What's Next? 25A

Existing Market. 

Step 1: Talk about what you think is what's next in terms of products and services for your venture.

I think that I really need to figure out ways to advertise my product to get potential customers to actually buy the product. A barrier in my market is getting people to want to buy the product. It seems that a majority of women google search self-defense products and discuss them with friends and family; however, not many actually buy the product. What is the factor that is holding these women back from making the purchase? Is it that they don’t want to buy these products because they hope they will never have to use them? I think at least half of my advertisements should be targeted at parents, siblings, and friends. For example, I could say, “have you every worried about the safety of your little sister, your daughter, or your best friend? Buy them this product and you won’t have to worry anymore.”

Step 2: Interview three customers.

My youngest interviewee is 16-years-old and she had some great ideas. She recommended selling the products at rest-area stores (like along interstates). I think this would be a great idea because people are probably more likely to buy it when the need is more apparent. While traveling and stopping at “creepy” stores and gas stations, women would probably feel more need to have it. So, if we put the device in those stores and have a big display advertising crimes against women and how the device can help, I think this could increase sales. Also, she recommended that we advertise on Facebook and Youtube. This would definitely be a good way to reach the young women that are in my target market.

My second interview provided some new ideas, too. She said the device should have a key-chain so it can be attached to keys. This would be a good idea because not everyone would want to or remember to put it on their person every day. Also, she recommended having different colors, especially tiffany blue. I agree with this because a lot of women are purchasing guns, coolers, shoes, etc. that are tiffany blue. So, using this color could get more women to buy it—simply because it’s “cute” or matches other items that they already have.

My third interview was with a 23-year-old woman. She goes to college, works, and has a boyfriend. She said she thought the product should be advertised to men because men get attacked, too. But she didn’t have ideas on how to advertise to them.

Step 3: Describe what makes the most sense for your venture in terms of growing in your existing market.

In order to grow in my existing market there are a few adjustments I need to make to my device. The first change is including a key-chain on the device to make it more readily available and not forgotten. Some people may forget to clip the device on them, but if they leave it on their car or house keys, it will always be with them when they are out of the house. Also, I need to add some color options to the device. I think having a black, tiffany blue, and pink option would be popular colors to start with.

I need to think of a way to include both men and women in the market. I know that men would buy it for a girl that they know (daughter, mother, wife, sister). But I need to figure out how to get men to buy it for themselves. If I could do this, I think I would sell a lot more.

Finally, I read comments from my previous posts and I think that having a charger would be less beneficial than having a battery. The device should be powered by battery and should somehow indicate when the battery is getting low. Maybe a small beep (kind of like a smoke detector does when the batteries are low). This would be more efficient because people may forget to charge them. With a battery, it would always be working, and you would not have to remember to charge it.  

New Market.

Step 1: Identify a radically different market from what you're currently planning to target.

A market I haven’t discussed much is men. At the beginning of the course, I interviewed a couple of men (one aged 23, one aged 52) and neither of them said they would buy the product for themselves. Although, they did say they may buy it for their daughter, mother, or wife. However, I think there would be some men that would buy the product. But it would be difficult to get men to accept that they need this product.

Step 2: Describe how you think your venture concept might be able to create value for people in that market.

Men like to think that they are strong enough to defend themselves, but there are men that are victims of theft, assault, and rape—just like women. Sadly, a majority of men do not want to admit it. There are a few possibilities that could get men to buy the product. First, I could add some sort of weapon to it that would make men feel more like it is a tool, rather than, a “help me” type of device. Maybe adding a small knife to it would make men more likely to buy it. But, I’m unsure of how this could be incorporated. Another option would be selling it in a camouflage pattern—men might buy it because it looks “cool” and I know a lot of guys that purchase camo hats, boots, swimsuits, wallets—everything camo. Another option that may work the best would be getting popular men to use the device and promote it. Football players, celebrities, bull riders, contestants of the Bachelorette. If these well-known “tough guys” used the device and would help promote it, I think it could dampen the social norm that guys don’t need protection because they are strong.

Step 3: Interview two people from this new market.

Like I suspected, it would be very difficult to get most men to buy this product for themselves. I interviewed more than two men to get additional view points and see if any of them varied.

The first interviewee is a 22-year-old guy that is in the U.S. Navy and married. He said that he honestly believes most men are too arrogant. He suggested advertising it to men to buy for their spouse.

The second interviewee is a 24-year-old man that has a job and a girlfriend. He said that he would definitely not buy the product and he wouldn’t see the need for his girlfriend either because she should be able to defend herself. He said that she shouldn’t put herself in bad areas or situations that she would need to use it.

The third interviewee is a 23-year-old man. He was previously in the U.S. Navy, now he works for the government. He has a wife and two small children. He said he would not buy it. But if it was a flashlight he would buy it. Basically, the device would now be a flashlight but would have a different button for the alarm. It would still have the GPS and emergency services. He said advertisements should make it seem tactical and like a flashlight with the alarm being not the main feature. Good places to sell would be at Walmart, in kiosks at the mall, and in sporting goods stores.

Step 4:  Reflect, in two to three paragraphs, on what you learned about this new market.

Honestly, I was not surprised that the men said they would not buy the product. It’s against the social norm for men to want protection—unless, it’s a gun or knife. My husband and I have had discussions about this norm various times. I was always taught ways to stay safe; from a young age, my parents instilled in my sisters and I that we should be cautious even with people that we know like our neighbors. Most of the time, one of my parents were there to pick us up from the bus stop. But, if they didn’t make it for some reason, we knew not to get in the car with a stranger. They told us if someone ever tried to kidnap us to kick, scream, bite, scratch do anything to get away from them. On the other hand, my husband never had talks like this with his parents. He had his own truck when he was 17 and was allowed to go pretty much anywhere. His parents didn’t teach him about kidnapping, rape, or what to do in bad situations. Initially, I thought maybe his parents were laid back and mine were strict. But, I’ve come to realize that many boys are raised to be strong and not worried, whereas, most girls are raised to be cautious and to not put themselves in certain situations.

After the third interviewee recommended having it as a flashlight with a second button that would enable the alarm, GPS, and location services I think this would be the best way to go. It would probably get a lot more men to buy it. But, are they going to be willing to buy a small flash light for $50 just because it has an alarm and can call emergency services?

In addition, I would still want to get well-known men to promote the product. There are so many celebrities that use social-media, such as, Instagram to promote products. If we can get men like Tim Tebow, Tom Brady, bull riders like Jess Lockwood, or bachelorette contestants like Shawn Booth to have the product, put it on their keys, post pictures of it showing that they have it for their own safety, we may be able to get other men to follow in line. The social norm of men not needing help has to be altered in order to really increase the likelihood of men buying the device.

Overall, I think the way to sell the most products would be to make a flashlight instead of a key-fob-type-device. It will be a small flashlight that can be connected to your key-chain for easy access. It will utilize batteries to work and when the batteries are low, it will make a small beeping noise every 30 minutes. It will have one button—when pushed the flashlight will aluminate; when held down for 3 seconds, it will sound the alarm, call 911, and provide them with your exact location. Initially, the flashlight will be available in three different colors—black, camo, tiffany blue, and Breast Cancer Awareness Pink. Having a black one is important because it will look tactical and make men not afraid to buy it. Camo is important because a lot of men like camo and will choose to buy it over a normal flashlight. Tiffany blue and Breast Cancer Awareness pink are both important because they are trending colors and women like to match items that they already have.