Product Research Services
Product research is the study of whether a product, feature, or concept will work before you invest in building it. Praxia Insights runs concept tests, prototype studies, feature prioritization research, and pricing studies so product teams commit to a roadmap with evidence behind it.
The most expensive thing a product team can do is build something well that nobody needed.
It rarely feels like a risk at the time. The idea came from a customer conversation, leadership is behind it, and the roadmap is already committed. The trouble shows up months later, when usage is flat and nobody can explain why.
Product research puts evidence between the idea and the build. We test concepts before they're designed, prototypes before they're engineered, and pricing before it's published, so the expensive decisions get made with data instead of confidence.
Discuss your product research needs
When You Need Product Research
Product research earns its cost at the points where a decision commits significant engineering time or sets a number you'll have trouble changing later:
Validating a concept: you have an idea and need to know whether the problem is real and severe enough that people will switch.
Prioritizing a roadmap: several features are plausible and you need evidence for which one drives adoption.
Setting a price: you need to know what buyers will pay, what they compare you against, and where the resistance point sits.
Testing a prototype: the design is ready but unbuilt, and this is the last cheap moment to find out it doesn't land.
Diagnosing weak adoption: the product launched and usage is below plan, and you need to know whether it's the product, the positioning, or the audience.
It's the wrong investment when the build is small enough that releasing it and measuring what happens would be faster than studying it first, or when the decision has already been made and the research would only be used to justify it.
Areas of Expertise
Concept Testing
Structured evaluation of a product or feature concept with your target buyers before design work begins. We test whether the problem resonates, whether your solution sounds credible to them, and what would have to be true for someone to switch.
Pricing Research
Studies that identify what buyers will pay, where the price becomes a barrier, and how your pricing reads against alternatives. Methods include Van Westendorp price sensitivity analysis, Gabor-Granger, and conjoint analysis.
Prototype Testing
Testing clickable prototypes, wireframes, or early builds with real users to find where the concept breaks down while changing it is still inexpensive.
Findings come back ranked by severity so your team knows what must be fixed before launch.
Product-Market Fit Research
Evidence on whether the market genuinely wants what you've built, which segments want it most, and what would have to change for the rest. Useful before scaling spend and before a fundraise.
Feature Prioritization
Research that ranks potential features by what customers actually value, measured directly. Depending on the question, this may use MaxDiff, Kano modeling, or structured trade-off exercises.
Competitive and Positioning Research
Analysis of what competing products offer, how they're positioned, and where buyers see meaningful difference, so your product decisions account for what the alternatives already do well.
Project Examples
A NIH-funded study examining neuropsychological predictors of adaptation after trauma.
A five-year randomized control trial (RCT), funded by the U.S. Department of Ed, to study individualized math instruction.
Led a national survey study in partnership with Berklee BEATL & Adobe to study AI use in the music industry.
How We Work
1. Initial consultation and plan
We meet to discuss your specific needs and confirm this is the right approach for the decision you're facing.
2. Project scoping and budget
You receive a custom scope of work with tasks, due dates, and budget before any work begins. Fixed scope, no hourly surprises.
3. Project execution
You receive updates on progress throughout, including recruitment status and fielding milestones.
4. A true partnership approach
We share insights with you as they come up throughout the project, so your team can start acting on what we learn long before the final report is finished.
5. Project completion
We deliver final insights in the format your team will actually use, whether that's a written report, an executive presentation, or a working session.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Product research asks whether the right thing is being built: is the problem real, will people pay, which feature matters most. UX research asks whether the thing is usable: can people complete the task, where do they get stuck. Product research tends to come earlier, and many roadmaps need both.
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Earlier than most teams do. Concept testing works before any design exists, and it is far cheaper to abandon an idea at that stage than after a quarter of engineering. If you have a written concept or a rough sketch, that's enough to test.
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Most projects run four to eight weeks depending on scope and how hard the audience is to recruit. Focused concept tests can move faster. Multi-method studies combining qualitative and quantitative work take longer.
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Cost depends on methodology, sample size, recruitment difficulty, participant incentives, and the depth of deliverables. A focused concept test costs the least and a full pricing and segmentation study costs the most. We provide a fixed-scope quote after an initial consultation.
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It depends on what you need to know. Van Westendorp price sensitivity analysis maps the range buyers consider acceptable. Gabor-Granger measures demand at specific price points. Conjoint analysis reveals how buyers trade price against features. We recommend the method that fits your question.
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Yes. Concepts, wireframes, clickable prototypes, and landing pages all produce useful information. The less that exists, the more the research focuses on whether the problem is real, and the less it can tell you about whether the execution works.
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By measuring customer preference in a way that forces trade-offs. Simply asking which features people want produces a list where everything is important. MaxDiff, Kano modeling, and conjoint exercises make respondents give something up, and that trade-off is what reveals actual priority.
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Yes. We write the screener, recruit to your criteria across the US and internationally, verify participants qualify, manage scheduling and reminders, and administer incentives. We can also work from your existing customer list.
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Typically a findings report with clear recommendations, supported by the underlying data and representative customer language. Depending on the study that may also include pricing models, feature priority rankings, personas, or a working session with your product team.
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Yes. Market sizing, product-market fit evidence, and competitive positioning research are common components of a fundraise narrative, and we've delivered findings as funder-facing and investor-facing decks.
Our Experience
More than 60 studies designed, including case study, quasi-experimental, RCT, and mixed-method designs
More than 100 focus groups and in-depth interviews conducted
More than $4 million in grant-funded research managed
Clients spanning Fortune 500 companies, startups, nonprofits, universities, and federally funded programs
Our researchers hold doctorates in educational neuroscience, psychology, and related fields
Ready to build with evidence?
Tell us what you're deciding. We'll advise on the right method, what scope makes sense, and what it would take to answer it properly.