15A: Figuring Out Buyer Behavior
Evaluation of Alternatives & Product Purchasing Interviews:
I'd like to start off by adding that sadly, the other day, I was walking around campus and happened to come across a BikeShare station. I've only seen one, it's located outside the CVS near the Courtyards, but this does mean that my overall opportunity was already accomplished by someone else. With this being said, I do now strongly believe that my idea was desired and can benefit society being that it is now on campus.
Interview One:
The first person I interviewed happened to be extremely convenient, a random kid sitting next to me in the library. I asked him how he got where we were, and he explained that he took his scooter to the library. After asking him if he had ever had maintenance issues or a period of time where he didn't have a scooter, he legitimately rolled his eyes. He told me that just a month ago, his scooter completely stopped working, "for no reason", and apparently there was a large amount of people who purchased scooters from New Scooters for Less experiencing this problem, so maintenance was predicted to take a whole week. He told me that for a whole week he ubered just about everywhere, and racked up some serious charges because of it. With this first interview, I was able to realize that this specific person was looking for a convenient transportation service. Without a scooter, he truly wasn't willing to walk or take the bus, instead he used Uber, a very convenient transportation service. With Uber, I can assume that financials were probably not priority in his decision being that he probably spent a lot of money on Ubers, but I was able to determine some essential elements of the transaction. Uber is an application based service, making it even more convenient, and BikeShare would be application as well, with payment taking place directly on the app. Overall, this guy was definitely looking for a convenient transportation service, one that is application-based, but he didn't prioritize price. His "rightness" of purchase is definitely highly influenced by convenience.
Interview Two:
Being that I was recently hired at SweetBerries (come visit!), I decided to interview one of my coworkers. Michael, a college student just like me, doesn't have a bike, scooter, car or just about any mode of transportation. He said he sometimes takes the bus, but that it doesn't always run at convenient times to get him to work. He mentioned he'll occasionally walk too, but he lives pretty far off campus so it's hard and takes a long time. Michael's choice of transportation is definitely affected by money, being that he prefers to take the bus or walk, which are both free options. Quality and style definitely aren't essential pieces to his decision, being that he basically just needs these transportation sources to get to work. Being that he isn't actually purchasing anything, I don't think the purchase transaction is of that much importance to him, but I'm sure he'd prefer something convenient, like an application, being that he mentioned "convenience" when discussing bus routes. I'm sure that when Michael reflects on "rightness" after his ride, he ultimately is just looking to get to work on time. I believe that a BikeShare service will allow Michael to leave for work when he desires, and it would be cheap as well, considering he definitely factors financials into his decisions.
Interview Three:
The last person I interviewed was my other roommate, who owns a car and attends Santa Fe. I honestly never thought she'd be a part of my target market until recently, she started hanging out with someone who goes to UF, and she has started to go to the libraries on campus very frequently. She was complaining to me about how much she hates walking all the way to the library because by the time she gets there, her hair is ruined, her makeup is running, and she's hot and sweaty. Definitely some first world problems here, but she was expressing to me how bad she wishes her Mom would buy her a scooter, but won't since it's for such a silly reason. Her alternatives in this case would be potentially saving up for a scooter or bike herself, or she's ubered there a few times as well. She definitely prioritizes convenience in all her decisions, being that she doesn't want to "look bad" and is literally willing to order an Uber to avoid this. I think that all that really matters to her at the end of the day is that she gets to her desired location looking good. So, in my opinion, she definitely prefers application-based transactions as well as convenient ones. Although her mom won't buy her a scooter, financials don't seem to be THAT important to her being that she has Ubered to the library a couple of times. I think that a BikeShare service would partially benefit her, depending on how hot it is out. She prefers application-based and convenience, but if it was hot out, i'm not sure she'd even be willing to bike anywhere. She's a little bit of a complicated piece in my segment being that I didn't even think she originally belonged here.
Conclusions:
Alternative Evaluation Reflection:
Most of these people seemed to prioritize convenience within their transportation decisions, as well as an option that allows them to interact with an application rather than a person. Pricing seems to matter, but on varying levels. Quality and Style didn't really seem to be large factors in their decision. Even though i'm pretty sure people would prefer a good quality transportation service, they seem to be ultimately happy with the service just getting them where they need to go.
How & Where do they buy?:
Most of them tend to prefer transactions that occur through an application, rather than a person. These applications tend to have finances attached to them, eliminating an annoying step (CONVENIENCE).
Post-Purchase Evaluation:
As discussed about, I think that ultimately "rightness" is determined based on whether the person gets to their desired location on time. Walking gets you places, but it takes a while and you can become sweaty. The bus works, but doesn't always run when you need it. Scooters & Cars are options, but you have parking tickets, mechanical issues, and it's a large financial purchase. You could purchase your own bike, but why not just use BikeShare, cheaper and it can't get stolen from you.
I'd like to start off by adding that sadly, the other day, I was walking around campus and happened to come across a BikeShare station. I've only seen one, it's located outside the CVS near the Courtyards, but this does mean that my overall opportunity was already accomplished by someone else. With this being said, I do now strongly believe that my idea was desired and can benefit society being that it is now on campus.
Interview One:
The first person I interviewed happened to be extremely convenient, a random kid sitting next to me in the library. I asked him how he got where we were, and he explained that he took his scooter to the library. After asking him if he had ever had maintenance issues or a period of time where he didn't have a scooter, he legitimately rolled his eyes. He told me that just a month ago, his scooter completely stopped working, "for no reason", and apparently there was a large amount of people who purchased scooters from New Scooters for Less experiencing this problem, so maintenance was predicted to take a whole week. He told me that for a whole week he ubered just about everywhere, and racked up some serious charges because of it. With this first interview, I was able to realize that this specific person was looking for a convenient transportation service. Without a scooter, he truly wasn't willing to walk or take the bus, instead he used Uber, a very convenient transportation service. With Uber, I can assume that financials were probably not priority in his decision being that he probably spent a lot of money on Ubers, but I was able to determine some essential elements of the transaction. Uber is an application based service, making it even more convenient, and BikeShare would be application as well, with payment taking place directly on the app. Overall, this guy was definitely looking for a convenient transportation service, one that is application-based, but he didn't prioritize price. His "rightness" of purchase is definitely highly influenced by convenience.
Interview Two:
Being that I was recently hired at SweetBerries (come visit!), I decided to interview one of my coworkers. Michael, a college student just like me, doesn't have a bike, scooter, car or just about any mode of transportation. He said he sometimes takes the bus, but that it doesn't always run at convenient times to get him to work. He mentioned he'll occasionally walk too, but he lives pretty far off campus so it's hard and takes a long time. Michael's choice of transportation is definitely affected by money, being that he prefers to take the bus or walk, which are both free options. Quality and style definitely aren't essential pieces to his decision, being that he basically just needs these transportation sources to get to work. Being that he isn't actually purchasing anything, I don't think the purchase transaction is of that much importance to him, but I'm sure he'd prefer something convenient, like an application, being that he mentioned "convenience" when discussing bus routes. I'm sure that when Michael reflects on "rightness" after his ride, he ultimately is just looking to get to work on time. I believe that a BikeShare service will allow Michael to leave for work when he desires, and it would be cheap as well, considering he definitely factors financials into his decisions.
Interview Three:
The last person I interviewed was my other roommate, who owns a car and attends Santa Fe. I honestly never thought she'd be a part of my target market until recently, she started hanging out with someone who goes to UF, and she has started to go to the libraries on campus very frequently. She was complaining to me about how much she hates walking all the way to the library because by the time she gets there, her hair is ruined, her makeup is running, and she's hot and sweaty. Definitely some first world problems here, but she was expressing to me how bad she wishes her Mom would buy her a scooter, but won't since it's for such a silly reason. Her alternatives in this case would be potentially saving up for a scooter or bike herself, or she's ubered there a few times as well. She definitely prioritizes convenience in all her decisions, being that she doesn't want to "look bad" and is literally willing to order an Uber to avoid this. I think that all that really matters to her at the end of the day is that she gets to her desired location looking good. So, in my opinion, she definitely prefers application-based transactions as well as convenient ones. Although her mom won't buy her a scooter, financials don't seem to be THAT important to her being that she has Ubered to the library a couple of times. I think that a BikeShare service would partially benefit her, depending on how hot it is out. She prefers application-based and convenience, but if it was hot out, i'm not sure she'd even be willing to bike anywhere. She's a little bit of a complicated piece in my segment being that I didn't even think she originally belonged here.
Conclusions:
Alternative Evaluation Reflection:
Most of these people seemed to prioritize convenience within their transportation decisions, as well as an option that allows them to interact with an application rather than a person. Pricing seems to matter, but on varying levels. Quality and Style didn't really seem to be large factors in their decision. Even though i'm pretty sure people would prefer a good quality transportation service, they seem to be ultimately happy with the service just getting them where they need to go.
How & Where do they buy?:
Most of them tend to prefer transactions that occur through an application, rather than a person. These applications tend to have finances attached to them, eliminating an annoying step (CONVENIENCE).
Post-Purchase Evaluation:
As discussed about, I think that ultimately "rightness" is determined based on whether the person gets to their desired location on time. Walking gets you places, but it takes a while and you can become sweaty. The bus works, but doesn't always run when you need it. Scooters & Cars are options, but you have parking tickets, mechanical issues, and it's a large financial purchase. You could purchase your own bike, but why not just use BikeShare, cheaper and it can't get stolen from you.
Hello once again Kasey! I hope you are doing fine this week. I think that juts because there is already one BikeShare station you would have to give up on your opportunity. There is something that can be improved or just add a special factor that only you could provide to this idea. This being said, I think you have done a great job conclusion part of the post by setting all the facility functions in place.
ReplyDeleteKasey, great observations and evaluations you've made in this assignment. I believe that your business idea offers the convenience that college students are looking for. As you mentioned, convenience is the most important factor when it comes to transportation. Although there is another similar business as yours, it has not been marketed properly. Your business idea offers more convenience due to the fact that it will be located at different locations on campus, rather than just one place off campus.
ReplyDeleteHi Kasey - I hope you are well. I enjoyed reading about your three interviews and about your business idea. Though it is sad to see something similar, it does seem like there is a huge opportunity to provide better convenience and more stations for UF students. The interviewees had interesting points, and seem like they would be great clients. Great post!
ReplyDelete