Creating a Customer Avatar

My customer avatar is the prototypical "soccer mom". 

   

My soccer mom enjoys being a stay-at-home so she can support her kids. She has three kids that she absolutely adores. She takes the kids to school, cleans the house, does laundry, gets groceries, organizes all the family affairs, goes to the gym, goes shopping at the mall, goes on lunch dates with friends, runs errands, picks the kids up from school, gets them ready for practice, takes them to practice, puts them to bed, enjoys a nice glass of wine, watches a few shows before bed, or works on her latest entrepreneurial efforts. She is always on the go, but loves to be heavily involved with her children. Her favorite TV shows are anything with crime, baking, or The Bachelor. She is in her mid 30s and is loving her crazy, hectic, family life. On the weekends, the family loves taking mini vacations and exploring the towns around them. Her favorite books are anything with romance, comedy, or self help books allowing to her to appreciate herself and her family. 

This customer is basically me in the 15 years. Right now I may not have too many things in common with my prototypical soccer mom besides being driven, caring, successful with time management, adventurous, and appreciate simple products that make my life ten times easier! I think there is no coincidence to this because I think this segment in the market would love this product so I simply described some aspects of how my mom was when I was a child and how I see my self being after enjoying pursuing my career in marketing. 

Elevator Pitch No. 2

https://youtu.be/3zUMS8zUBIM

A reflection on the feedback you received from last pitch.

On my original elevator pitch, I received very positive feedback. Students commented that I did a great job with speaking slowly, highlighting and addressing a problem, and being confident while delivering my speech.  I was surprised by the amount of positivity given in the comments. I guess I was being my own worst critic in this scenario. I did not think anything sounded necessarily wrong or silly, and was very appreciative of how descriptive the comments were when addressing key aspects of the speech that they thought I excelled in. 

What did you change, based on feedback?

I did not really change the aspects addressed in the comments, but rather focused on making sure I continued to speak slowly, clearly, and confidently. I also made sure to relate to my core customer and show how my product can add value to their life as well as the lives of their children. 

What's Your Secret Sauce?

Describe five ways in which you think you have human capital that is truly unique.

1. Attention to detail.
I think I am unique because of my attention to detail. I cannot avoid analyzing every little thing in a project. Everything must work together, fit correctly, and be exactly where it needs to be. 

2. Advanced emotional intelligence. 
I have a very developed emotional intelligence that I pride myself on. I have the ability to read people and their emotions in order to judge a situation and handle it in the proper way. 

3. Ability to Problem Solve.
I love finding a problem and being able to think critically to figure out the best solution. I find multiple solutions to the problem and then narrow down to discover what will work best in the situation. 

4. Never back down from challenges.
I never have the mindset that I cannot accomplish something. I truly believe that I can do anything that I put my mind to. I take that mindset into every situation I enter and it allows me to push ahead while others fall behind.

5. Ability to adapt. 
When thrown into any situation, I have the ability to adapt and react. It allows me to think on my feet, help in the best way possible, and practice leadership.


Interview #1

https://soundcloud.com/user-77659248/ent3003-interviewjohn

In this interview, John discusses my creative ability, business acumen, and ability to adapt and work in new environments. He also mentions the positive attitude that I bring to a work space.


Interview #2

https://soundcloud.com/user-77659248/ent3003-interviewvalerie

In this interview, Valerie references my past education, leadership, and ability to see the big picture. She also speaks to my willingness to take on a challenge and meet people where they are in their problem.


Interview #3

https://soundcloud.com/user-77659248/ent3003interviewdavid

In this interview, David mentions my passion to achieve goals, pick up new things, and ability to accept failure and move forward. He also mentions my willingness to listen and ability to leave a lasting impression.


Interview #4

https://soundcloud.com/user-77659248/ent3003interviewmatthew

In this interview, Matthew speaks to my ability to excel in many activities, problem solve, and the importance I put forth in accuracy and efficiency. He also mentions my creativity and high level performance.


Interview #5

https://soundcloud.com/user-77659248/ent3003interviewangie

In this interview, Angie mentions my ability to be autonomous in business, my common sense, and design skills. She also speaks to my ability to handle change and stay level headed to lead a group to where they need to be.


Overall, there were not too many differences between my views on my human capital and my interviewees views on my human capital. My five ways to be unique and the qualities they mention throughout the interview often overlap.  Looking back on my five ways to be unique I do not think I would change anything.

Buyer Behavior No. 2

I chose to interview another group of mothers with children.

The alternative evaluation

In interviews, I found that these mothers are not searching actively for alternatives to the car table. They agree that there is a need to assist their children with eating food in the car, but have not really found a way to easily solve it. I then moved on to ask about price, quality, and style. All agreed that price would be a factor because of the fact that they are not currently actively searching for this alternative. If the price was right, they would be more willing to try out the product. They also said that quality was a big factor. Seeing as their children would be the primary user they wanted to make sure it would be well made and wouldn't affect the food in any way, in terms of the chemicals used on the product. Style was looked at more as an added bonus, besides one mom that was very crafty herself and loved the aesthetic of products. This product would be no different. With these interviews I found that price and quality were the two most important factors to this segment.

How/where do they buy?

For the most part, my interviewees answered this question based on random products they suggest. What I mean by this is, these moms bought different products from different places. All agreed that some key places to show this product would be Amazon, off-price retailers (such as Marshalls or Bealls Outlet), as well as Target. All moms liked convenience as well as the option to buy it off Amazon because they use that so frequently to avoid going to the store.

Post-purchase evaluation

Because they are not the sole users of this product, they will judge it mainly on how easy it is for their children to use. Was it made well? Does it clean easy? Was it too heavy for them to hold? Did it still cause a mess? They mentioned these attributes and others would be the questions they ask in order to determine whether they made a good purchase or not. Depending on the answers they give to these questions would show whether the product was actually beneficial to them and their children.

Draw Conclusions

This exercise reminded me that I am not only trying to please the decision maker (mothers of children). I am also trying to please the children, which could be a great way to market this product by first getting children on board through possibly making the product fun and engaging. Seeing as it will be in the hands of children, I need to make sure the quality is very high and safety is always priority one. I also need to show how beneficial this product really is. For so many years, people have been living without a solution to this problem so I need to show the importance of it and how much it will improve their every day life.

Reading Reflection No. 1

I chose to read Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance.

1) You read about an entrepreneur:

• What surprised you the most?
• Not knowing much about the life of Elon Musk, there was many things about him I was very surprised by. One being from a young age, he has known he wanted to impact the world in big ways. He was so forward thinking before even experiencing a lot of the world. I was so surprised at how young he was and the vision he created for the future of the world. 

• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?
• One thing I admire about Elon Musk is his continuous search for knowledge. While growing up, he never stopped reading in order to teach himself the information and skills he needed to know in order to accomplish his goals. Having a photographic memory certain helped this, but he didn't let childhood problems affect him from learning. 

• What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?
• What I least admire about Elon Musk, his the way he conducts himself. I believe his intentions are mostly good, but he sometimes does not handle himself in an appropriate manner whether that be with employees, family, or in social settings.

• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?
• Elon Musk definitely encountered adversity and failure. Whenever he encountered failure, he absolutely never gave up and worked endless hours to try to fix the situation. 

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? 

Overall, Elon Musk is passionate, hardworking, intelligent, innovative, and forward thinking. He is a very interesting character that is honestly unlike any other. He has inspired many in their pursuit for knowledge and innovation. 

3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

I was confused whenever the book was discussing Elon Musk's lack of empathy and how he can be so emotionless. Musk has faced a lot of difficult things in his life. As a person with a lot of empathy, I would have dealt his failures and losses much differently.

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

I would ask him to name a decision he has made in his life that he regrets and how he learned from it. I would ask him this because he could share a moment in his life where he would have done something differently and he can explain his thinking behind it and how he addressed similar situations moving forward. Contrary to that question I would ask him what his favorite memory of his life is in order to find out more about things that make him feel fulfilled. 

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

I think Musk views hard work as everything. He has worked so hard to achieve what he has and without hard work he would have failed a long time ago. His dreams would not have become a reality.In my opinion, I also believe you have to work hard for what you want but I think you need to work hard in all aspects of your life.

Tenacity & Paying it Forward

1) Tenaciousness is a competency

One behavior I have adapted over the last two months is being very open minded. I have to keep an open mind in order to brainstorm new ideas and think from the mindset of an entrepreneur.

Another behavior is not being afraid to approach strangers. In this class, you must conduct many interviews. If you wish to pursue a career in entrepreneurship, you will also have to master the skill of interviewing. In these interviews, you will discover information about potential customers and your product that will be vital to the developmental process of your business.

2) Tenaciousness is also about attitude

There have been a moment or two where I have been overwhelmed. Especially being a shy person, the interviews have been a stressor for me throughout the past two months. There have been times when I did not know exactly what road I wanted to pursue for my product and found myself lost when deciding who to interview. All I can say is just step out of your comfort zone and try it. After approaching one or two people it became a lot more natural to me. I found it fun to engage with strangers and learn about things from their point of view. Through this experience, I definitely believe I have developed a tenacious attitude. Even after receiving negative feedback, I still pushed through to accomplish what I set out to do.

3) Three tips

1. Be bold and don't be afraid to put your ideas out there even when you haven't fully formulated them. You'll come to find that when asking and doing deep thinking into your idea, you'll learn so much more about where you want your product to go and particular attributes you want it to have.

2. Be passionate. Find what intrigues you most and see how you can solve a problem dealing with your passion. Being passionate about something can lead you to have that unstoppable, tenacious mindset when conquering any problem put before you.

3. Set goals for yourself and your business. You will be more motivated to take on your day and finish your checklist. Goals help you quantify the tasks you need to get done to keep you on the right track in order to achieve all you have planned for you and your business.

Buyer Behavior

When analyzing buyer behavior, I have chosen to interview moms with children. I believe they will benefit most from the portable car table so I wanted to gain more in depth insight into their thoughts on the product.

Throughout the interviews, I learned a lot of valuable information. All three moms were very interested in how the storage process would be. I told them they it would fold and be able to place it between the seats. They suggested I figure out how it better fits under the seats and/or best fits in a minivan. The moms were concerned about how secure the table would be after unfolding it. With that in mind, I will definitely make sure the table can lock in place so it has no chance of accidentally collapsing while still in use. All interviewees definitely loved the idea of having elevated sides to enclose the table. They thought this would be very beneficial especially the two moms who had children under 8 years old. When asking when they would most likely use this product, they mentioned driving to practice, road trips, and breakfast in the morning on the way to school (when they would run late). Another thing they were concerned about was if the table would stay on their child's lap when making turns. They suggested making the bottom of the table possibly lined with rubber in order to it to have some friction with their child's lap so it won't slip off as easily. Currently, they are not using any other product to fill this need. They are just hoping their child can use the wrapper to catch any food that drops. The wrappers are often flimsy and not very large so the moms reported on many spills that happens in the car.

Overall, I got a lot of great feedback from my interviewees. They brought up some really great points including how to store the table, how secure the table would be after unfolding, and suggested to take measures so the table cannot easily slide around on the child's lap. They showed interest in the product design and also spoke to how they would use it weekly, if not daily.

Idea Napkin No. 1

My business concept is a table for your car. Eating in the car can be a very hard task to accomplish. I wanted to create a product that reduces the risks of spills and messes while making a product that is very convenient for anyone in the car to use.

Starting off with a little about me, I am a senior at the University of Florida majoring in marketing and minoring in retail. I believe I have a wide range of talents most of which include creative or project-minded aspects. When I say creative, I mean anything from dancing to problem solving to painting to graphic design. I have found many mediums in which I like to express myself. I love using my creativity to be successful in marketing. I also consider myself very well organized during any project. Some other general qualities that help me when participating in a project include leadership, multi-tasking, time management, motivation, and attention to detail. I would love to work with a marketing firm in the future. For this business concept, I see this being a great way to continue to learn about the consumer market and stay connected with other entrepreneurs throughout the creation of my product.

My product I am developing is a small portable "table" to be used mainly for eating in the car. Eating in the car is very difficult and often leads to stains and endless crumbs. I say "table" with quotations because it is not a traditional table. I am creating a product that is essentially a folding table with 3 inch sides all around. Making the table easily foldable will allow for easy storage between car seats. The sides will save any food that could roll off and also if the driver were to make any sharp turns, the elevated sides would prevent the food from sliding off the table.

I am offering my product to everyone who eats in the car. More specifically I would target professionals who are long commuters. They could eat breakfast in the car when sitting through an hour of traffic. I would also heavily target families with children.

Families are always on the go and many have to drive long distances for school, school events, and any after school activities. This portable table could make eating in the car much less stressful for everyone involved. It would be tremendously valuable because of how easy it would be to clean, preventing spills, and how worry free eating in the car could be.

I believe the main aspect that will set this product apart from any possible competitors would be the capability to fold this portable table for extremely simple storage and also the 3 inch elevated sides on the edge of the table will also give this product a competitive advantage.

After evaluating these details about the product, I believe they really do work well together. The convenience, innovation, and protection aspects of the product all serve my target customers needs very well. One weakness I still see is how to properly advertise the use of this table to drivers. Driving and eating can be very dangerous so I need to make sure my product does not jeopardize the safety of future customers in any way. With this aside, I think the product can make eating in the car a much easier process in the long run.