The "What if.." Service Concept Test: Triple Trust Organisation's Market Research Tool To Test Microenterprise Interest in New Business Service Ideas

This paper describes a qualitative market research tool called the "What If ...? Service Concept Test developed by the Triple Trust Organization (TTO) in South Africa. This tool was used in focus group settings to assess interest and demand among owners of spaza shops (home-based convenience stores) for five business service ideas that could grow the businesses and improve their overall market share in the retail grocery store sector.

This paper discusses:

• The manner in which TTO used this tool to assess interest and potential demand for one particular service idea (payment mechanisms);
• Methods for other practitioners to use the tool and to analyze the information that the tool yields.

As per the paper, this tool performs the following functions:

• Assists managers of business development projects to decide on the merits of investing in the development of a business service idea - from concept to trial to commercialization;
• Yields information on how prospective consumers of business services understand a business service idea and perceive the benefits of using the service
• Assesses the consumers' willingness to pay for a service.

The paper concludes by stating that although this tool shows a lot of promise, practitioners need to refine it and adapt it to their particular situation.