Interview Findings
In this second part of testing my hypothesis for the opportunity of battery powered breathalyzers that connect to keychains, I interviewed my sister, my roommate, two of my best friends, and my Wednesday night uber driver (lol). My sister is 23, my roommate and friends are all 21, so these interviews unintentionally targeted a younger crowd. My uber driver was somewhere in his late 30s so he gave me some insight into consumers who are not of college age. Overall, the younger aged crowd opened my eyes to the fact that they rarely drive after consuming any alcohol at all and this was because the bars they go out to are relatively close to home and require a brief walk or cheap uber fare to get home. My sister, who doesn't engage in any form of drinking, said that this product wouldn't be useful to herself or others who don't drink which cuts out a number of people. My uber driving expressed that although the idea was great, it likely wouldn't be useful to the younger populations in college towns because of the level of intoxication that he witnesses when picking students up from the bars, he said that anyone in that condition hopefully wouldn't even consider driving, and if they were, they would be unlikely to listen to a device for decision making. He also explained that with uber safe ride, which lowers the uber fares substantially for students, most people don't mind calling for a ride home.
Who: Are there certain people or certain businesses that, although they share a lot in common with the others in your opportunity, nevertheless fall outside the boundary? Why?
- Although they share the commonality of being of drinking age: college students likely fall outside of the boundary of my opportunity. This is because college students oftentimes live close enough in proximity to the bars at which they drink to walk or call a cheap ride.
- Although they share the commonality of being of drinking age: those who choose not to partake in drinking fall outside the boundary of my opportunity. This is because, since they do not drink, they are aware that their blood alcohol content is within safe and legal limit to drive.
What: At what point does the need you identified differ from another need?
- The need for a convienient way to test one's blood alcohol content through the use of a battery powered breathalyzer differs from other needs because it is not necessarily a necessity. Although this device is useful, it is something that individuals could live without.
Why: Is the underlying cause of the outsiders' need different than people who are inside the boundary?
- Outsiders fall outside the boundary of this need for many reasons; individuals who do not drink would not find use in this product, individuals who prefer not to drive at all for various reasons would not find use in this product, individuals who are not responsible when it comes to making good decisions would also not find use in this product. Reasons that individuals fall outside the boundary of this need are numerous.
Inside the Boundary Outside the Boundary
Who is in: Who is not:
-Responsible individuals -People who walk to bars or use Uber/Lyft
-Those who engage in drinking -Nondrinkers
-Those who drive to their drinking -People who are not responsible
locations -People who only buy necessities
-Those who have extra money
to spend on something that is not
a necessity
What the need is: What the need is not:
-Battery powered breathalyzer -A solution to finding a safe way home
that connects to keychain
Why the need exists: Alternative explanations:
-There is no convenient way -There is no way for individuals to test their
of testing blood alcohol content blood alcohol content in general, whether for
before driving driving purpose or to simply know when it is
time to stop drinking
Although college towns might not seem like a good market for your battery powered breathalyzer, it can definitely be useful for college students in bigger cities. For example, in Miami, popular bars are about 5 to 10 miles from college campuses. Considering its a major city, UberSafe rides isn't available to students, so many people tend to carpool when they go out. This shows how young adults could still possibly fall in your boundary.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest problem I personally think you might run into is getting people to buy the product because of the increase use in uber and lyft. Usually, even if people go out and maybe not even drink, they rarely drive to these bars themselves because it's a hassle and usually there aren't many parking spots nearby either. Maybe if you target the product to car companies and change it so that large companies buy the product and automatically sell cars with it so that the car won't turn on if it catches any level of alcohol.
ReplyDeleteI can see the problems that you may run into with this product. Those on the outside, as you stated, may be those who walk to bars and therefore would have no need for this product if they're not driving. I also concur that the use of Uber and services like it has gained in popularity causing some consumers of this product to wash up. However, I still think there is a market out there for this intriguing product.
ReplyDelete