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Consumers guide Tempur's designs

David Perry -- Furniture Today, December 12, 2011

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Want an example of how Tempur-Pedic uses consumer research to develop new products? Take a look at the Tempur-Contour Collection.
     The collection of medium-firm to firm beds illustrates Tempur-Pedic's commitment to consumer research, company officials said.
     "We test our way to success," said Cathy Linder, director of marketing research, who joined Tempur-Pedic in 2007 after working at Procter & Gamble. "We believe the consumer drives the business and we use consumer research in everything we do at Tempur-Pedic."
     She outlined the process used to bring the Tempur-Contour Collection to market.
     Four rounds of consumer testing were undertaken, and that testing identified a new core technology that provides greater differentiation than earlier models, identified new cover designs that are a significant upgrade over earlier ones, and identified a new positioning and naming structure.
     Linder describes this as an "iterative" process, one in which consumers guide the product development each step of the way. Consumers weigh in on product prototypes at every stage, and the consumer-favored designs are those that move ahead in the design process.
     Almost 1,000 consumers tested the Tempur-Contour products, and the results were clear: Consumers clearly preferred the new models. The new beds beat the original models 4 to 1 on key visual attributes like fabric pattern, touch and feel of the fabrics and quality of trim and accents. They beat the original designs 2 to 1 on visual ratings for interest in overall comfort, overall support and overall balance of comfort and support. And they beat the original designs 3 to 1 on purchase interest.
     So when Tempur-Pedic replaced its original Tempur Collection with the new Tempur-Contour line, it knew that it was introducing consumer-favored designs. And that's how it has played out in the marketplace, where the Tempur-Contour line is selling well, according to the company.
     Linder said Tempur-Pedic is "fully committed" to consumer research, and described the company's efforts as leading the industry. She said Tempur-Pedic made a "multimillion-dollar" investment this year in consumer research.
     The company demonstrates its commitment with a consumer research facility it opened in the fourth quarter of 2010. Linder said the facility, located "in a major metro setting," enables the company to do quantitative research focused on prototype reviews and showroom simulations and qualitative research such as focus groups and one-on-one interviews.
     The consumer research center is capable of gathering anywhere from 50 to 3,000 consumer observations per week, Linder said. It can provide real-time data input, reporting and statistical analysis. Tempur-Pedic has a large database of households from which to recruit consumers for various research projects, she added.
     The center "has been beneficial in accelerating learning and innovation cycle times," Linder said.
     She said the research is necessary because today's consumers "are very savvy and are doing more pre-research before they shop."
     "This process is working for us," added Rick Anderson, president of Tempur-Pedic North America.

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