๐Ÿคตโ€โ™‚๏ธ Concierge Tests

A human gets it done

What’s a Concierge Test?

A concierge test is a technique to validate new product or service concepts by manually delivering the service that would ultimately be automated. In this test, a person performs tasks behind the scenes, simulating how the final product will function. This approach allows businesses to test assumptions, gather user feedback, and understand user needs and preferences without the significant costs and time investment required for full-scale development.

3 Key Benefits of Concierge Tests

โž• Direct user feedback

Providing services manually in a concierge test allows businesses to engage closely with users, yielding deep insights into their needs, preferences, and pain points. This direct interaction facilitates real-time feedback, which is invaluable for tailoring the product to better align with user expectations and enhance overall satisfaction.

โž• Cost-effective validation

Concierge testing is highly cost-effective, as it allows companies to manually provide services and validate their concepts with minimal resource expenditure. This approach ensures there is genuine demand before committing significant investments to development. By testing and refining concepts early, businesses can avoid costly mistakes and ensure that their resources are directed toward viable, demanded features.

โž• Flexibility and iteration

Concierge testing offers unmatched flexibility, enabling businesses to adapt and refine their service offerings in real-time based on user feedback. This iterative approach ensures that products evolve directly in response to user needs, allowing for continuous improvement before full-scale development. By engaging directly with users and incorporating their insights quickly, companies can iterate on their offerings effectively, ensuring that the final product is well-tuned to market demands.

Playbook

โช Prepare

Define your objective: Clearly specify the objectives of the concierge test. Identify the specific elements you wish to validate, such as user needs, market demand, or the viability of your service concept.

Develop the service concept and use cases: Craft a comprehensive plan for the service you’ll manually provide. Detail the steps, resources required, and simulation of the product experience. Develop realistic scenarios and tasks for users, ensuring these align with your test objectives.

Set up testing environment: Collect all necessary materials and resources to deliver the service, including scripts, questionnaires, tools, and equipment. Establish a controlled environment suitable for conducting the test, whether itโ€™s in-person or remote. Prepare all tools needed for effective communication and data collection.

โ–ถ๏ธ Run

Introduce the test: Begin by briefing participants on the purpose of the test, clarifying that the service will be manually provided to simulate the final product. Ensure participants understand they are part of an effort to enhance the service.

Deliver the service: Manually execute the service as outlined in your plan. Strive to make the experience as seamless and realistic as possible, closely simulating the intended final product.

Record interactions and collect feedback: Closely monitor how users interact with the service, taking detailed notes on their behavior, reactions, and any challenges they face. If possible, record the sessions with user consent for comprehensive analysis. After completing the tasks, collect feedback through interviews, surveys, or informal discussions, focusing on their overall experience, any points of confusion, and suggestions for improvement.

โญ๏ธ After

Document key insights and learnings: Compile and highlight the most critical insights from the test, noting both the successful aspects of the service and areas requiring adjustments. Prepare a comprehensive report detailing these findings and present them to stakeholders. Use visual aids and examples from the test to clearly illustrate key points and support your analysis.

3 Bad Practices to Avoid

โš ๏ธ Inadequate preparation of test scenarios

Poorly prepared scenarios and tasks can hinder meaningful engagement, yielding unreliable feedback. Ambiguous or ill-defined tasks may confuse participants, leading to skewed results. To prevent these issues, invest sufficient time in developing clear, detailed, and realistic scenarios that are closely aligned with your test objectives. Ensure these tasks accurately reflect the user behaviors and challenges that the final product is designed to address, ensuring relevance and applicability of the feedback gathered.

โš ๏ธ Overly leading or influencing participants

Biasing participants with excessive guidance or leading questions can distort their behavior and feedback, yielding data that fails to represent their genuine experiences. To mitigate this, encourage participants to engage with the service independently. Employ open-ended questions and observe their natural behaviors. Offer assistance only when necessary to prevent frustration and ensure a more authentic interaction.

โš ๏ธ Failing to act on collected feedback

Neglecting the insights gathered from a concierge test undermines its entire purpose. By ignoring valuable information about user needs and pain points, you risk not improving the product effectively. To avoid this, meticulously analyze all collected feedback and data. Identify critical insights and prioritize issues according to their impact on the user experience. Utilize this information to refine and evolve your product concept. Ensure that findings are communicated to stakeholders and meticulously documented for future reference.

Example

A representative providing personalized shoe recommendations to a marathon runner, based on their running style, preferences, and past purchases.

Subject: Shoe recommendation for marathon runners

โช Prepare

Define your objectives

Validate the feasibility and user interest in a personalized shoe recommendation service specifically tailored for marathon runners.

Assess whether users find the service valuable, determine if the personalized recommendations meet their needs, and evaluate the potential market demand for such a service.

Service concept and use cases

Service Concept: The service provides marathon runners with personalized shoe recommendations based on their running style, preferences, and past purchases. A representative manually curates and delivers these recommendations to the runner.

Use Cases: #1 Runner receives recommendations for shoes that align with their preferred running style (e.g., long-distance, trail running). #2 Runner is guided through selecting shoes that suit their specific needs (e.g., cushioning, support). #3 Runner provides feedback on the recommended shoes and the overall experience.

Setup the testing environment

Materials/Resources: Prepare a list of potential shoe options, information on running styles, a questionnaire to gather the runnerโ€™s preferences, and a script for the representative to use during the interaction.

Environment: Conduct the test in a controlled setting, such as a quiet room where the representative and runner can interact comfortably. If remote, ensure a reliable video conferencing setup.

Communication & Data Collection Tools: Use video conferencing software (if remote), note-taking tools, and recording devices to capture the interaction and feedback.

โ–ถ๏ธ Run

Introduce the test

Participant Briefing: Inform the marathon runner that they will receive personalized shoe recommendations, which will be manually curated by a representative to simulate the final service. Emphasize that their feedback is crucial in refining and improving the service.

Deliver the test

Service Delivery: The representative engages with the marathon runner, asking about their running habits, shoe preferences, and any past issues with running shoes. Based on this information, the representative provides a set of personalized shoe recommendations.

Simulation: The experience should be as close to a fully automated service as possible, ensuring that the runner perceives the recommendations as part of a seamless, well-integrated service.

Record interactions and collect feedback

Observation & Recording: Take detailed notes on how the runner interacts with the service, their reactions to the recommendations, and any questions or concerns they express. Record the session (with consent) to analyze later.

Feedback Collection: After the interaction, ask the runner to provide feedback on the service, focusing on what they liked, any confusion or difficulties they encountered, and suggestions for improvement. Use interviews or surveys to gather this information.

โญ๏ธ After

Key insights and learnings

The test revealed that runners valued the personalized aspect of the service but desired quicker response times and a wider range of shoe options. Most appreciated the detailed explanations of why each shoe was recommended, which increased their trust in the recommendations.

Disclaimer: This is a hypothetical example demonstrating how Concierge Testing might be used for shoe recommendations at a marathon shoe shop. Both the scenario and participants are fictional and intended solely for illustrative purposes.

โœ๏ธ Note from the author

Concierge testing is a hands-on approach to validating your product ideas by manually delivering services before investing in full-scale development. This page is designed to simplify the concept and share some practical insights from my own experiences with this testing method.

Whether youโ€™re new to concierge testing or looking to fine-tune your approach, the key takeaway is to start small, learn from each interaction, and continuously improve. This guide aims to give you a clear, straightforward path to get started and inspire you to experiment, gather feedback, and refine your concept along the way.

Tolgay B.

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