Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1
Segment: The segment I chose current parents to speak to. For my 3 interviews I spoke to either one or both parents. The easiest way I was able to weed out who had a need that could be satisfied with my product was by talking to people about my product idea and the features to see if it was something that could help them.
Interview Summary:
Sierra (2 kids – youngest 3 years old): Sierra never really had the “ah ha” moment where she realized that she had this need. For her It was more like she already knew. Her youngest was born with a lot of complications. He has had moments where he has stopped breathing at times. The car Is one of those places where Sierra feels she can’t have her eyes set on him to make sure he’s okay because his seat does faces the rear. While she doesn’t necessarily forget her children in the car she really feels like the product has features that solves many of her other needs. Having a product that could monitor her child while she is not able to see him would really be a relief to her. She states she never googled anything in regards to her need. She said she does however scroll through Pinterest for nifty gadgets that might come in handy in the car.
Esther (1kid - youngest 4 months old): Esther, realized she had to remind herself that her kid was in the backseat when she returned to work after being on maternity leave. She had not calculated or added the day care stop to her morning routine, and on day two back was rushing and drove straight to work and realized what she had done and drive back to the day care. Esther states that she didn’t do research. She used a rubber band trick she learned where she placed a rubber band on her wrist and snap it, in order to remind herself of something. She also made some simple adjustments to her rearview mirror and seat so that she would have visibility to the backseat in order not to forget. She avoided doing things she would normally do if she was alone, such as playing music loud in order to help her adjust. She still stresses out that she will forget her baby in the car, especially on days where she knows she has a lot of things to worry about at work.
Nelda and Wilson (3 Kids – Youngest 1 year old): Nelda first became aware of her need when she moved to Florida. Her first child was born up north so she never really worried about extremely hot temperatures. In Florida on the other hand she had a different experience. She would get to her destination and realize that her baby was sweating and constantly had to change her clothes. This was more evident during the summer time. She thought maybe she was bundling her baby up with too many layers. But even with the thinnest blankets she was still heating up. For solutions she first went to her doctor. She was worried that maybe the baby was having hot flashes. The doctor assured her that wasn’t the case. She suggested that it could be that the car isn't circulating air very well and maybe taking too long to blow cold air. Wilson says that as a solution he has tried is to start the car and allowing it to run so that it is all cooled down by the time they get in. Nelda says that sometimes during longer car trip she sits in the back with her little one in fear that she would over heat.
What I learned: I found it difficult finding people to talk to about the need. However, I was able to find people who are able to benefit by using the product because of the other features the car seat would offer. In the beginning I thought with my product I was only able to solve one need but the product is able to help with other needs. With the work from some of the previous assignments I realized that instead of focusing solely on people forgetting kids in their car and focusing more on car seat safety features overall I was able to find more customers that would benefit from the Smart CarSeat. I thought it was important to speak to Nelda and Wilson because they showed that there are other ways children can heat up in the car, even with the car running. I thought it was very Important to show that.
Conclusion: I noticed that from this segment not a lot of people run to the internet for answers. I found that very interesting. Everyone in this segment had their different ways that they realized that they had a need. I think that there might be more segments that could benefit from this product because there are many people who look for ways to make things safer for their children.
Interview Summary:
Sierra (2 kids – youngest 3 years old): Sierra never really had the “ah ha” moment where she realized that she had this need. For her It was more like she already knew. Her youngest was born with a lot of complications. He has had moments where he has stopped breathing at times. The car Is one of those places where Sierra feels she can’t have her eyes set on him to make sure he’s okay because his seat does faces the rear. While she doesn’t necessarily forget her children in the car she really feels like the product has features that solves many of her other needs. Having a product that could monitor her child while she is not able to see him would really be a relief to her. She states she never googled anything in regards to her need. She said she does however scroll through Pinterest for nifty gadgets that might come in handy in the car.
Esther (1kid - youngest 4 months old): Esther, realized she had to remind herself that her kid was in the backseat when she returned to work after being on maternity leave. She had not calculated or added the day care stop to her morning routine, and on day two back was rushing and drove straight to work and realized what she had done and drive back to the day care. Esther states that she didn’t do research. She used a rubber band trick she learned where she placed a rubber band on her wrist and snap it, in order to remind herself of something. She also made some simple adjustments to her rearview mirror and seat so that she would have visibility to the backseat in order not to forget. She avoided doing things she would normally do if she was alone, such as playing music loud in order to help her adjust. She still stresses out that she will forget her baby in the car, especially on days where she knows she has a lot of things to worry about at work.
Nelda and Wilson (3 Kids – Youngest 1 year old): Nelda first became aware of her need when she moved to Florida. Her first child was born up north so she never really worried about extremely hot temperatures. In Florida on the other hand she had a different experience. She would get to her destination and realize that her baby was sweating and constantly had to change her clothes. This was more evident during the summer time. She thought maybe she was bundling her baby up with too many layers. But even with the thinnest blankets she was still heating up. For solutions she first went to her doctor. She was worried that maybe the baby was having hot flashes. The doctor assured her that wasn’t the case. She suggested that it could be that the car isn't circulating air very well and maybe taking too long to blow cold air. Wilson says that as a solution he has tried is to start the car and allowing it to run so that it is all cooled down by the time they get in. Nelda says that sometimes during longer car trip she sits in the back with her little one in fear that she would over heat.
What I learned: I found it difficult finding people to talk to about the need. However, I was able to find people who are able to benefit by using the product because of the other features the car seat would offer. In the beginning I thought with my product I was only able to solve one need but the product is able to help with other needs. With the work from some of the previous assignments I realized that instead of focusing solely on people forgetting kids in their car and focusing more on car seat safety features overall I was able to find more customers that would benefit from the Smart CarSeat. I thought it was important to speak to Nelda and Wilson because they showed that there are other ways children can heat up in the car, even with the car running. I thought it was very Important to show that.
Conclusion: I noticed that from this segment not a lot of people run to the internet for answers. I found that very interesting. Everyone in this segment had their different ways that they realized that they had a need. I think that there might be more segments that could benefit from this product because there are many people who look for ways to make things safer for their children.
Eliana -
ReplyDeleteI also found it interesting that your three interviewees didn't necessarily check the internet for solutions to their problems. I think in terms of another safety precaution that you could add to the Smart CarSeat would be a cooling/heating core built-in. Similar to a seat heater, the car seat could feature a seat cooler for children in warmer climates, as well as a seat heater for those in colder climates. I know that my parents have had that issue before when my youngest sister was a baby and they were stuck in traffic on the highway in the middle of the summer. Because we were sitting in the sun for so long not moving, even the air conditioning in the car couldn't keep us cool and they worried that my sister would overheat. I think a feature for cooling and heating would really set this car seat apart.
Eliana, I do not have children, but I too felt the “ah ha” moment! While I don’t have the need currently, I realized I love the product and would definitely purchase it if I did have the need. This is much more complex than most business ideas I’ve seen, and that’s very intriguing! Selling the technology to other companies is also a great idea!
ReplyDelete-L
Eliana,
ReplyDeleteI agree people are always looking for ways to make sure their kids are safe. I actually wasn't so surprised to see many of your interviewees didn't check the internet because they're probably busy parents who only have enough time to check for the essentials since they need to be checking in one their child constantly. I think it was a smart idea to veer away from kids leaving their kids in the car and more toward a "smart" car seat.