1:27PM January 20 2012
Does Ribena user test?
I firmly believe that if Ribena (the best drink in the world by the way) performed user testing on their packaging, they would remove that gold foil wrapped round the lid of some of their bottles. It may be a big part of their heritage, having been around for decades. Not only does it seem to be stuck on with some kind of impenetrable glue, but I end up getting tiny gold flecks in my drink for the lifetime of the bottle (this design flaw has in fact inspired me to create my new favourite tipple; Goldschlager and Ribena, but I digress). I can’t be the only one that experiences this can I?
How would Ribena ever know that their customers are suffering like this? A good social media strategy will of course give customers the channels to start conversations along with helplines and contact facilities – but this relies on customers being bothered to contact and only once the product is ‘live’ and on the shelves.
An alternative would be to ask customers direct questions via surveys – but it takes a very brave company to ask ‘what really annoys you about our product?’ My ideal solution is to test a product before it reaches delivery, even when it’s in development – and I don’t just mean functionally. Does Ribena’s gold foil provide a function? Of course it does – it gives a visual indicator to the user that the bottle has not been tampered with. The colour and material says something about the brand quality and heritage.
However, what user testing can provide more than anything else is an insight into what your end-user will experience and feel – intangible criteria that are nigh on impossible to gather via surveys, emails or wall posts. Watching users interact with your product or service is invaluable and with contextual questions throughout opinions and experience can be gathered. Providing users tasks can provide the quantitative data and provide a balanced insight.
User testing gives you answers to those questions that surveys forget to ask and ideas that users never feedback because they can’t be bothered, lack confidence, or thinks no one is listening. Doing this early on in the development phase can save money and time and provide a more satisfying product to your target audience.
