Questions, questions questions...

I'm just about to do a test and I want to be really clear about what I expect from this small scale test.

In my mind there are FIVE key questions that the test will answer...

1. Does it work?
2. How appealing is it to consumers?
3. How appealing is it to the trade?
4. What is the right price point?
5. Can I sell 100 of these in a week?

From these I'll have more confidence around different components in my business plan and will highlight the areas that I'll need to focus on in the next stage.

For example, I'll have over a 100 consumers to evaluate the likely appeal rates. I think I'm being quite conservative & cautious at the moment so that will be a good measure to be more certain about.

The other big area that the test will answer is about awareness and whether or not I need a high level of awareness to begin with or whether I can rely on the customer's authority & trust with the consumer - if that's the case I probably don't need £8m marketing spend in year 1!

So... I need to know answers to these questions as I can see a crossroads in my commercial strategy coming up. Certain answers make the case for going one way significantly more appealing than other directions.