Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2
Interviews
Interview #1: Adult Living in Miami (39F)
My first interview was with a lawyer working in Miami, FL, who says she thinks my product could be useful for a lot of people, but not her. She says she makes enough that money tightness is never something she really worries about, as she is not a big spender. Also, she makes enough in surplus to hire a financial firm to manage her money, so she doesn't have to think about where to invest personally and simply trusts that the firm will take care of her retirement fund and wealth building.
Interview #2: Adult Living in Ocala (42M)
My second interviewee is also in my target age range, but says he likely won't use a product like mine because he thinks he already has a firm grasp on the subject matter. He runs his own small business and has to constantly deal with problems of resource allocation to specific ventures and cutting down costs to so his total revenue remains higher and profit is made. He thinks these are the basic principles of personal money management, and he even uses the same organizational software for his business to structure his own finances. While he believes financial literacy is very important, he thinks his experiential know-how has taught him better than any other resource can.
Interview #3: Young Adult Living in Orlando (28F)
This young adult could likely benefit from my product to plan for long term financial success, but does not feel as though this is a necessary product for her in this stage of her life. She works in the engineering field and makes a comfortable wage, and spends less than she makes in a given month. She thinks it might be a good idea to consider retirement saving in the future, but right now she feels like she should enjoy her life and wages and not be "penny-hoarding" for the next couple of decades. While she understands the benefit of starting early, she thinks she has time to live live freely and still have plenty of time to save for retirement and other big financial purchases.
Interview #4: Adult Living in Orlando (47M)
This adult male works in a government position, and will receive a pension in his retirement of 80% of his current income. Since money is rarely tight now, he believes the combination of his pension and social security benefits will allow him to continue the same lifestyle he has set right now and provide for his family with no issues of financial instability. He says he still would consider a product like this for the educational benefit, as he still believes that the information discussed in a product like mine would be useful, but he does not know how likely he is to use that information in practice.
Interview #5: Older Adult Living in Inverness (62F)
My final interview was with an older adult living in Inverness, which is a small town that is close to Ocala. She does not see a personal use for my product because she thinks she will never actually retire, though by her own volition. She currently works at a center that helps families in need with things like a food pantry, free clothing exchange, and presents for children around the holidays. She says her job is the most fulfilling experience of her life, and that she never wants to leave it if she can help it. Her salary form this position allows her to take care of her basic needs without any major issues, and with all her children being grown up with families of her own she no longer worries about taking care of dependents. She thinks she could probably do a bit better with managing her money, but she thinks it would offer little value to her life to save a bit of money every month for a retirement that will not come.
Who: I noticed in my interviews that the people who think they would not benefit from my product are those who for whatever reason do not have a need to personally plan for retirement, or have a plan already put in place to do so. I think my target audience needs to be people in the age group I identified (post-college age, but before retirement) who want to manage their finances better and are worried about their future financial state, but lack the knowledge and tools to do so.
What: The need that I have identified, have a grasp on financial planning and having confidence in one's abilities to manage their own money, differs from the needs of the people I identified, which usually boiled down to saving enough for retirement or paying for big purchases (e.g. college, car payment, mortgage). I think this illustrates a desire by the customer to use financial knowledge to improve their own standard of living, rather than simply to quell doubts and stress about the future.
Why: The needs of the outsiders differ from the needs of my target group because all these people don't have a looming financial deadline (i.e. retirement) that they have not planned for in some capacity, or are simply not choosing to think about yet in some cases. Thus, my target audience should be those without their financial path set in place yet, but who have a desire to make a sound plan for the future.
My first interview was with a lawyer working in Miami, FL, who says she thinks my product could be useful for a lot of people, but not her. She says she makes enough that money tightness is never something she really worries about, as she is not a big spender. Also, she makes enough in surplus to hire a financial firm to manage her money, so she doesn't have to think about where to invest personally and simply trusts that the firm will take care of her retirement fund and wealth building.
Interview #2: Adult Living in Ocala (42M)
My second interviewee is also in my target age range, but says he likely won't use a product like mine because he thinks he already has a firm grasp on the subject matter. He runs his own small business and has to constantly deal with problems of resource allocation to specific ventures and cutting down costs to so his total revenue remains higher and profit is made. He thinks these are the basic principles of personal money management, and he even uses the same organizational software for his business to structure his own finances. While he believes financial literacy is very important, he thinks his experiential know-how has taught him better than any other resource can.
Interview #3: Young Adult Living in Orlando (28F)
This young adult could likely benefit from my product to plan for long term financial success, but does not feel as though this is a necessary product for her in this stage of her life. She works in the engineering field and makes a comfortable wage, and spends less than she makes in a given month. She thinks it might be a good idea to consider retirement saving in the future, but right now she feels like she should enjoy her life and wages and not be "penny-hoarding" for the next couple of decades. While she understands the benefit of starting early, she thinks she has time to live live freely and still have plenty of time to save for retirement and other big financial purchases.
Interview #4: Adult Living in Orlando (47M)
This adult male works in a government position, and will receive a pension in his retirement of 80% of his current income. Since money is rarely tight now, he believes the combination of his pension and social security benefits will allow him to continue the same lifestyle he has set right now and provide for his family with no issues of financial instability. He says he still would consider a product like this for the educational benefit, as he still believes that the information discussed in a product like mine would be useful, but he does not know how likely he is to use that information in practice.
Interview #5: Older Adult Living in Inverness (62F)
My final interview was with an older adult living in Inverness, which is a small town that is close to Ocala. She does not see a personal use for my product because she thinks she will never actually retire, though by her own volition. She currently works at a center that helps families in need with things like a food pantry, free clothing exchange, and presents for children around the holidays. She says her job is the most fulfilling experience of her life, and that she never wants to leave it if she can help it. Her salary form this position allows her to take care of her basic needs without any major issues, and with all her children being grown up with families of her own she no longer worries about taking care of dependents. She thinks she could probably do a bit better with managing her money, but she thinks it would offer little value to her life to save a bit of money every month for a retirement that will not come.
Who: I noticed in my interviews that the people who think they would not benefit from my product are those who for whatever reason do not have a need to personally plan for retirement, or have a plan already put in place to do so. I think my target audience needs to be people in the age group I identified (post-college age, but before retirement) who want to manage their finances better and are worried about their future financial state, but lack the knowledge and tools to do so.
What: The need that I have identified, have a grasp on financial planning and having confidence in one's abilities to manage their own money, differs from the needs of the people I identified, which usually boiled down to saving enough for retirement or paying for big purchases (e.g. college, car payment, mortgage). I think this illustrates a desire by the customer to use financial knowledge to improve their own standard of living, rather than simply to quell doubts and stress about the future.
Why: The needs of the outsiders differ from the needs of my target group because all these people don't have a looming financial deadline (i.e. retirement) that they have not planned for in some capacity, or are simply not choosing to think about yet in some cases. Thus, my target audience should be those without their financial path set in place yet, but who have a desire to make a sound plan for the future.
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