1. For this round of interviews, I chose three women in my sorority that are dog owners. They are all in the same age range, from 18-22. They all are full time students and thoroughly enjoy spending time with their pets. I will refer to them as A, B, and C.
2. The three interviewees had many alternatives, but none of them were necessarily as effective or well-rounded as a dog cafe.
Interviewee A mentioned that an alternative to the issue of not being able to study with their dog indoors was to simply bring their dog to an outdoor coffee shop, such as a Starbucks or something similar. This is does necessarily solve the solution though, because it is difficult to be a fully serviced customer outdoors. Additionally, it ignores the problem of summer heat.
Interviewee B mentioned that she could just bring her dog to a cafe that is "chill" with having dogs indoors (i.e. Wyatt's Coffee). While this does solve the problem of being outdoors, it does not allow the dog to be comfortable in this setting.
Interviewee C mentioned both of the previously mentioned alternatives.
3. This segment is more likely to meet in a brick and mortar retail space, as the product is a dog cafe. A dog cafe is a solely tangible item, though there can be an online retail presence for merchandise from the cafe. Interviewee C mentioned that she normally purchases her dog products at online boutique shops.
4. Interviewee A mentioned that it is critical to enjoy an experience, and that sometimes the price does not matter. She would spend money on premium items in order to provide her dog with a positive experience while she could enjoy one as well.
Interviewee B mentioned that price matters a lot, but she mostly looks back on the fun, memorable parts of an event. "A coffee is just a sunk cost a week after it is purchased" is a critical quote she made, stating that it is more important to remember a fun time.
Interviewee C looks back on price a bit more than the other interviewers. She determines a good purchase as something useful and cost effective.
5. The three interviewers were very insightful in letting me know different things to consider when trying to provide a great experience. A was very interested in the idea, as was B, but then C was more considerate of different logistical things.
6. Overall, I would say a dog cafe would be something that has few effective alternatives, but then has low purchasing competition if it were selling at premium prices.
Hello Melissa, I hope your week is going great! I think that the alternatives given by your interviewees are relative good ideas; however, I think that the big thing you can get out of this are the ideas on how to improve your original idea from the beginning. I think that having the most of ideas you can get from outside sources its one of the best things you can do to improve your idea.
ReplyDeleteGood work, Melissa. I think weather or not they gave a better or worse alternative to a dog cafe, it is good to consider what potential customers might think. In marketing, it is critical in determining your customer base and how they interact with the product before and after purchase. I think you have made a good analyses of your idea in that sense. Nice job!
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