Week 6 Customer Interviews No. 3

This exercise was my second round of interviews, and I will discuss each topic for both weeks 2 and 3 below:

Fine tune your opportunity. You began with an idea of what an opportunity might be. After your first round of interviews, what do you think, now? 

I definitely think there is an opportunity for a subletting resource for UF students.  Most of the apartments that are close to campus only offer 12 month leases, and many UF students end up paying three to four months of extra rent because they are unable to find sub-letters or do not wish to deal with the hassle of finding someone.

Fine tune the "who." Did you talk to the right customers last time? What did you do differently this time? How did you adjust your conceptualization of who your customers are?

Last time I found three our of five people who were interested in additional subleasing resources.  Two out of the five people I interviewed actually live in Gainesville as full time residents, so they were not the right customers to ask.  This time, I made sure to conduct the interviews with UF students who do not live in Gainesville full time and typically go home or another location during summer months.  

Tweaking your interview questions. You might need to ask different kinds of questions to get at a fuller, richer idea of what your opportunity is. What kind of changes did you make?  

During the first round of interviews, if I discovered that an interviewee did not have previous or current experience with subleasing, I just said "thank you" and ended the interview.  The second time around, if I discovered that my interviewees hadn't had experience with subleasing, I then asked if they knew anyone personally who had (such as a roommate or close friend) and to describe their experience.  This gave me additional insight and information from second-hand sources.

Tell us what you learned about interviewing customers. 

3 tips:

Be prepared with additional questions in case the on-paper questions do not give you any useful information

Try not to sway your questions in a direction that will only give you answers that you want to hear.  Let your interviewees be honest.

Be clear with your questions.  Some interviewees would misinterpret my questions and give me information that wasn't relevant to the opportunity in question.

Reflect on what you learned. What did you learn from the interviews? What surprised you the most? What do you expect to change as an outcome of these interviews?

Asking open-ended questions is actually quite difficult, and this surprised me.  I learned that some questions, when asked in my head, sounded unbiased and direct, but when actually asked out loud seemed less open-ended and more swayed.  I would alter my questions and clarify any ambiguities better during the interview process.

My interviews are below:

Week 6 Reading Reflection Porter's Article

1. Surprising Information
The headline, "eliminating rivals is a risky strategy" was interesting to me.  I've never considered what might happen to a business who successfully eliminated all of its competitors, apart from the business receiving more customers, increased sales, and larger profit margins.  I found it interesting that the business in question would actually be putting itself in great risk if it were to eliminate all competition in that new business would then be free to enter the market and existing customers may become dissatisfied with the particular business's selection due to lack of choices in terms of actual products and product prices.
2. Confusing Information
The section discussing the role of the government in being a sixth competitive force was a bit confusing.  The author did not cover much information on this topic and argued that the government neither helps nor inhibits businesses' profitability.  He stated that government policy such as patents, pro-union movements, and bankruptcy rules has an impact on business-to-business rivalry and affects each of the five competitive forces.  He stated that the government should not really be considered a sixth competitive force based on these factors,and we are left uncertain about how to accurately categorize the government's role in the industry.
3. Disagreements
This article was very informative and information was given based on factual data rather than opinion, so I did not find anything specific that I disagree with.
4. Two Questions to the Author
If industry structure is always changing, why doesn't industry profitability follow suit?
You claimed that "the expiration of a patent...may unleash new entrants."  Speaking solely on how this competitive opportunity will effect existing business, I can understand why you would word this statement with a negative connotation, but would you agree that this new outlet to entry is actually good for the US economy and unemployment rate?

Week 6 Idea Napkin No. 1

1) You. 
I am very driven and results oriented.  I do not put my efforts into projects and ventures that I do not feel will offer benefits and rewards to someone in return.  I have retail work experience and am a great communicator.  I like to be of service others and help my customers find exactly what they looking for when they come into the store.  My entrepreneurial business would allow me to be of service to more people, and help more people solve an unmet need.

2.) What are you offering to customers?
With the use of better technology, I am offering customers who live in or visit hot/cold climates for leisure or work a product that will make their day-to-day activities, duties, tasks, etc. run more smoothly.

3.) Who are you offering it to?
I am offering this thermal, insulated phone case to smart phone users (Iphone or Android) who live/visit/plan to travel to cold or hot climates.  I am hoping to add to my product line and offer thermal, insulated tablet and Ipad cases as well.

4.) Why do they care?
My customers value being able to use their devices outdoors and in any desired location.  For example, someone at the beach on a hot, summer day who wishes to play music on their phone should have that capability.  And someone traveling on business up north should be able to have a phone conversation outdoors without the call dropping.

5.) What are your core competencies?
My core competencies are differentiation, strong performance level, and reliability.  Currently, there are no existing products on the market similar to my phone cases.  My product performs extremely well and does what it says it will deliver: providing unlimited outdoor use of a device in extreme temperatures.