Assignment 12A – Figuring Out Buyer
Behavior No. 1
Choosing a segment: For this assignment, I choose to interview
the segment of UF students who are looking for a new place in Midtown to go out
to. I interviewed Christina, who is a senior and is tired of waiting in long
lines at Midtown every night she goes out. I also interviewed Carley who is
under 21, but enjoys going to Mid a few times a month. I lastly interviewed Matt,
who is a 21 year old but still has another year at UF.
Interviews:
1. Christina is a graduating senior
who goes out a few times a week, almost always to midtown. When we discussed
her experiences of going out at UF, it became clear that she was frustrated with
the crowds and lines on busy nights. She said she enjoys going into bars when
they are busy, but the lines have become so long that she has stopped going to
some of her favorite places. When looking for solutions to this problem, she tried
going Downtown for a night out, but said it was not the same experience as Mid.
2. When I interviewed Carley she told
me she only goes out a few nights every month, partly because there are only a
few bars that she can get in to, because she is not yet 21 years old. She
seemed frustrated by her lack of options of where to go at Mid and she often
times chooses to solve this problem by just staying in on a Friday or Saturday
night instead of going out.
3. Matt was the last person I
interviewed. He recently turned 21 and has been going to the bars frequently
since then. He said the initial thrill of going into the bars was a lot of fun,
but he has started to enjoy it less because there are only a few options and
many times they are overcrowded. His solution to this problem is to either not
go out or just go out and wait in the long lines.
What I Found: I found that a lot of students are
just looking for a new experience in Midtown. They enjoy going out there,
however there are a lack of options and not enough options for the number of
students who go out. They seem excited at the idea of a new bar opening in Mid,
but believe it needs to be a very specific type of bar for it to be popular.
Conclusion: What I found from these interviews is
that the group of those who are over 21 and those who are under 21 have very
different needs regarding this problem. All of them are lacking options, but
the solution is going to be different for those two groups. This exercise also
showed me that there is a problem in Midtown and there is an opportunity for
this.
Alyssa,
ReplyDeleteI think you were wise to restrict your segment to UF students, even though you potentially want to have an audience of both students and local Gainesville residents, as I read in your Idea Napkin post. Like you, I also talk about the experience factor in my posts for my business idea as in today's age people want an experience that they can document on social media or rave to their friends about. This experience factor can really take your restaurant/bar to the next level if executed and tailored to your target audience. Good post!
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI think that this is a big segment and the one you should focus on as this is where you will be making the most money. The students going out is going to be key to the success of the bar. The key thing that you are going to have to focus on is making sure that the environment you make is appealing and safe to the kids as well as on the cheaper side.
Hi, Alyssa! The long lines are definitely a part of the Midtown experience everyone dreads. Unfortunately, sometimes the lines are pretty unavoidable and then you have to pay some kind of cover when you get there. This feeling can definitely make or break someone's night. Maybe the new experience everyone is looking for is some exclusivity? I know if bars give some exclusivity or have some sort of cap on an entrance, lines would not be as long. It seems inevitable to go about creating this business idea without upsetting some segment of your market.
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