Consumer research

Before you market a product, you need to know if it is what your customers really want. In this case, we are talking about Swifts and nest concaves, ie, a sort of hollowed out platform on which they can build their nest. We need to find out what size, what depth and which material are likely to be most popular. Of course it isn't easy asking a Swift what it prefers, well, it's easy to ask, but it's hell trying to interpret any answer that might be forthcoming.
So, we put four different designs of nest concave in a large box and went to see our rehabber, Deborah, and asked her to put her two captive Swifts in to see which they preferred. They didn't like any of them, judging by the speed at which they leapt out of them.
I didn't realise till now how difficult consumer research can be. Apart from anything else, the designs so far are just OUR idea of what might go. I suspect we might have produced the nest concave equivalent of the Ford Edsel.