15A
I decided to interview college students and low-income family households. What determined this was their source of income.
Interview 1
This interview was to a college student named Paul that was studying for a BUL4310 exam on Heavener hall. I ask him what he does when he goes shopping for an internet service provider. He tells me that the first thing he does is look for google. He then told me that the problem with this is that only the same 3 companies pop up and his browser and he is tired of them. He told me that he has been with all of them and they are almost the same thing. They have very similar pricing and service. I then proceed and asked him what is the most important thing when looking for a cable provider and he told me that it was price. Price for him is the most important factor because he rather spends his extra money on other things.
Interview 2
This interview was to a maintenance crew guy in front of the Carleton auditorium. I asked him if he had an internet connection at home and he said yes. That I went on an asked him if he thinks he is paying too much for his internet at home. He told me that he was but that he couldn't do anything about it because all of them have similar prices and quality. I asked him how he looked for internet service providers and he told me that his friends and family were his first choice. I asked him what was the most important factor when looking for alternatives and he told me that was price and quality. He told me that he needs both of those things because he needs to feel that his money is worth it.
Interview 3
My third interview was to a college student sitting on the sofas at the first level of Reitz Union. At first, I asked him if he had the internet at home and if he thought that he was paying too much. He told me that he did and that he was paying a lot more than was he expected. He told me that this was the first year of paying his bills after living with his parents. He told me that cable companies should at least try harder to grab the attention of college students by giving them discounts because it is way too expensive. I asked him how he looked for internet service providers and he told me that he did that through social media. He told that facebook is a great way of fiding them because of all of them in social media. I also asked him what the most important factor when looking for an internet service provider and he told me it was price.
Interview 4
This interview was held at the buffet that is held at the plaza of the Americas at around noon I asked this student if he had an internet connection at home and if he was happy about it. He told me that he was paying $50 a month for it and that he was happy about it. I asked him how he got this price and he told me that some companies offered discounts to students. I also asked him what was the most important factor when looking for an internet service provider and he told me that was price. I also asked him what he does to find for new internet service providers and he told me that he relied on social media and search engines like google.
Interview 5
My last interview was to a college student in one of the RTS buses when going to school. At first, I asked him what was the most important factor when choosing an internet service provider and he told me that is was price and quality. He told me that he needs both of this because if he had the internet but it wasn't working continuously he might feel that his money was not worth it. I also asked him how he looked for internet service providers and he told me that he solely relied on google.
How to they pick alternatives?
The most important factor that determines consumer behavior in my segment is price. My segment cares about how good an internet connection is but they mostly care about price. My target segments are college students and low-income family households. College students need the internet for studying but they also want to spend their money on another necessity. Low-income family households typically have more than 1 than children to pay for an internet connection that is already hard enough for them. Although internet speed and quality are important, at the end of the day price is the sole determinant factor.
How/where do they buy?
When trying to research for an internet provider, my customers do there research on the internet over the internet. According to them, the problem with searching on the internet for cable companies is that only the most important ones pop up the majority of the time. The big companies like Cox, Verizon, etc. However, they also rely on a lot on word of mouth since family and friends also play a big role here. When it comes to financing, they mainly use cash. They use their disposable income internet to pay for their internet connections at home.
Post Purchase evaluation
What helps them think of the rightness of the purchase is the amount they had to pay for the price and the price they spent looking for it. Internet service providers now days are not cheap at all. Most of them charge 60$ or more for the cheapest connection. When one of the customers of my segments manages to get a connection that is little less than this, they feel that they purchase was right. What helps them develop rightness is price. If the service is lower than the average cost they are going to be happy. My customers will think that their purchase was a bad idea is the price. If they more than the average price they will feel bad about it.
Conclusions
Based on my interviews, I think the alternative evaluation of my segment is very simple. If my customers manage to find a cable service provider that is cheaper than the average one, they will switch without a blink. Things like quality and style are things that don’t matter to them as much. They solely focus on price. When it comes to purchasing decisions, the only way that they can be happy is if they could find a company that offered them an internet connection below the average price. For example, if they were only able to find a company that offered them the same service for the same price they are not going to switch even though they offer better quality. They will focus more on price than anything else. After making their purchase they will make their post-purchase evaluation to determine how good their purchase was. If they did not manage to get a service below than the average price and they still switched to it, they are not going to feel good about their purchase.
Interview 1
This interview was to a college student named Paul that was studying for a BUL4310 exam on Heavener hall. I ask him what he does when he goes shopping for an internet service provider. He tells me that the first thing he does is look for google. He then told me that the problem with this is that only the same 3 companies pop up and his browser and he is tired of them. He told me that he has been with all of them and they are almost the same thing. They have very similar pricing and service. I then proceed and asked him what is the most important thing when looking for a cable provider and he told me that it was price. Price for him is the most important factor because he rather spends his extra money on other things.
Interview 2
This interview was to a maintenance crew guy in front of the Carleton auditorium. I asked him if he had an internet connection at home and he said yes. That I went on an asked him if he thinks he is paying too much for his internet at home. He told me that he was but that he couldn't do anything about it because all of them have similar prices and quality. I asked him how he looked for internet service providers and he told me that his friends and family were his first choice. I asked him what was the most important factor when looking for alternatives and he told me that was price and quality. He told me that he needs both of those things because he needs to feel that his money is worth it.
Interview 3
My third interview was to a college student sitting on the sofas at the first level of Reitz Union. At first, I asked him if he had the internet at home and if he thought that he was paying too much. He told me that he did and that he was paying a lot more than was he expected. He told me that this was the first year of paying his bills after living with his parents. He told me that cable companies should at least try harder to grab the attention of college students by giving them discounts because it is way too expensive. I asked him how he looked for internet service providers and he told me that he did that through social media. He told that facebook is a great way of fiding them because of all of them in social media. I also asked him what the most important factor when looking for an internet service provider and he told me it was price.
Interview 4
This interview was held at the buffet that is held at the plaza of the Americas at around noon I asked this student if he had an internet connection at home and if he was happy about it. He told me that he was paying $50 a month for it and that he was happy about it. I asked him how he got this price and he told me that some companies offered discounts to students. I also asked him what was the most important factor when looking for an internet service provider and he told me that was price. I also asked him what he does to find for new internet service providers and he told me that he relied on social media and search engines like google.
Interview 5
My last interview was to a college student in one of the RTS buses when going to school. At first, I asked him what was the most important factor when choosing an internet service provider and he told me that is was price and quality. He told me that he needs both of this because if he had the internet but it wasn't working continuously he might feel that his money was not worth it. I also asked him how he looked for internet service providers and he told me that he solely relied on google.
How to they pick alternatives?
The most important factor that determines consumer behavior in my segment is price. My segment cares about how good an internet connection is but they mostly care about price. My target segments are college students and low-income family households. College students need the internet for studying but they also want to spend their money on another necessity. Low-income family households typically have more than 1 than children to pay for an internet connection that is already hard enough for them. Although internet speed and quality are important, at the end of the day price is the sole determinant factor.
How/where do they buy?
When trying to research for an internet provider, my customers do there research on the internet over the internet. According to them, the problem with searching on the internet for cable companies is that only the most important ones pop up the majority of the time. The big companies like Cox, Verizon, etc. However, they also rely on a lot on word of mouth since family and friends also play a big role here. When it comes to financing, they mainly use cash. They use their disposable income internet to pay for their internet connections at home.
Post Purchase evaluation
What helps them think of the rightness of the purchase is the amount they had to pay for the price and the price they spent looking for it. Internet service providers now days are not cheap at all. Most of them charge 60$ or more for the cheapest connection. When one of the customers of my segments manages to get a connection that is little less than this, they feel that they purchase was right. What helps them develop rightness is price. If the service is lower than the average cost they are going to be happy. My customers will think that their purchase was a bad idea is the price. If they more than the average price they will feel bad about it.
Conclusions
Based on my interviews, I think the alternative evaluation of my segment is very simple. If my customers manage to find a cable service provider that is cheaper than the average one, they will switch without a blink. Things like quality and style are things that don’t matter to them as much. They solely focus on price. When it comes to purchasing decisions, the only way that they can be happy is if they could find a company that offered them an internet connection below the average price. For example, if they were only able to find a company that offered them the same service for the same price they are not going to switch even though they offer better quality. They will focus more on price than anything else. After making their purchase they will make their post-purchase evaluation to determine how good their purchase was. If they did not manage to get a service below than the average price and they still switched to it, they are not going to feel good about their purchase.
Hey David,
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to see how everyone in your interviews only value the cost of the service when choosing to buy alternatives. They must not use the internet much at all if they don't value the quality of the service as well. For someone who needs to use the internet for more than just light surfing and emails, good quality is extremely important.