTING In planning a consumer product test, one must consider four test components: 1) size and characteristics of the consumer panel 2) number of different samples to be tested 3) length of use of the product and 4) method of obtaining information from the consumers. The key to selecting the best choice for each component is this: What must be learned about the product ? In other words, this test is designed around the problem.

766 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS The Panel Ordinarily, the selection of a panel of consumers is based on the premise that a consumer panel should be representative of the total population, and, therefore, statistical analysis can be applied to the findings. From such analyses, then, it should be possible to ascertain the probability or reliability of the findings. There are two kinds of population samples to which statistics are justifiably applied: Random samples, that is, population samples selected without a definite pattern and quota samples, in which the people who make up the test panel fit the characteristics of a predetermined pat- tern--such as proportionate representation of the various income and educational levels of a standard metropolitan area (SMA) as deter- mined by the U. S. Bureau of the Census. Inasmuch as only persons who are willing to participate in a test are represented, no sampling is truly representative. Nevertheless, statistical analysis can be and is used successfully in making decisions by persons who take into con- sideration this and various other gaps in their methodology. Too often, however, statistical analysis is misapplied or interpreted in- correctly. The larger the sample the greater the probability that the findings are not due to chance. But, as the sample size increases, so do the costs of the test. Therefore, depending on available funds and the degree of risk one is willing to take, a particular sample size is selected. In addition to size and general representative qualities of the panel, specific characteristics of a panel could be deliberately selected according to the product's end use. For example, a hair conditioner for beauty shop use would be tested by a panel of beauty shop operators on their clients. Suppose that three popular hair conditioners are already on the market for beauty shop use. One could adjust the composition of the testing panel so that users of these first, second, and third place rank products would be proportionately represented. This sub- sampling technique would yield more information on the performance of the hair conditioner in comparison to its ultimate competition. Different Samples to be Tested Often technical people wish to obtain guidance from small consumer panels regarding the direction to be taken with an unfinished product. If this single product were given to the consumers, they would exag- gerate its unfinished qualities and fail to see or evaluate its positive