Using consumer preferences in setting the target for product development

The objective of the study was to identify the required and attractive properties of silk coated papers in the end user point of view. The target was to find out how paper could be developed in order to differentiate positively from competitors within the silk coated paper grade. The interviews in the print product’s value network show that silk coated papers gives the message of high quality, sophisticated products. The professionals in the print products’ value network pay more attention to the visual perception than to other senses. If the product is visually acceptable, also other senses can affect the overall perception. The consumers use different senses more equally, and thus, different senses can complement one another. The differences between the magnitudes of the mental impressions could be estimated to some extent using visual and tactile sensory panels in the laboratory scale. This is very important because the laboratory measurements do not solely explain the differences between the samples.