Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

 Interviewees

For this assignment my three chosen interviewees are once again people that fit the environmentalist segment.

Begin with alternative evaluation

For this recycling service, money does matter to the possible customers. The service needs to be reasonably priced, so the consumer can afford it because without the consumer there is no service. We need to have a functional customer service that provides that customer with all their needs. With any service, quality of work matters.

How/where do they buy?

For the actual transaction, the customer is likely to purchase this service online.We're now in the digital age, where many products and services are paid online. Another alternative for the transaction is to pay with cash/check, sent through mail.

Post-purchase evaluation.

When a customer purchases this recycling service, they gain the uplifting idea that they're assisting in the overall goal of environmental sustainability. If they purchase the service and doesn't feel positive about it, then it's possible they're on a budget. If that's not the case, then the service didn't provide enough for that customer.

Report the findings.

Through the three interviews, the evaluation proved that the customer cares about price, quality of service, and the customer service. They want to help reduce pollution, and the mountainous landfills that steadily increase each year. One of the interviewees said that by recycling, it helps reduce gas emissions, therefor helping climate change. The interviewees seemed as if they were people that are concerned for the environment and it's importance.

Draw conclusions.

Based on the interviews I have gathered impressions on the service. The service needs to focus on the service with the customer in thought, keep prices low, and paying online works the best. I think those three ideas will be critical for the service to keep afloat.

Halfway Reflection

1. Tenaciousness is a competency. What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course? 

I've had to develop my planning skills and it's essential to the course because you're going to need to schedule around other courses. Being creative is another behavior that will help  because you'll be required to come up different opportunities that you think will help people. This course has also developed my communication skills. You will be required to create interviews for your assignments These are example of behaviors that I think are essential for this course. 

 2. Tenaciousness is also about attitude. Talk about a moment or two when you felt like "giving up." What pulled you through? Do you feel like you've developed a tenacious attitude during the past two months? What experience or experiences most contributed to this?

There was a couple moments that I wanted to "give up", but I'm a determined person. I may not be perfect, but there is one thing that I do do in in life and that's not giving up. I don't think I've developed a  tenacious attitude during the two months of the course because I've always been a determined person. Multiple assignments have contributed to this.

3.Three tips. What are three tips you would offer next semester's student about (1) fostering the skills that support tenacity and (2) developing the 'tenacious mindset' ?

My three tips would be plan ahead, stay motivated, and stay on schedule. Those three things are vital for success in the course and helps keep the tenacious mindset and supports tenacity.

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

1.Segment:  I feel the best segment is to focus on the environmental conscious consumer. They'll provide the most support for the recycling opportunity.

2. Three Interviews: The first interviewee is an avid environmentalist who tries her best to stay green. She recycles regularly and believes it reduces pollution. The second interviewee ideology is that recycling will help reduce the size of landfills, she knows there can be cons. But, the positives outweighs the negatives. The last interviewee, also thought themselves as someone that is concerned for the direction of our environment. Each interviewee cared about recycling and the environment.

3. Awareness
First Interviewee: She becomes aware of the unmet need at her house because she does not receive recycle pick-up. She has to go the landfill to do her recycling and it becomes a nuisance. It's hard on her to recycle because she's busy with a full time job and family.
Second Interviewee: As she becomes aware that she needs recycle pick-up. She also notices all the plastics and paper people throw away in the garbage. Recycling can be hard because the landfill isn't close.
Third Interviewee: Just like the other interviewees he mostly notices this unmet need at home when he either forgets to recycle, or puts his recyclables in a bag to take off. He also thinks many that companies should join the more sustainable route and recycle.

4. Information Search:  All three interviewees have noticed that Marion County doesn't offer curbside pick-up and none of them have used to search for alternatives. Like most families, they do have conversations about sustainable solutions. All three believe that recycling is a small step in the right direction.

5. Report: What I have concluded is that curbside pick-up is a simple solution for the county. It will help with sustainability and hep reduce the size of the landfill. Offering customers this unmet need would reduce pollution in the city, and give them a chance to recycle more.  Many of the interviewees have trouble recycling because many of them are immersed in the daily life.

6. Conclusion: By engaging toward the environmentalist that truly care about recycling is one of the best approaches. I've noticed that didn't look for advertising on the internet, so I would have to find a better approach to find customers that have the unmet need. These interviews have showed me that people that have the green "ideology" are the group that will be most of the customer base. So, by advertising the positives of recycling and getting businesses to join will help get a better range of future customers.

Idea Napkin No. 1

    My name is Christian Lawson. 

Skills/talents: Time management, Adaptability, disciplined, Collaborative, Problem solving.

My experiences include two-years of being an office assistant and six months of driving for a utility company. My aspirations is to get a degree in business administration and start a career in the front office of a sports organization. If I would to start my recycling business, it would  change my life. I would have to put all of my effort in this project trying to find customers and investors.

2. My service will be providing customers curbside pick-up that includes paper, plastic, aluminum, batteries, and glass.

3. I want to reach the people who are interested in cleaning the atmosphere and people that have an open mind to the idea of recycling. The people would want to reduce pollution, and waste disposals.

4. They will want to use the service because they care about the environment.

5. What sets me apart is the curbside pick-up that no one else offers. Also, nobody has my commitment for satisfaction for the customer.

I believe that these element do go well with the aspects of the business concept. The skills would help jump-start the business. If anything goes wrong during the process my adaptability and problem solving skills will provide help. I don't see there being any weak points because there isn't any competition for road-side recycling. To help find customers I will need to work on my communications skills to clearly and effectively persuade them about the benefits of recycling.

Reading Reflection No. 1

 

1. What surprised you the most?

Elon Musk's was persistent with his goals, he never gave up. There was times that his financial situation was not in the best condition because of money-pit startups. His willingness to keep funding and making these projects work is nothing short of being remarkable.

What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

I admire his innovated thinking that could change the world. His goal is to make humanity sustainable on earth.
What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

There is talk that he criticized a employee because he witnessed the birth of his child instead of going to a Tesla event. Also, I'm not sure if he respects women because he said that they should only need about 10 hours a week of attention.
Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?

Elon Musk indeed fought against adversity and failure. He fought through financial recession and there was times that he though he would have to give up projects. Instead he found ways to get contracts, so he can keep both Tesla and Space x open.

2. What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?
He was amazing at problem solving, leadership, communication, and innovation.

3. Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
The chronological order of some of his successes could be quite confusing at points.

4. If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?
My first question would be "What motivates you?" and " How much time do you take to develop these opportunities?". I would ask these questions because I think motivation is important, just as the time to put in an idea before you scrap it.


5.What do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

I don't know if it's necessarily an opinion, but Musk wants to save the world with his technology. I would agree that is hard work. To make innovative ideas that would contribute to the success of reversing the decay of the world would be astonishing and impractical.

Elevator Pitch No. 1

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Interviews 

First: The 54 year-old father knows that there is a recycle center that is located on maricamp road, but never recycles. He doesn't know the beneficial aspects of recycling. He has family members that do recycle, but defines them more as a "hippies".  If given the chance of recycle pick-up, he would probably not pay for it because he doesn't see the need for it. He would be open to see how it would be beneficial to him.

Second: This interviewee is a 23 year-old mother, who believes that recycling can help clean the environment. She goes to the recycling center when able, but it's not often because she has the baby.If given the opportunity to pay for recycling pick-up, she would take up that offer. When asked if she thinks people are misinformed about benefits, she thinks that people can be ignorant to some facts.

Third: The 22 year-old male only recycles because his girlfriend gets on to him for throwing away recyclables . He usually has to drop of trash and his recyclables to the dump. He doesn't live that far away from the dump, but said it be nice if he didn't have to do it himself. He knows that there can benefits, but describes himself as lazy, and only really does it so he doesn't makes girlfriend upset.

Fourth: Another woman who is 34 of age has two daughters and she wants to recycle more of her plastics and aluminum cans. She is not sure if paying for recycle pick-up will fit in her budget. She understands the benefits of recycling and believes that it would be good for the county because the landfill is getting massive.

Fifth: The 76 year-old female recycles, but she only does it when her sons are able to bring it the landfill. She's not capable of driving herself because of health issues. She says that she realized how much recyclables was throw away in day and that made her think of this need. If given the chance she would pay for the pick-up. She also doesn't know the benefits of recycling, except she knows it's good for resources.

Summarize 

The interviews allowed me to see that people are need of learning the benefits of recycling.  Once again, people do think there is need of recycling pick-up in Marion County. It also seems that if people don't feel like it benefits them anyway, that they don't feel the need. There could be some complications for getting customers.

Inside the boundary Who's in: People who aware of the benefits of recycling and those who can afford it. What the need is: The need is the curb side pick-up recycling, also the information of benefits. Why the need exists: The need exists because the county does not provide it's citizens of recycling options. Outside the boundary Who is not: People who aren't aware of the beneficial effects of recycling and those who can't afford it in their budget. What the need is not: Since people are ware that there is a landfill that provides recycling( but not pick-up) they may not need the curb side pick-up. Alternative Explanations: The alternatives is to either drive to the landfill or not recycling at all.

Solving The Problem

Selected Opportunity 

In Ocala and many other cities don't provide the public with efficient recycling pick-up options or no recycling options. Many people don't want go to the landfill to recycle because of location or they simply are too busy. The opportunity is a service that will provide reasonable pricing curb side pick-up options. Keeping the environment is important to me and many others, so I am certain that this opportunity exists. 

Service

Providing locals with reasonable monthly or yearly pricing for recycling pick-up. The different types of recycle pick-up options would include plastic, paper, aluminum, batteries, and glass. There will be a weekly pick-up of the recyclables, unless the customer wants to choose the every two week pick-up option at a cheaper price.This service will also be offered to businesses that are interested in being green. The mission of this opportunity/service is to provide the customers with options that will make them happy and to reduce the amount of pollution in the environment.

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

The Opportunity 

In Ocala, there is an inefficient amount of recycling for citizens because there isn't any house pick-up. 

The Who: Citizens of Ocala

The What: Inefficient amount of recycling

The Why: There isn't any house pick up

The Tests

Testing the Who: Yes, others have this need. Many people want to recycle, but they don't want the inconvenience of going to the landfill to recycle.

Testing the What:  People may not like the recycle pick up because they don't to pay the extra money for it.

Testing the Why: There may be reasons why there isn't any recycle pick up. Citizens may not want to pay for it. It's possible that the process separating glass, plastic, ext is to not followed correctly by citizens.

The Interviews 

First: This interviewee is a 23 year-old female that likes the idea of recycling. She doesn't like going out of her way to recycle, so she never recycles. She would be interested in the possibility of recycling if there was pick-up. She also explained that it would need to be reasonably priced, if it's too expensive then she wouldn't be interested. It's not a huge need for her, but she does believe that recycling helps the environment.

Second: The 32 year-old male says that he hasn't really thought about recycling and he's not sure if he would. I asked if the pick-up was at a reasonable price, would he still be interested? He said it's possible, but it would depend on his budget. He does think that recycling is important and that people should do it, including himself. He has never thought it was need and he has never gone out of his way to recycle.

Third: I interviewed a 38 year-old male and he does recycle at times, but only when he goes to the landfill to get rid of leaves, beds, ext. At a reasonable price, he would be interested paying for recycle pick-up. The male only would recycle plastic because he doesn't usually have enough glass products to get rid of. He does think it's a need and supports the solution.

Fourth: The 30 year-old female would be very interested in recycling pick-up. She has lived in other cities where she had the option to pay for pick-up in the past. The women also thinks that it be provided by the county for free, but of course that's not happening. She doesn't recycle now because the landfill is in the outer city and it's too much of a drive. She would be all for the pick-up, especially if the price is reasonable. She started getting into recycling in her mid 20's because she's getting tired of seeing gigantic landfills. She knows it's a need and wants to help the environment by recycling.
Fifth: The 43 year-old mom has been interested in recycle-pick up, since she noticed all of the cans she has been throwing away in the trash. She stated that her son drinks sodas and her boyfriend drinks canned beers, so there's quite a bit in quantity. Even though she lives close to the landfill, she doesn't recycle. The woman does think it's need in the community. If the price was reasonable enough that she could afford the pick-up, she would probably take advantage of it. She would be interested in aluminum and plastic recycling.

Summarize 

The opportunity still exists after gaining feedback from the interviewees. I would just have to make sure it's convenient and make sure the price is affordable.  I think that a lot of people of the community don't go out of their to do things, especially recycling because it doesn't feel too much of a need. There should be some information sharing to help customers see the benefits of recycling and how much they could make a difference. With anything else, feedback has showed me what needs to be tweaked. I honestly didn't think that many people cared about recycling.

Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

Economic Trends

 First Opportunity

In a world of technology, AI has been gaining a lot of steam and is trendy. I believe that an opportunity exists amongst the google homes and Alexa's. How I perceived this opportunity is by reading about how popular AI is now, especially with the home technology goods. The prototypical customer for a device that is similar to an google home or Alexa would be between 15-60 in age. It would be rather difficult to exploit this opportunity because you will have competition with some top technology companies. I formed this belief by seeing what is around me, technology is everywhere. Many people that I know have similar products and there isn't that much competition, but they are some heavyweights in their division.

Second Opportunity 

There has been a lot of natural disasters and even though it's terrible, opportunities exist there. I read articles about all of the disasters that have been happening and how many cities are still in rebuilding mode. Living in Florida and seeing the effects of these disasters has helped for me see the opportunity. After being affected by a disaster, the market would be searching for people to rebuild. A prototypical customer would be someone that has been affected by a natural disaster. I think it would be easy to exploit because there will always be disasters. With the outcome of a disaster, there will always been a need for rebuilding. My step father use to run a business similar too this, and it has helped me come up with the opportunity.

Regulatory Changes

Third Opportunity

There has been deregulation's happening to areas of environmental protections. With these protections being deregulated, there will be opportunities. I've gained this information from articles and governmental websites. I think this opportunity will exist because even though there are deregulation's of the protection for the environment, people will still want the protections to be done. I likely customer for this opportunity would be someone that is interested in saving/protecting the environment. I'm a big believer in environmental protections and that's what helped with this opportunity. Without these protections, animals could go instinct. I think this opportunity would be easy to exploit because I think people care about the earth and there isn't much competition.

Fourth Opportunity 

With many states now legalizing cannabis, there may be opportunities. The market won't be huge and there may be some needs. I gained this information by reading articles and looking at all the states that are looking to legalize cannabis. A prototypical customer would be someone that has medical issues, or even someone that wants to do it recreationally. There's many advocates for this change and after seeing so many approve has led me to this opportunity. The opportunity would be easy to exploit because of the amount of advocates there are. I have family members that live out of state that do cannabis recreationally legally in there states and I know people who use it for medical here in Florida. By just seeing the vast numbers of people that use cannabis, has helped meme think of the opportunity .