12A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1
Looking Into the Early Stages of Buyer Behavior:
For this assignment, I chose individuals from the UF population that seek place utility when searching for coffee as the segment to focus on. This is one of the main segments I seek to target in this business.
During my interviews this week, I learned that "individuals seeking place utility when looking for coffee" is a larger segment than I had anticipated. The first student I talked with began to explain to me that his need awareness for coffee starts as soon as he wakes up. This second-year student told me that his brain immediately knows that he needs coffee each day, making this step of the process simple. Next, I talked with a fourth-year student who also said he needed coffee to get him out of bed each morning. In other words, he knows early each morning of this pressing need and relies on coffee, thus raising the level of awareness about his own need. The third person I talked to was a first-year student that realizes he needs coffee when he is trying to do a task and is not functioning at a high level.
Because of the few coffee options on campus, the students I interviewed explained to me that their information search process was very limited. None of my three interviewees at any time in this process used the internet to find where coffee was because they are aware of the current coffee options. However, talking to friends is a source of information is an important part of this. The first-year student told me that if there are no coffee options close by, he decides the problem isn't important to him anymore.
Reflection:
Not only did this show me how real the market is for coffee that is in a convenient place for consumers but that those with this problem clearly realize the need they have. Beyond this, many know the options they have available to them as well. In this segment of "individuals seeking place utility when looking for coffee," the need and options are clear yet some are still looking to other sources of caffeine or are making their own coffee to make up for the lack of a coffee option in a convenient place for them.
For this assignment, I chose individuals from the UF population that seek place utility when searching for coffee as the segment to focus on. This is one of the main segments I seek to target in this business.
During my interviews this week, I learned that "individuals seeking place utility when looking for coffee" is a larger segment than I had anticipated. The first student I talked with began to explain to me that his need awareness for coffee starts as soon as he wakes up. This second-year student told me that his brain immediately knows that he needs coffee each day, making this step of the process simple. Next, I talked with a fourth-year student who also said he needed coffee to get him out of bed each morning. In other words, he knows early each morning of this pressing need and relies on coffee, thus raising the level of awareness about his own need. The third person I talked to was a first-year student that realizes he needs coffee when he is trying to do a task and is not functioning at a high level.
Because of the few coffee options on campus, the students I interviewed explained to me that their information search process was very limited. None of my three interviewees at any time in this process used the internet to find where coffee was because they are aware of the current coffee options. However, talking to friends is a source of information is an important part of this. The first-year student told me that if there are no coffee options close by, he decides the problem isn't important to him anymore.
Reflection:
Not only did this show me how real the market is for coffee that is in a convenient place for consumers but that those with this problem clearly realize the need they have. Beyond this, many know the options they have available to them as well. In this segment of "individuals seeking place utility when looking for coffee," the need and options are clear yet some are still looking to other sources of caffeine or are making their own coffee to make up for the lack of a coffee option in a convenient place for them.
ReplyDeleteHello Cason!
I enjoyed how you focused primarily on the aspect of place utility when seeking individuals to interview - this intentionality and objective undeniably assisted you in understanding more about your segment market, as you reflected in your conclusion. It is a much large segment than I had anticipated as well.
I found it interesting that the first individual you spoke with said he recognizes his need immediately upon waking up; this caused me to think about my unconscious need for coffee after I wake up as well. I did not have any individuals who explained this as he had.
Thanks for sharing and great job!
Caitlyn Torres
Hi Carson! I am very intrigued by your idea because I am such a fan of coffee myself. I love the taste of coffee and the way it makes me more productive. I worked at Starbucks for a couple of years and I think that I can agree that people who need their coffee, NEED their coffee. I always worked the opening shift and I would say about 70% of our morning customers were regulars, who stopped by on their way to work every morning. I think the idea of having coffee already on campus is amazing because it takes away the process of going out of your way to a coffee shop and making sure you have time to get to work. I also think that you should find some more ways to differentiate yourself from the Starbucks that is always on campus. Maybe even partnering with a local coffee shop like Wyatt's to sell one of their popular brews of coffee at your stand, so that consumers will have some sort of awareness or respect toward the coffee on even your first day.
ReplyDeleteHi Carson, thanks for sharing this post. It seems that through your interviews you learned more about the information search that leads people to choosing a coffee location that is convenient for them. I believe that also reaffirms the usefulness and applicability of tour idea. People that need coffee to function will be drawn to locations that are easiest for them to acquire it in the quickest amount of time that also falls in line with their day-to-day schedule. I believe you can make use of this information to ensure your idea is a success.
ReplyDelete