Find three people who would fit that segment and arrange to interview them.
The three people I interviewed were three students here at the University of Florida. Two being freshman (one male, one female) and one sophomore (male).
Begin with alternative evaluation.
During the interviews, I found that price and quality are the two biggest factors with price being the overall most important even over quality. For the type of budget that college students are primarily on, price expectedly took the top priority. Both freshman said that since this is going to be something they rely their daily schedules and life on, they are willing to pay more for better quality but not that much more since they still always have google and other individual sources. The senior, however, said that they would definitely pay for more quality over anything but this is also because they were better budgeted now and had the funds to do so.
How/where do they buy?
Since my opportunity is based more in the direction of an app, all the students I interviewed would be paying on credit card since it would be through the app store. Even then, all students said that their primary purchasing method is credit/debit cards or apple pay instead of cash. Since this is also on the app store, all three said that they would buy online, but one freshman and the sophomore did stress concerns about buying things online and not being able to have the service performed in person to prove quality but overall still said it is more convenient to purchase online.
Post-purchase evaluation.
Once they have already purchased the item product/ service and it has already been put to use, the senior said that what matters most is if the quality was worth the price he paid. Both freshman's responses were similar in that they care about efficiency and long term potential so sometimes it is hard for them to determine the rightness until some time has passed. They all stated that they want to get maximum usage out of the product as well and something that won't just sit in the middle of all their other apps and eventually get deleted because then thats just wasted money.
Draw conclusions.
Based on my interviews, I came to the conclusion that this segment focuses primarily on price, due to the lack of budgeting at this age and in school. They are ones that will prefer better quality but really won't go much further in price at all to get it. Their purchasing methods are primarily online and using credit or debit cards as well as apple pay and other electronic uses. Long term use and maximum usage is also very important in this purchase as far as post purchase behavior. This overall can still fit my product for the most part as it is used electronically and is relatively inexpensive.
I think you did really well with analyzing your evaluations and drawing conclusions. I think most of this assignment was about analyzing your competition and/or how your prospect customers fill the need without your business and I feel like you're lacking in that area. Your alternative evaluation section only talks about what the customers value, and not any actual alternatives they have. Other than that, everything else was pretty spot on. Your conclusion was clear and to the point, the only thing I would change is mentioning specific competition/alternatives.
ReplyDeleteHey Christian,
ReplyDeleteThe feedback in your interviews make sense. For students who are in school and are still not living off of much, price will usually be the most important factor to consider. This is especially true for those who are coming straight from their parents' household and still have to learn to budget and provide for themselves. With that being said, it also seems like you interviewed a senior and failed to mention that in the beginning.
Hey Christian,
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job writing up your interviews! Reading your post was very organized, informative, and analytical. Because of that you came to a clear focus- price. Having a clear focus will allow you to establish the best version of your entrepreneurial idea possible. It was interesting your senior interviewee would prefer quality over the others because he or she can budget better. I can relate to that.