25A
I think that what is next for my services is to become better. Since I have a competitive advantage over my competition I think that by next step would be to gas up the pedal. If I can corner my competition to the point that they can no longer compete with me because of the low prices I will win.
Market interviews
I interviewed Mark, a 21-year-old business student. I described him my venture concept and my ideas and he told me that he was delighted in hearing that. He told me that he believed in ventures like mine because they are created by college students with dreams. Because of the ambition we typically have, he is a believer in this venture concept. He liked that I'm offering cheap and good customer service. However, he added that I should come up with I way to show my customers that my company is reliable.
The second person I interviewed is Juan. a 22-year-old political science major. When I described my business concept he thought that I was delusional and at the same time ambitious. This is because my venture is hard to pull off because it needs a lot of funding. However, he told me that if I were to pull it off he would be willing to switch to my company because of my low prices. When I asked him if there is something he would like my venture to have are assurances. Assurances that his internet connection will not stop working on a Sunday at 9 p.m. when he is doing his homework.
Marcelo was a person I enjoyed interviewing. He is a 21-year-old college student that studies food and resource economics. I described him my business concept and he seemed curious. He give it some thought and brought some curious ideas to me. First of all, we talked about the prices I have. He told me that if I'm focusing on that, I need to make sure that my customers are going to willing to switch by only saving $20. He also told me that making a very good marketing campaign for people to start knowing the venture would be a good idea. A marketing campaign will also make my company more trustworthy for future clients according to his thoughts. I took his considerations and asked him if he is willing to switch to my venture. He told me that he was willing to switch if I could come up with something that makes my company more reliable to the eyes of my customers.
Reflection
After making my interviews, I was very pleased with my results. Again, price was the most important factor for switching purposes. Also, the ideas that they provided me are ideas that I can take into consideration. For example, making a good marketing campaign to gain awareness and trustworthiness sounds like a good idea to me. I was also very pleased to see that college students are willing to make the switch to my company despite that it is only a venture concept.
New Market
To get to my new market I need to use demographics. I'm planning on targetting Hispanics. Currently, there are 38 million of them in the US. I decided to venture into this new market because as a Hispanic myself, I'm very sensitive to prices. From past experiences, I can also tell that I'm not the only Hispanic person that is sensitive to prices. Since I choose Gainesville as my starting location, I'm close to a very densely populated Hispanic population(South Florida). When I think about the future of my company, I think of expanding to the south or just start by targeting Hispanics in the Gainesville area for starters. I know that they will not think twice to make the switch because of my low prices.
Interviews
Jorge is one of the maintenance crew guys at my apartment complex. Again, I explained to him my venture concept and told me that he liked it. He told me that he is not struggling with bandwidth problems at home. However, he told me that he is willing to make the switch to my company because he is currently paying $60 for a 40 MB internet connection. He told me that the extra cash will be very helpful;. He told me that price was the main reason for his willingness to switch. He did not care a lot about the customer service and quality that I'm offering, just price. When I asked them if I should add more to my venture concept he told me that I should assure my clients that what I am offering is reliable.
Jose is a 37-year-old plumber. I explained to him my business concept and told me that he might not be willing to make a switch. He told me that I need to find a way to establish trustworthiness in my potential clients. Since he is not having problems with his internet connection at home, he is not looking to make a desperate switch to a new company. However, if I can show that what I offer is reliable he would at least think about it.
Reflection
My results from the first and second sets of interviews were very similar. Most of them told be that reliability when making a switch is a huge factor. Somehow, I need to find a way for marketing to have a big impact on the minds of my potential customers. Marketing might be a solution for trustworthiness problems. Besides the solutions I got, I also liked from these interviews that the responses I got were very similar. Four out of the five persons I interviewed were willing to make the switch to my company because of the price. If I got two similar answers from two different markets that means that the new market I chose to go to might be the right one.
Market interviews
I interviewed Mark, a 21-year-old business student. I described him my venture concept and my ideas and he told me that he was delighted in hearing that. He told me that he believed in ventures like mine because they are created by college students with dreams. Because of the ambition we typically have, he is a believer in this venture concept. He liked that I'm offering cheap and good customer service. However, he added that I should come up with I way to show my customers that my company is reliable.
The second person I interviewed is Juan. a 22-year-old political science major. When I described my business concept he thought that I was delusional and at the same time ambitious. This is because my venture is hard to pull off because it needs a lot of funding. However, he told me that if I were to pull it off he would be willing to switch to my company because of my low prices. When I asked him if there is something he would like my venture to have are assurances. Assurances that his internet connection will not stop working on a Sunday at 9 p.m. when he is doing his homework.
Marcelo was a person I enjoyed interviewing. He is a 21-year-old college student that studies food and resource economics. I described him my business concept and he seemed curious. He give it some thought and brought some curious ideas to me. First of all, we talked about the prices I have. He told me that if I'm focusing on that, I need to make sure that my customers are going to willing to switch by only saving $20. He also told me that making a very good marketing campaign for people to start knowing the venture would be a good idea. A marketing campaign will also make my company more trustworthy for future clients according to his thoughts. I took his considerations and asked him if he is willing to switch to my venture. He told me that he was willing to switch if I could come up with something that makes my company more reliable to the eyes of my customers.
Reflection
After making my interviews, I was very pleased with my results. Again, price was the most important factor for switching purposes. Also, the ideas that they provided me are ideas that I can take into consideration. For example, making a good marketing campaign to gain awareness and trustworthiness sounds like a good idea to me. I was also very pleased to see that college students are willing to make the switch to my company despite that it is only a venture concept.
New Market
To get to my new market I need to use demographics. I'm planning on targetting Hispanics. Currently, there are 38 million of them in the US. I decided to venture into this new market because as a Hispanic myself, I'm very sensitive to prices. From past experiences, I can also tell that I'm not the only Hispanic person that is sensitive to prices. Since I choose Gainesville as my starting location, I'm close to a very densely populated Hispanic population(South Florida). When I think about the future of my company, I think of expanding to the south or just start by targeting Hispanics in the Gainesville area for starters. I know that they will not think twice to make the switch because of my low prices.
Interviews
Jorge is one of the maintenance crew guys at my apartment complex. Again, I explained to him my venture concept and told me that he liked it. He told me that he is not struggling with bandwidth problems at home. However, he told me that he is willing to make the switch to my company because he is currently paying $60 for a 40 MB internet connection. He told me that the extra cash will be very helpful;. He told me that price was the main reason for his willingness to switch. He did not care a lot about the customer service and quality that I'm offering, just price. When I asked them if I should add more to my venture concept he told me that I should assure my clients that what I am offering is reliable.
Jose is a 37-year-old plumber. I explained to him my business concept and told me that he might not be willing to make a switch. He told me that I need to find a way to establish trustworthiness in my potential clients. Since he is not having problems with his internet connection at home, he is not looking to make a desperate switch to a new company. However, if I can show that what I offer is reliable he would at least think about it.
Reflection
My results from the first and second sets of interviews were very similar. Most of them told be that reliability when making a switch is a huge factor. Somehow, I need to find a way for marketing to have a big impact on the minds of my potential customers. Marketing might be a solution for trustworthiness problems. Besides the solutions I got, I also liked from these interviews that the responses I got were very similar. Four out of the five persons I interviewed were willing to make the switch to my company because of the price. If I got two similar answers from two different markets that means that the new market I chose to go to might be the right one.
David,
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you are saying, I'm also constantly concerned about what should I choose that is good AND cheap. Switching as a college student can be relatively easy, since we care a bit more about price rather than quality. This is why you have to stablish a reputation that can demonstrate both quality and price with what you are offering. Once you accomplish that, customers will switch more easily to your new company.
David,
ReplyDeleteAs a college student, as much as I would like to worry about quality over price, its not really in the cards. I really liked how you said in your reflection that you wanted to put more effort into gaining trust in your customers because that is key. Once you have gained the trust of your customers, you will be in good shape going forward. I also like how your new market is to target a group that is large in number so you have a lot to work with and there can potentially be a lot of prospective customers there that would be willing to see what your company is about. Overall awesome post!