Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2
Overview: While I previously defined my segment to be younger to middle-aged individuals ranging from those just graduating college to those about a decade out from retirement, I think I need to narrow my focus to not include those directly out of college, but rather the younger individuals who are somewhat set in their job and career path and can focus on long-term spending habits. My interviewees from the previous exercise were often very new in their field or still preparing for additional schooling, and were not too focused on spending and multi-year financial goals as a result. Thus, my interviewees for this assignment will be vetted to assure that they are past this stage of financial uncertainty and have a somewhat steady form of pay, as these people will likely benefit the most from the product I will offer.
Interview #1: Veterinary Worker (36M)
The first interviewee clearly conveyed a desire to become more financially literate, specifically wanting to find a short-term investment vehicle that they could easily understand and navigate to accrue interest on a small sum of money. He said he would likely turn to alternatives like a free finance blog or YouTube series for information on the topic, but could be persuaded to buy a course if he could be sure he would understand everything in it and become more confident financially. In this case, quality seems to be his first priority, with cost coming in at a close second. He says he looks online for these products as information on the internet is easily accessed, and he evaluates the "rightness of purchase" by considering how often he actually ends up using a product.
Interview #2: Nurse Practitioner (42F)
This interviewee was a nurse living outside of Orlando, who I communicated with via phone. She says she looks for advice for money from family members who are further along in their financial lives, as well as online resources like articles by supposed financial gurus. She says she would be more than willing to pay for a course on the subject, but doesn't know where to look to be assured that the information she was receiving was accurate. For her. cost is far less of an issue, as she is more focused on the quality of the product to ensure her wage surplus will mature healthily. When buying other products online, she determines her "rightness of purchase" by if the product ends up making her happy after the initial rush of buying, and that the purchase is not just shopping therapy.
Interview #3: Architecture Director (47F)
My final interviewee is also from Orlando, who I contacted via phone. She says she primarily looks to her company's retirement solutions for knowledge on how to invest, as she is able to just carve out a portion of her salary to be matched in a 401K account. She says she sometimes reads articles online about different investing strategies, but ultimately picks her current investing model for its ease of use, which is her most important desire if picking an alternative product. Her "rightness of purchase" for most things derives from her ability to utilize the resource effectively, so design and quality are very important to her.
Conclusions: All in all, I think my interviewees all shared a desire to be doing more for their financial lives, be it invest just a small saved sum or a recurring portion of their income. All of my interviewees looked to the internet for some amount of guidance on this topic, but were unsure how to identify quality information over baseless claims, and thus would not usually use this information to guide their investing decisions. Since quality is such an important factor in deciding the "rightness of purchase" for this segment, convincing customers that the information in my product is valuable and accurate is essential, and doing so by even adding cost to the product would be desirable, though only to the degree that people can still afford the product.
Interview #1: Veterinary Worker (36M)
The first interviewee clearly conveyed a desire to become more financially literate, specifically wanting to find a short-term investment vehicle that they could easily understand and navigate to accrue interest on a small sum of money. He said he would likely turn to alternatives like a free finance blog or YouTube series for information on the topic, but could be persuaded to buy a course if he could be sure he would understand everything in it and become more confident financially. In this case, quality seems to be his first priority, with cost coming in at a close second. He says he looks online for these products as information on the internet is easily accessed, and he evaluates the "rightness of purchase" by considering how often he actually ends up using a product.
Interview #2: Nurse Practitioner (42F)
This interviewee was a nurse living outside of Orlando, who I communicated with via phone. She says she looks for advice for money from family members who are further along in their financial lives, as well as online resources like articles by supposed financial gurus. She says she would be more than willing to pay for a course on the subject, but doesn't know where to look to be assured that the information she was receiving was accurate. For her. cost is far less of an issue, as she is more focused on the quality of the product to ensure her wage surplus will mature healthily. When buying other products online, she determines her "rightness of purchase" by if the product ends up making her happy after the initial rush of buying, and that the purchase is not just shopping therapy.
Interview #3: Architecture Director (47F)
My final interviewee is also from Orlando, who I contacted via phone. She says she primarily looks to her company's retirement solutions for knowledge on how to invest, as she is able to just carve out a portion of her salary to be matched in a 401K account. She says she sometimes reads articles online about different investing strategies, but ultimately picks her current investing model for its ease of use, which is her most important desire if picking an alternative product. Her "rightness of purchase" for most things derives from her ability to utilize the resource effectively, so design and quality are very important to her.
Conclusions: All in all, I think my interviewees all shared a desire to be doing more for their financial lives, be it invest just a small saved sum or a recurring portion of their income. All of my interviewees looked to the internet for some amount of guidance on this topic, but were unsure how to identify quality information over baseless claims, and thus would not usually use this information to guide their investing decisions. Since quality is such an important factor in deciding the "rightness of purchase" for this segment, convincing customers that the information in my product is valuable and accurate is essential, and doing so by even adding cost to the product would be desirable, though only to the degree that people can still afford the product.
Hi John. It seems that you have gathered some valuable information from your interviews. Quality seems to be very important to your segment. Now that you know this, you can adapt your plan appropriately. Quality was also very important to my customer segment. These interviews very very helpful to me as well. Great job on your interviews John!
ReplyDeleteHey John, I really enjoyed reading your post as it was somewhat similar as mine! My interviewees also considered to have quality be an important factor! They agreed with what your interviewees said about it being a quality product, yet affordable at the same time!
ReplyDelete