Conjoint analysis is a research technique that seeks to measure customer/constituent values in a way that emulates actual decision making.

Conjoint analysis examines how each research subject “trades-off” or chooses between attributes to determine the most satisfying combination. In this way, an organization can determine the optimal features or benefits for their program or service. Conjoint analysis can help identify the best advertising message by identifying the features that are most important in product choice. The technique can also be used to identify market opportunities by exploring the potential of product feature combinations that are not currently available.

With conjoint-type surveying, we ask respondents a series of questions like you see below. Each reiteration of the question has a different combination of attributes for the respondent to choose between. We then use special conjoint analysis software to predict what people will find most acceptable, and assess the weight people give to various factors that underlie their decisions. Conjoint analysis is one of the most powerful, versatile, and strategically important research techniques available.