What Is Conjoint Analysis?

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For a business to run effectively, its leadership needs a firm understanding of the value its products or services bring to consumers. This understanding allows for a more informed strategy across the board—from long-term planning to pricing and sales.

2In today’s business environment,most products and services include multiple features and functions by default.So, how do businesses go about learning which ones their customers value most? Is it possible to assign a specific value to each feature a product offers?

This is where conjoint analysis becomes an essential tool.

3Here’s an overview of what conjoint analysis is, why it’s important, and steps you can take to analyze your products or services.

What is conjoint analysis?

4Conjoint analysis is a form of statistical analysis that firms use in market research to understand how customers value different components or features of their products or services. It’s based on the principle that any product can be broken down into a set of attributes that ultimately impact users’ perceived value of an item or service.

為了公司能有效經(jīng)營，領(lǐng)導層需要深刻理解產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)給消費者帶來的價值。理解這點有助于制定更明智的方方面面策略——涵蓋長期規(guī)劃到定價和銷售等各個方面。

2在當今的商業(yè)環(huán)境中，大多數(shù)產(chǎn)品和服務(wù)都默認包含多種特征和功能。所以，公司如何去了解客戶最看重的特征？是否可以給產(chǎn)品的每個特征賦予特定價值？

這就是聯(lián)合分析成為重要工具的地方。

3本文將概述什么是聯(lián)合分析，它為何重要，以及可以采取哪些步驟來分析產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)。

什么是聯(lián)合分析？

4聯(lián)合分析是一種統(tǒng)計分析形式，公司在市場調(diào)研中用它來了解客戶如何評價其產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)的各個部分或特征。它基于的原理是：任何產(chǎn)品都可以被拆解為一系列屬性，這些屬性最終會影響用戶對一種產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)的價值感知。

5Conjoint analysis is typically conducted via a specialized survey that asks consumers to rank the importance of the specific features in question. Analyzing the results allows the firm to then assign a value to each one.

Types of Conjoint Analysis

6Conjoint analysis can take various forms. Some of the most common include:

?Choice-Based Conjoint (CBC)Analysis: This is one of the most common forms of conjoint analysis and is used to identify how a respondent values combinations of features.

?Adaptive Conjoint Analysis(ACA): This form of analysis customizes each respondent’s survey experience based on their answers to early questions. It’s often leveraged in studies where several features or attributes are being evaluated to streamline the process and extract the most valuable insights from each respondent.

?Full-Profile Conjoint Analysis: This form of analysis presents the respondent with a series of full product descriptions and asks them to select the one they’d be most inclined to buy.

? MaxDiff Conjoint Analysis: This form of analysis presents multiple options to the respondent, which they’re asked to organize on a scale of “best” to“worst” (or “most likely to buy” to “l(fā)east likely to buy”).

5聯(lián)合分析通常以專門調(diào)查的形式進行，請消費者對所提及的具體特征按重要性進行排序。通過分析結(jié)果，公司可以為每個特征賦值。

聯(lián)合分析的類型

6聯(lián)合分析可以采取多種形式。最常見的包括：

? 基于選擇的聯(lián)合分析（CBC）：這是聯(lián)合分析最常見的形式之一，用于識別受訪者對不同特征組合的評價。

? 自適應(yīng)聯(lián)合分析（ACA）：這種分析形式根據(jù)每個受訪者對之前問題的回答來定制他們的調(diào)查體驗。在評估多個特征或?qū)傩缘恼{(diào)查中經(jīng)常會使用這種形式來簡化流程，從每個受訪者那里獲取最有價值的見解。

? 全輪廓聯(lián)合分析：這種分析形式向受訪者展示一系列完整的產(chǎn)品描述并請他們選出最有意愿購買的產(chǎn)品。

? 最大化差異聯(lián)合分析：這種分析形式向受訪者提供多種選擇，請他們按照“最好”到“最壞”（或“最有可能購買”到“最不可能購買”）的順序進行排列。

7The type of conjoint analysis a company uses is determined by the goals driving its analysis (i.e., what does it hope to learn?) and, potentially, the type of product or service being evaluated.It’s possible to combine multiple conjoint analysis types into “hybrid models”to take advantage of the benefits of each.

What is conjoint analysis used for?

8The insights a company gleans from conjoint analysis of its product features can be leveraged in several ways.

Conjoint Analysis in Pricing

9Conjoint analysis works by asking users to directly compare different features to determine how they value each one. When a company understands how its customers value its products or services’ features, it can use the information to develop its pricing strategy.

10For example, a software company hoping to take advantage of network effects to scale its business might pursue a “freemium” model wherein its users access its product at no charge. If the company determines through conjoint analysis that its users highly value one feature above the others, it might choose to place that feature behind a paywall.

11As such, conjoint analysis is an excellent means of understanding what product attributes determine a customer’s willingness to pay. It’s a method of learning what features a customer is willing to pay for and whether they’d be willing to pay more.

7公司采用哪種聯(lián)合分析類型取決于其進行分析的目的（也就是說，公司想知道什么？），以及被評估產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)的類型。多種聯(lián)合分析類型可以組合成“混合模型”，以充分利用每種類型的優(yōu)點。

聯(lián)合分析的作用是什么？

8公司對其產(chǎn)品特征進行聯(lián)合分析，從中收集到的見解可以通過多種方式加以利用。

定價中的聯(lián)合分析

9聯(lián)合分析的機制是讓用戶直接比較不同的特征，以確定他們對每個特征的評價。當公司了解客戶如何評價其產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)的特征時，它就可以利用這些信息制定其定價策略。

10例如，希望利用網(wǎng)絡(luò)效應(yīng)擴大業(yè)務(wù)規(guī)模的軟件公司或可采用“免費增值”模式，讓用戶免費使用其產(chǎn)品。如果該公司通過聯(lián)合分析確定其用戶對某個功能的重視高于其他功能，那么它可能會選擇將該功能設(shè)為付費功能。

11因此，若想了解什么樣的產(chǎn)品屬性決定客戶付費意愿，聯(lián)合分析是一種極好的方法。這種方法可以了解客戶愿意為哪些功能付費以及是否愿意支付更多費用。

Conjoint Analysis in Sales & Marketing

12Conjoint analysis can inform more than just a company’s pricing strategy; it can also inform how it markets and sells its offerings. When a company knows which features its customers value most,it can lean into them in its advertisements, marketing copy, and promotions.

13On the other hand, a company may find that its customers aren’t uniform in assigning value to different features. In such a case, conjoint analysis can be a powerful means of segmenting customers based on their interests and how they value features—allowing for more targeted communication.

14For example, an online store selling chocolate may find through conjoint analysis that its customers primarily value two features: Quality and the fact that a portion of each sale goes toward funding environmental sustainability efforts. The company can then use that information to send different messaging and appeal to each segment’s specific value.

Conjoint Analysis in Research &Development

15Conjoint analysis can also inform a company’s research and development pipeline. The insights gleaned can help determine which new features are added to its products or services, along with whether there’s enough market demand for an entirely new product.

銷售和營銷中的聯(lián)合分析

12聯(lián)合分析不僅能夠為公司的定價策略提供信息，還能提示公司如何營銷和銷售其產(chǎn)品。當公司知道客戶最看重哪些特征時，公司可以在廣告、營銷文案和促銷活動中有所偏向。

13另一方面，公司可能會發(fā)現(xiàn)其客戶在為不同特征分配價值的想法上并不一致。在這種情況下，聯(lián)合分析可以成為一種強大的手段，公司可以根據(jù)客戶的興趣以及他們對特征的重視程度通過聯(lián)合分析來細分客戶——從而實現(xiàn)更有針對性的溝通。

14例如，一家售賣巧克力的線上商店通過聯(lián)合分析可能會發(fā)現(xiàn)它的客戶主要看重兩個特征：產(chǎn)品質(zhì)量，以及每筆銷售將捐出一部分用于環(huán)境可持續(xù)發(fā)展。然后這家公司就可以利用這些信息來發(fā)送不同的郵件，吸引不同的細分客戶。

研發(fā)中的聯(lián)合分析

15聯(lián)合分析還可以為公司的研發(fā)環(huán)節(jié)提供信息。收集到的信息可以幫助決定其產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)添加哪些新功能，以及判斷一個全新的產(chǎn)品是否有足夠的市場需求。

16For example, consider a smartphone manufacturer that conducts a conjoint analysis and discovers its customers value larger screens over all other features. With this information, the company might logically conclude that the best use of its product development budget and resources would be to develop larger screens.If, however, future analyses reveal that customer value has shifted to a different feature—for example, audio quality—the company may use that information to pivot its product development plans.

17Additionally, a company may use conjoint analysis to narrow down its product or service’s features. Returning to the smartphone example: There’s only so much space within a smartphone for components. How a phone manufacturer’s customers value different features can inform which components make it into the end product—and which are cut.

18Conjoint analysis is an incredibly useful tool you can leverage at your company. By using it to understand which product or service features your customers value over others, you can make more informed decisions about pricing, product development, and sales and marketing activities.

16例如，設(shè)想一家智能手機制造商進行聯(lián)合分析，發(fā)現(xiàn)其客戶認為更大的屏幕比所有其他功能更重要。有了這些信息，該公司可以合理地得出結(jié)論：產(chǎn)品研發(fā)預算和資源的最佳用途就是用于研發(fā)更大的屏幕。然而，如果未來的分析顯示客戶變得更看重其他功能——例如，音質(zhì)——該公司就可能會使用這些信息來調(diào)整其產(chǎn)品的研發(fā)計劃。

17此外，公司還可能會利用聯(lián)合分析來縮減其產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)的特征。回到智能手機的例子：一部智能手機用于安裝零部件的空間就這么多，客戶對不同特征的看重程度可以為制造商提供信息，提示哪些零部件該裝入最終產(chǎn)品——以及哪些該去除。

18聯(lián)合分析是您可以在公司中利用的一個非常有用的工具。您可以通過利用它來了解客戶最看重的產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)的特征，在定價、產(chǎn)品研發(fā)以及銷售和營銷活動方面做出更明智的決策。