Preference information-based metrics

• US 8,626,559 B2
• Filed: 01/24/2007
• Issued: 01/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: True Chemical Solutions, LLC.
• Original Assignee: True Chemical Solutions, LLC.
• Inventors: Keil, Sev K. H., Wittink, Dick R., van der Scheer, Hiek Roelof, Golden, Andrew P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jeanty, Romain
• Application Number:
  US11/657,388
• Publication Number:
  US 20080033787A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,540 Days
• Field of Search: 705/10
• US Class Current: 705/7.29
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06375 Prediction of business process outcome or impact based on a proposed change
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0203 Market surveys; Market polls

Abstract

A system to determine metrics based on preference information. The metrics may be presented to a client in several forms and may include at least one of: impact of change in attribute on change in share; impact of change in attribute on share; impact of change in attribute on change in normalized utility; willingness to pay; relation of price and share, given a change in an attribute; gap analysis; gap with competition; unacceptable attribute levels; vulnerability; clout; brand favorability; brand vulnerability; and change in margin due to acceptable change in comparison product.

Claims

1. A method for processing preference information in a computing system comprising at least one processor configured to process the preference information and a storage device configured to store at least some of the preference information, the method comprising:

determining one or more acceptable changes, each acceptable change corresponding to an attribute of a comparison product; and

determining a particular change in share of the comparison product in a case that the comparison product is changed according to one or more of the one or more acceptable changes, wherein determining the particular change in the share comprises;

determining, for each of a plurality of respondents, a total utility of each product of interest and of the comparison product;

determining, for each respondent, a most-preferred product of the products of interest and of the comparison product based on the total utilities thereof;

determining a share of the comparison product based on a number of respondents for whom the comparison product is most-preferred;

determining, for each of the plurality of respondents, a total utility of the comparison product as changed according to the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes;

determining, for each respondent, a most-preferred product of the products of interest and of the changed comparison product based on the total utilities thereof; and

determining a share of the changed comparison product based on a number of respondents for whom the changed comparison product is most-preferred; and

determining attribute levels of each of the plurality of products of interest;

wherein the determination of the particular change in share of the comparison product is based at least on the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes and on preference information associated with a plurality of respondents, wherein the steps of determining are performed using said processor.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

determining a change in share of the comparison product in a case that the comparison product is changed according to one or more of the one or more acceptable changes,

wherein the determination of the change in share of the comparison product is based at least on the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes and on the preference information associated with the plurality of respondents.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

determining a change in share of each of a plurality of products in a case that the comparison product is changed according to the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes comprise a change to a first attribute, and further comprising determining a share by determining a first change in share of the comparison product in a case that the comparison product is changed only according to the change to the first attribute.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes comprise a change to a second attribute, and wherein determining a share of the comparison product comprises:

determining a second change in share of the comparison product in a case that the comparison product is changed only according to the change to the second attribute.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising:

determining a relative importance of the first attribute and a relative importance of the second attribute based on the first change in share and on the second change in share.

7. The method according to claim 2, wherein the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes comprise a change to an attribute, and wherein determining the share of the comparison product comprises:

determining a first change in share of the comparison product in a case that the comparison product is changed only according to a first change to the attribute; and

determining a second change in share of the comparison product in a case that the comparison product is changed only according to a second change to the attribute.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the attribute is price, and the method further comprises:

presenting, in a graphical user interface, information for the first change in share and the second change in share in association with the first change to the attribute and the second change to the attribute, respectively.

9. A computer-implemented method for processing preference information with a computing system comprising at least a processor and a storage device, the method comprising:

determining one or more acceptable changes corresponding to one or more attribute levels of a comparison product; and

determining a particular change in share of the comparison product in a case that the comparison product is changed according to one or more of the one or more acceptable changes, wherein determining the particular change in share comprises;

determining, for each of a plurality of respondents, a total utility of each product of interest and of the comparison product;

determining, for each respondent, a most-preferred product of the products of interest and of the comparison product based on the total utilities thereof;

determining a share of the comparison product based on a number of respondents for whom the comparison product is most-preferred;

determining, for each of the plurality of respondents, a total utility of the comparison product as changed according to the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes;

determining, for each respondent, a most-preferred product of the products of interest and of the changed comparison product based on the total utilities thereof; and

determining a share of the changed comparison product based on a number of respondents for whom the changed comparison product is most-preferred; and

determining attribute levels of each of the plurality of products of interest;

wherein the determination of the particular change in share of the comparison product is based at least on the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes and on preference information associated with a plurality of respondents,

determining a share of the comparison product in a case that the comparison product is changed according to one or more of the one or more acceptable changes, wherein the determination of the share is based at least on the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes and on the preference information associated with the plurality of respondents, wherein the steps of determining are performed using said processor.

10. The method according to claim 9,

wherein determining the share of the comparison product comprises:

determining, for each of the plurality of respondents, a total utility of each product of interest and of the comparison product as changed according to the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes; and

determining, for each respondent, a most-preferred product of the products of interest and of the changed comparison product based on the total utilities thereof.

11. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

determining a share of each of a plurality of products in a case that the comparison product is changed according to one or more of the one or more acceptable changes.

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes comprise a plurality of acceptable changes to an attribute of the comparison product, and wherein determining the share of the comparison product further comprises:

determining, for each of the plurality of acceptable changes to the attribute, a share of the comparison product in a case that the comparison product is changed according to an acceptable change.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising:

determining, for each of the plurality of acceptable changes to the attribute, a share of each of a plurality of products in a case that the comparison product is changed according to an acceptable change.

14. A method for processing preference information with a computing apparatus comprising at least one processor and one storage device, the method comprising:

a first determining step of determining one or more acceptable changes, each acceptable change corresponding to an attribute of a comparison product;

a second determining step of determining, based at least on preference information associated with a respondent, a change in a utility associated with a change in an attribute of the comparison product, wherein the change in the utility comprises one or more of the one or more acceptable changes; and

determining a particular change in share of the comparison product in a case that the comparison product is changed according to one or more of the one or more acceptable changes, wherein determining the particular change in share comprises;

determining, for each of a plurality of respondents, a total utility of each product of interest and of the comparison product;

determining, for each respondent, a most-preferred product of the products of interest and of the comparison product based on the total utilities thereof;

determining a share of the comparison product based on a number of respondents for whom the comparison product is most-preferred;

determining, for each of the plurality of respondents, a total utility of the comparison product as changed according to the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes;

determining, for each respondent, a most-preferred product of the products of interest and of the changed comparison product based on the total utilities thereof; and

determining a share of the changed comparison product based on a number of respondents for whom the changed comparison product is most-preferred; and

determining attribute levels of each of the plurality of products of interest;

wherein the determination of the particular change in share of the comparison product is based at least on the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes and on preference information associated with a plurality of respondents, wherein the steps of determining are performed using said processor.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the second determining step further comprises:

determining, for each of a plurality of respondents, a corresponding individual change in an individual normalized utility associated with the change in the attribute of the comparison product; and

determining the change in the utility associated with the attribute of the comparison product based on a plurality of the individual changes.

16. The method according to claim 15, further comprising:

determining, for each of a plurality of changes in normalized utility, a percentage or a number of the plurality of respondents whose corresponding individual change is similar to a change in normalized utility.

17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising:

presenting, in a graphical user interface, information for the indication only if the statistical difference exceeds a predetermined value.

18. The method according to claim 15, further comprising:

presenting, in a graphical user interface, information for an indication of a statistical difference between each of the individual changes.

19. The method according to claim 14 or 15, further comprising:

presenting, in a graphical user interface, information for the change in the utility associated with the change in the attribute.

20. The method according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the one or more acceptable changes comprise a plurality of acceptable changes in the attribute, and wherein the second determining step comprises:

determining, for each of the plurality of acceptable changes in the attribute, a change in a normalized utility associated with a change in the attribute; and

presenting, in a graphical user interface, information for the change in the utility of the attribute.

21. The method according to claim 20, further comprising:

presenting, in the graphical user interface and for the plurality of acceptable changes in the attribute, information for a percentage of respondents for whom an acceptable change reflects an unacceptable attribute level.

22. A computer-implemented method for processing preference information in a computing system having at least a processor to process the preference information and a storage device to store at least some of the preference information, the computer-implemented method comprising:

a first step of determining one or more acceptable changes, each acceptable change corresponding to an attribute of a comparison product;

a second step of determining, for each of a plurality of changes in price, a change in share in a case that the comparison product is changed according to one or more of the one or more acceptable changes, based on preference information associated with a respondent;

determining a particular change in share of the comparison product in a case that the comparison product is changed according to one or more of the one or more acceptable changes, wherein determining the particular change in share comprises;

determining, for each of a plurality of respondents, a total utility of each product of interest and of the comparison product;

determining, for each respondent, a most-preferred product of the products of interest and of the comparison product based on the total utilities thereof;

determining a share of the comparison product based on a number of respondents for whom the comparison product is most-preferred;

determining, for each of the plurality of respondents, a total utility of the comparison product as changed according to the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes;

determining, for each respondent, a most-preferred product of the products of interest and of the changed comparison product based on the total utilities thereof; and

determining a share of the changed comparison product based on a number of respondents for whom the changed comparison product is most-preferred; and

determining attribute levels of each of the plurality of products of interest;

wherein the determination of the particular change in share of the comparison product is based at least on the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes and on preference information associated with a plurality of respondents, wherein the steps of determining are performed using said processor.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein the second determining step comprises:

determining, for each of the plurality of changes in price, an individual change in a most-preferred product in a case that the comparison product is changed according to the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes, based on preference information associated with each of a plurality of respondents; and

determining the change in share for each of the plurality of changes in price based on a plurality of the individual changes in the most-preferred product.

24. The method according to claim 22 or 23, further comprising:

presenting, in a graphical user interface, information for the change in share for each of the plurality of changes in price.

25. A method for processing preference information with a computing apparatus having a processor for processing the preference information, comprising:

a step of determining preference information associated with a respondent;

a step of determining attribute levels for one or more comparison products;

a third step of determining a value relating a theoretical optimal product associated with the respondent and one of the one or more comparison products that is most preferred by the respondent based on the preference information and on the attribute levels;

determining a particular change in share of at least one of the comparison products in a case that the comparison product is changed according to one or more acceptable changes, wherein determining the particular change in share comprises;

determining, for a plurality of respondents, a total utility of each product of interest and of the comparison product;

determining, for each respondent, a most-preferred product of the products of interest and of the comparison product based on the total utilities thereof;

determining a share of the comparison product based on a number of respondents for whom the comparison product is most-preferred;

determining, for the plurality of respondents, a total utility of the comparison product as changed according to the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes;

determining, for each respondent, a most-preferred product of the products of interest and of the changed comparison product based on the total utilities thereof; and

determining a share of the changed comparison product based on a number of respondents for whom the changed comparison product is most-preferred; and

determining attribute levels of each of the plurality of products of interest;

wherein the determination of the particular change in share of the comparison product is based at least on the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes and on preference information associated with the plurality of respondents, wherein the steps of determining are performed using said processor.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein the attribute levels correspond to a plurality of attributes, and wherein the third step comprises:

determining, for each of the plurality of attributes, an attribute-specific value relating an attribute of the most-preferred product and a respective attribute of the theoretical optimal product.

27. The method according to claim 26, further comprising:

presenting, in a graphical user interface, information for the determined value and the determined attribute-specific values, the determined value being based on a sum of the attribute-specific values.

28. The method according to claim 26, further comprising:

presenting, in a graphical user interface, information for an indication of a percentage and an indication of a number of respondents for whom each of the one or more comparison products is associated with an unacceptable attribute level.

29. The method according to claim 25, wherein the step of determining preference information comprises determining preference information associated with a plurality of respondents, and wherein the third step comprises:

determining, for each of the plurality of respondents, an individual value relating a theoretical optimal product and a most-preferred one of the one or more comparison products based on the preference information and on the attribute levels.

30. The method according to claim 29, further comprising:

presenting, in a graphical user interface and for a plurality of the individual values, information for an indication of a number or a percentage of respondents associated with an individual value.

31. The method according to claim 25 or 29, further comprising having the one or more comparison products comprise a client entity'"'"'s product line.

32. The method according to claim 25 or 29, further comprising having the one or more comparison products comprise a client entity'"'"'s proposed product line.

33. The method according to claim 25 or 29, further comprising having the one or more comparison products comprise a client entity'"'"'s competitor'"'"'s proposed product line.

34. The method according to claim 25 or 29, further comprising having the one or more comparison products comprise a client entity'"'"'s competitor'"'"'s proposed product line.

35. The method according to claim 25, wherein the third determining step comprises:

determining a total utility of each of the one or more comparison products;

determining the most preferred one of the comparison products based on the total utilities;

determining a total utility of the theoretical optimal product; and

subtracting the total utility of the most-preferred product from the utility of the theoretical optimal product to produce a difference and dividing the difference by the utility of the theoretical optimal product.

36. A method for processing preference information with a computing device, the computing device having at least one processor and a storage device configured to at least store some of the preference information, the method comprising:

determining preference information associated with a plurality of respondents;

determining, for each of the plurality of respondents, attribute levels that are unacceptable based on the preference information;

presenting, in a graphical user interface and for one or more of the attribute levels, information for a percentage or an indication of a number of respondents for whom the one or more attribute levels are unacceptable;

determining a particular change in share of the comparison product in a case that the comparison product is changed according to one or more acceptable changes, wherein determining the particular change in share comprises;

determining, for each of the plurality of respondents, a total utility of each product of interest and of the comparison product;

determining, for each respondent, a most-preferred product of the products of interest and of the comparison product based on the total utilities thereof;

determining a share of the comparison product based on a number of respondents for whom the comparison product is most-preferred;

determining, for each of the plurality of respondents, a total utility of the comparison product as changed according to the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes;

determining, for each respondent, a most-preferred product of the products of interest and of the changed comparison product based on the total utilities thereof; and

determining a share of the changed comparison product based on a number of respondents for whom the changed comparison product is most-preferred; and

determining attribute levels of each of the plurality of products of interest;

wherein the determination of the particular change in share of the comparison product is based at least on the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes and on preference information associated with the plurality of respondents, wherein the steps of determining are performed using said processor.

37. A method for processing preference information with a processor in a computing device, the method comprising:

determining attribute levels of each of one or more client'"'"'s products and of each of one or more competitor'"'"'s products;

determining preference information associated with a respondent for whom at least there is an indication that one of the competitor'"'"'s products is preferred over each of the one or more client'"'"'s products;

determining a value relating the respondent'"'"'s preference for a most-preferred one of the competitor'"'"'s products and the respondent'"'"'s preference for a most-preferred one of the one or more client'"'"'s products;

determining a particular change in share of the comparison product in a case that the comparison product is changed according to one or more acceptable changes, wherein determining the particular change in share comprises;

determining, for each of a plurality of respondents, a total utility of each product of interest and of the comparison product;

determining, for each respondent, a most-preferred product of the products of interest and of the comparison product based on the total utilities thereof;

determining a share of the comparison product based on a number of respondents for whom the comparison product is most-preferred;

determining, for each of the plurality of respondents, a total utility of the comparison product as changed according to the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes;

determining, for each respondent, a most-preferred product of the products of interest and of the changed comparison product based on the total utilities thereof; and

determining a share of the changed comparison product based on a number of respondents for whom the changed comparison product is most-preferred; and

determining attribute levels of each of the plurality of products of interest;

wherein the determination of the particular change in share of the comparison product is based at least on the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes and on preference information associated with a plurality of respondents, wherein the steps of determining are performed using said processor.

38. The method according to claim 37, further comprising having at least one of the competitor'"'"'s products to be a proposed product.

39. The method according to claim 37, further comprising having at least one of the client'"'"'s products to be a proposed product.

40. The method according to claim 37, further comprising determining preference information by:

determining preference information associated with a plurality of respondents for whom at least one of the competitor'"'"'s products is preferred over each of the one or more client'"'"'s products;

determining a relationship comprising;

determining, for each of the plurality of respondents, an individual value relating an individual respondent'"'"'s preference for the an individually most-preferred one of the competitor'"'"'s products and the individual respondent'"'"'s preference for an individually most-preferred one of the client'"'"'s products; and

determining an aggregate value representing an aggregate relationship based on the individual values.

41. The method according to claim 40, further comprising:

presenting, in a graphical user interface, information for a number or percentage of respondents associated with a plurality of individual values or each of the plurality of individual values.

42. The method according to claim 40, further comprising:

determining, for each of the plurality of respondents, a second individual value relating an individual respondent'"'"'s preference for a product having all but one attribute level different from the attribute levels of the individually most-preferred one of the competitor'"'"'s products and the individual respondent'"'"'s preference for an individually most-preferred one of the client'"'"'s products; and

further comprising;

determining a second aggregate value representing a second aggregate relationship based on the second individual values; and

presenting, in a graphical user interface, information for the determined second aggregate values.

43. The method according to claim 40, further comprising:

determining a change in the aggregate value due to a change in a first attribute level of the individually most-preferred one of the competitor'"'"'s products; and

presenting, in a graphical user interface, information for the change in the aggregate value with respect to the change in the first attribute level.

44. The method according to 37, further comprising:

determining a second value relating the respondent'"'"'s preference for a product having all but one attribute level different from the attribute levels of the most-preferred one of the competitor'"'"'s products and the respondent'"'"'s preference for the most-preferred one of the client'"'"'s products; and

presenting, in a graphical user interface, information for the determined second value.

45. The method according to claim 37, further comprising:

determining a change in the value due to a change in a first attribute level of the most-preferred one of the competitor'"'"'s products; and

presenting, in a graphical user interface, information for the change in the value with respect to the change in the first attribute level.

46. The method according to claim 37, wherein determining the value comprises having a processor to perform operations including:

determining a total utility of each of the one or more client'"'"'s products and the one or more competitor'"'"'s products;

determining the most-preferred one of the client'"'"'s products and the most-preferred one of the competitor'"'"'s products based on the total utilities; and

dividing a total utility of the most-preferred one of the client'"'"'s products by a total utility of the most-preferred one of the competitor'"'"'s products.

47. An apparatus for processing preference information among products, comprising:

a processor; and

a storage device configured to be in communication with the processor and store instructions to be executed by the processor to cause the processor to perform operations to;

determine one or more acceptable changes, each acceptable change corresponding to an attribute of a comparison product;

determine a change in share of the comparison product in a case that the comparison product is changed according to one or more of the one or more acceptable changes,

determine a particular change in share of the comparison product in a case that the comparison product is changed according to one or more of the one or more acceptable changes, wherein determining the particular change in share comprises;

determining, for each of a plurality of respondents, a total utility of each product of interest and of the comparison product;

determining, for each respondent, a most-preferred product of the products of interest and of the comparison product based on the total utilities thereof;

determining a share of the comparison product based on a number of respondents for whom the comparison product is most-preferred;

determining, for each of the plurality of respondents, a total utility of the comparison product as changed according to the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes;

determining, for each respondent, a most-preferred product of the products of interest and of the changed comparison product based on the total utilities thereof; and

determining a share of the changed comparison product based on a number of respondents for whom the changed comparison product is most-preferred; and

determine attribute levels of each of the plurality of products of interest;

wherein the determination of the particular change in share of the comparison product is based at least on the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes and on preference information associated with a plurality of respondents,

wherein the determination of the change in share of the comparison product is based at least on the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes and on preference information associated with a plurality of respondents.

48. An apparatus for processing preference information, the apparatus comprising:

a processor; and

a storage device configured to be in communication with the processor and store instructions to be executed by the processor to;

determine one or more acceptable changes corresponding to one or more attribute levels of a comparison product;

determine a share of the comparison product in a case that the comparison product is changed according to one or more of the one or more acceptable changes,

wherein the determination of the share is based at least on the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes and on preference information associated with a plurality of respondents,

determine a particular change in share of the comparison product in a case that the comparison product is changed according to one or more of the one or more acceptable changes, wherein determining the particular change in share comprises;

determining, for a plurality of respondents, a total utility of each product of interest and of the comparison product;

determining, for respondents, a most-preferred product of the products of interest and of the comparison product based on the total utilities thereof;

determining a share of the comparison product based on a number of respondents for whom the comparison product is most-preferred;

determining, for the plurality of respondents, a total utility of the comparison product as changed according to the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes;

determining, for respondents, a most-preferred product of the products of interest and of the changed comparison product based on the total utilities thereof; and

determining a share of the changed comparison product based on a number of respondents for whom the changed comparison product is most-preferred; and

determine attribute levels of the plurality of products of interest;

wherein the determination of the particular change in share of the comparison product is based at least on the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes and on preference information associated with the plurality of respondents.

49. An apparatus for processing preference information, the apparatus comprising:

a processor; and

a storage device configured to be in communication with the processor and configured to store instructions to be executed by the processor to cause the processor to perform operations to;

determine one or more acceptable changes, each acceptable change corresponding to an attribute of a comparison product; and

determine, based at least on preference information associated with a respondent, a change in a utility associated with a change in an attribute of the comparison product, wherein the change in the utility comprises one or more of the one or more acceptable changes;

determine a particular change in share of the comparison product in a case that the comparison product is changed according to one or more of the one or more acceptable changes, wherein determining the particular change in share comprises;

determining, for a plurality of respondents, a total utility of each product of interest and of the comparison product;

determining, for respondents, a most-preferred product of the products of interest and of the comparison product based on the total utilities thereof;

determining a share of the comparison product based on a number of respondents for whom the comparison product is most-preferred;

determining, for the plurality of respondents, a total utility of the comparison product as changed according to the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes;

determining, for respondents, a most-preferred product of the products of interest and of the changed comparison product based on the total utilities thereof; and

determining a share of the changed comparison product based on a number of respondents for whom the changed comparison product is most-preferred; and

determine attribute levels of the plurality of products of interest;

wherein the determination of the particular change in share of the comparison product is based at least on the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes and on preference information associated with the plurality of respondents.

50. An apparatus for processing preference information in a computing system, the apparatus comprising:

a processor; and

a storage device configured to be in communication with the processor and configured to store instructions to be executed by the processor to;

determine one or more acceptable changes, each acceptable change corresponding to an attribute of a comparison product;

determine, for each of a plurality of changes in price, a change in share in a case that the comparison product is changed according to one or more of the one or more acceptable changes, based on preference information associated with a respondent;

determine a particular change in share of the comparison product in a case that the comparison product is changed according to one or more of the one or more acceptable changes, wherein instructions for determining the particular change in share comprises instructions to cause the processor to;

determine, for each of a plurality of respondents, a total utility of each product of interest and of the comparison product;

determine, for each respondent, a most-preferred product of the products of interest and of the comparison product based on the total utilities thereof;

determine a share of the comparison product based on a number of respondents for whom the comparison product is most-preferred;

determine, for each of the plurality of respondents, a total utility of the comparison product as changed according to the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes;

determine, for each respondent, a most-preferred product of the products of interest and of the changed comparison product based on the total utilities thereof; and

determine a share of the changed comparison product based on a number of respondents for whom the changed comparison product is most-preferred; and

determining attribute levels of each of the plurality of products of interest, wherein the determination of the particular change in share of the comparison product is based at least on the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes and on preference information associated with a plurality of respondents.

51. An apparatus for processing preference information, the apparatus comprising:

a processor; and

a storage device configured to be in communication with the processor and configured to store instructions to be executed by the processor to cause the processor to perform operations to;

determine preference information associated with a respondent;

determine attribute levels for one or more comparison products;

determine a value relating a theoretical optimal product associated with the respondent and one of the one or more comparison products that is most preferred by the respondent based on the preference information and on the attribute levels;

determine a particular change in share of the comparison product in an event that the comparison product is changed according to one or more acceptable changes, wherein determining the particular change in share comprises;

determine, for a plurality of respondents, a total utility of each product of interest and of the comparison product;

determine, for respondents, a most-preferred product of the products of interest and of the comparison product based on the total utilities thereof;

determine a share of the comparison product based on a number of respondents for whom the comparison product is most-preferred;

determine, for the plurality of respondents, a total utility of the comparison product as changed according to the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes;

determine, for respondents, a most-preferred product of the products of interest and of the changed comparison product based on the total utilities thereof; and

determine a share of the changed comparison product based on a number of respondents for whom the changed comparison product is most-preferred; and

determining attribute levels of the plurality of products of interest;

wherein the determination of the particular change in share of the comparison product is based at least on the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes and on preference information associated with a plurality of respondents.

52. An apparatus for processing preference information, the apparatus comprising:

a processor; and

a storage device configured to be in communication with the processor and configured to store instructions to be executed by the processor to cause the processor to perform operations to;

determine preference information associated with a plurality of respondents;

determine, for each of the plurality of respondents, which of one or more attribute levels are unacceptable based on the preference information;

present information in a graphical user interface (GUI), for one or more of the one or more attribute levels, a percentage and an indication of a number of respondents for whom the one or more attribute levels are unacceptable;

determine a particular change in share of the comparison product in an event that the comparison product is changed according to one or more acceptable changes, wherein determining the particular change in share comprises;

determine, for each of the plurality of respondents, a total utility of each product of interest and of the comparison product;

determine, for each respondent, a most-preferred product of the products of interest and of the comparison product based on the total utilities thereof;

determine a share of the comparison product based on a number of respondents for whom the comparison product is most-preferred;

determine, for each of the plurality of respondents, a total utility of the comparison product as changed according to the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes;

determine, for each respondent, a most-preferred product of the products of interest and of the changed comparison product based on the total utilities thereof; and

determine a share of the changed comparison product based on a number of respondents for whom the changed comparison product is most-preferred; and

determining attribute levels of each of the plurality of products of interest;

wherein the determination of the particular change in share of the comparison product is based at least on the one or more of the one or more acceptable changes and on preference information associated with a plurality of respondents.