This type process is particularly suited we believe for many bank products
This type process is particularly suited we believe for many bank products. A basic problem for bankers is in the actual development and deployment of a product to the market and the subsequent removal of the product from the market because of unmet expectations. Most banks with which we are familiar resist pulling products from the market. This accounts for one reason why we see many unprofitable products allowed to continue in a bank’s product line. It is also a key reason why an advanced concept test can be a very meaningful source of information to the bank. It enables the bank to test the product, its price, promotion, package, delivery system, and personnel without actually introducing a product prototype to the marketplace. The reader will note that in the following discussion there is little difference in the methodology used at this stage of the framework versus that used in Chapter 4. The difference lies in the fact that the product, at this later stage of the framework, has taken on more tangible attributes which must be tested. The conceptual statements generated on the earlier stage have now taken some more tangible form which customers will be asked to evaluate as if they were actually using the product. We classify the advanced concept as a further step in the sequence of product evaluation. The sequence of product evaluation begins with the initial screening of new product ideas and terminates with a full-scale test marketing process.
Many bankers are finding it useful to obtain information concerning the degree to which product attributes are important to the consumer. One way to gain such assessment relative to the desirability of product attributes is by the use of a categorical rating scale. For example, in assessing the desirability of attributes of an Asset Management Account, prospective customers would be asked to rate the attributes along key dimensions such as (1) providing access to a personal financial planner (2) having a low monthly fee, (3) providing a line of credit, and a wide range of other attributes. The prospective customer would be asked to rate each attribute along a five-point scale with 1 representing Very Important and 5 representing Very Unimportant (see Figure 6-1). Obviously, these are not all the key attributes on which a bank would find customer opinions useful, but they do represent some crucial ones. Alternative attributes that could comprise a rating scale are listed in Figure 6-2. Information obtained from this type research could subsequently be used to fine tune the product which could, in turn, be tested with another group of potential customers until the bank was convinced that the AMA product as configured met with approval of its target market.
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