Figuring out Buyer Behavior No.1

Assignment 12A - Figuring out Buyer Behavior No.1

Segment:

My segment that I chose to focus on for the waiting time for the check at restaurants was athletes. I was looking at students and segmented them into people with transport, upperclassmen, international students, NCAA athletes, and students involved in student organizations. Therefore, I chose to focus on athletes as it relates to me, and I imagined that many athletes have this need as they are concerned with fueling their bodies.

Interviews:

Jack:

Need Awareness:

He has just retired from swimming and so reflected on his time as an athlete. He distinctly remembers swim meets being the most frustrating. He said that is the time when he is in a rush to get food and wants to go home and sleep to recover for racing the next day. He said that in this environment with team dinners there is about 50 people so he is not paying, the coaches are, but he definitely notices the long wait after finishing his meal, before they leave. When he eats by himself, he notices the wait time at restaurants mostly when he wants to go home and sleep because he has practice the next day. He notices it more at sit down places rather than fast food places as you sit down and the check comes afterwards at these places.

Information search:

He knows that now days restaurants are starting to build in call buttons where the waitress comes over to the table, and that there are other solutions at restaurants. Therefore, he normally goes to these places by using other people’s knowledge, or word of mouth to find the best places. If he were to type in google, he would probably put “Zero wait food.”

When I mentioned about my app he thought it would be a great idea, but also would be good in a bar setting as a way to close a tab.

Kelly:

Need Awareness:

Kelly is a sophomore on the Swimming and Diving team. She also said that she notices the wait time for the check at restaurants mostly at meets as she wants to go in get food and leave right away so that she can get to bed or recover. However, she also said that she notices it when she has been studying or in midterm or finals week when she has things on and wants to finish quickly, “go in and go out.” She also notices it a lot when there are sporting events on in town and it is fairly busy around, at these times she wants to be out quickly due to the pressures of practice the next day.

Information search:

Kelly said that normally when she knows she will have this problem, she goes in with the exact amount of cash she needs so that when she is done eating, she can just put it straight down and leave. Therefore, she plans ahead of time. She also said that she selects places where she can order online first such as Chipotle, so she can just pick it up. She said that she normally hears about these kinds of places through their advertising. She also hears about places that are quick through friends. If she were to type something into google she would put “places where order ahead.”

Carlotta:

Need Awareness:

Carlotta is a golfer at the University of Florida. She is also from Italy. Carlotta said that she notices the wait time at restaurants when she is at tournaments. This is usually because she wants to go and rest. She also said she notices it in airports when she needs food but has to rush to get a flight too. Carlotta said in general she notices it when she is in a rush to get to places and doesn’t have that much time to eat, such as going to practice. She also said she gets frustrated when she’s been sitting there for a long time, or when she is waiting to be seated and can see that other people have finished eating and are just waiting for their check.

Information search:

Normally when she is at a tournament it is the coaches that choose where they eat so they normally consider places that are fast and efficient so use the internet or common knowledge about places.

Conclusion:

All of my interviews revealed generally the same trends about when the need is present with regard to sports but some of them notice it at other times too. The need is definitely more of a problem and more noticeable at sit down restaurants. Athletes normally notice it more during meets, traveling, or on their way to practice. Kelly mentioned that being a student, and living in a student town, also means that exam week causes more frustration with wait time. Events in town also cause bigger crowds so the wait times tend to be longer, but this affects all people going to restaurants, not just athletes. However, athletes have to worry about getting to practices or recovering. In regards to the information search, mostly athletes search through friends, word of mouth, advertisements, or the internet.

Reading Reflection No. 1

Assignment 13A - Reading Reflection No. 1

1)    Reading about an entrepreneur:

I read Shoe Dog, written by Phil Knight (Buck).

a.     What surprised you the most?

Buck was incredibly creative and wanted to do something special and that made a difference but at the same time he worked 6 days a week as a qualified accountant. So he had big dreams, and took risks when it came to his business, but at the same time was lecturing on equity or working in a stable accounting firm. This is very contrasting and that surprised me.

b.     What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

He was very shy and had nervous ticks but was able to travel overseas in order to achieve his goal. He put himself out of his comfort zone repetitively. He pushed to do things on his own such as when his friend wanted to stay in Hawaii, but he carried on. Or when he was nervous to initially talk to the Japanese shoe company, “Onitsuka,” he pushed himself to do it. When he made mistakes, he had an ability to try again and do better, such as when he read books about dealing with Japanese people and business. This made him seem intelligent in his approach and ability to learn from experiences.

c.     What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

Buck sometimes would be in situations where he did not think, make rash decision, and would regret them, for example, sending an email to his employees about having a spy in Japan. He was also very absorbed with his work that sometimes his wife would ask him to get things and he would forget; I did not admire that he did not balance his life completely.

d.     Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?

Yes, he did. He constantly had funding issues as he had to pay in advance and then sell the shoes. He also did not have enough equity for his company, and he was always borrowing money from the bank. He showed persistence with banks, but also got the accounting jobs to help fund his business and used a trading company. Also, when he had trouble with his initial suppliers, he started Nike on the side as an insurance for the future.

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

Buck showed toughness, focus, and drive, from his time as an athlete as he had to run when he was sick and posted best times, he then applied these skills to his business. He also showed courage push himself out of his comfort zone to achieve his goals. He showed persistence, “Just keep going.” He also showed perseverance as when he faced challenges, he would further educate himself, acquire knowledge, or skills, to better prepare himself for the future. He was prepared to be open minded in order achieve his goals. He also showed ambition because he “wanted to leave a mark… simply did not want to lose.”

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

One part of the reading that was confusing was that Buck often did not follow up with his staff and never really gave praise but he still had loyal and creative staff members working for him. I wondered how this approach still gained these employees.  

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

1.     How could you have better managed your family life and your business?

I would ask this question so that I could prepare and be aware in my own life when pursing my dreams. This would ensure that I keep balance to all areas of my life.

2.     You mention you would like to relive and share the experiences to potentially inspire, comfort, and warn people. What would be the number one thing you would warn them about?

For someone who has gone through many failures and adversities, I would like to know the number one thing that sticks out to him, the number one thing he thinks people should be aware of. This can help prepare me.

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

He believed in persistence, and overcoming adversities. Ability to work hard and with a lot of drive, but he needed passion in his work. For him, the passion was running shoes, rather than encyclopedias. I believe this relates to me a lot as I come from the same background as I am an athlete and deal with the discipline and passion of my sport.

Idea Napkin No. 1

Assignment 11A - Idea Napkin No. 1

1) You

I am a Redshirt Junior on the University of Florida Swimming Team. I am originally from New Zealand and have been in Florida for 3 years. I am a Horticultural Science major. Being a student athlete, I live a very fast paced and time restricted lifestyle. Therefore, I have had to manage my time effectively to balance school and swimming. I believe time management is relevant to many other people in today’s busy society. I am experienced in using applications on mobile devices, as I often use aps to manage my life; to communicate with family at home, to order food, to assist my school work, to email school and swimming related people.

2) What are you offering to customers?

I am offering an app that connects customers and restaurants, letting you check out on your time. This allows you to beat waiting times for the check and get on with your busy life. The server would give you a number at the start of your meal which correlates with your meal number on the app, when you order food or drinks, the restaurant will enter this in the system, so you can pay for everything when you are finished. They will be notified when you pay.

3) Who are you offering it to?

This app is for customers and for restaurants in Gainesville. It is designed specifically for students, aged approximately 18-24, in Gainesville as this is a University town and nearly 40% of the population in Gainesville are students. Specifically, the app targets Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors, students that have transport, do not consistently eat on campus, and are readily involved in activities. The restaurant will correlate order numbers with tables and this will upload to the app so the customer is able to access their order. This app has more of a focus on students, as they are growing with the new age of technology, and, in general, are time restricted by living busily. They also tend to have up to date and modern technology. Although parents and high school kids are also busy, students tend to have cards to pay with and the technology available for this.

4) Why do they care?

This app can help daily life and benefit both restaurants and customers. Restaurant business might think, what are they getting out of this? But saving time for customers also means that tables are cleared faster and new customers can fit in, meaning more productive flow of customers. Servers can also focus more on attending to customers ordering food and providing quality service as they have one less task to do. The stress of taking a long time for the check and receiving criticism from customers diminishes, meaning happier staff. Customers can save valuable time where they could be studying for a test, doing activities with friends, or going to appointments.

5) What are your core competencies?

EasyPay is a way to beat time. But beat time with things that you already have with you. You already have your phone, and you already have your card information, why not utilize them? This is focused on not only efficiency, but effectiveness also. Effectiveness which stems from being proactive and making the most of every day. Through my experience of restaurants in New Zealand, and England, I can provide a unique perspective. I also have an advantage as I am an athlete and in the age where cell phones can assist everything. I also have access to athletes who live very busy lives for feedback.

Evaluation:

This is based off the idea that students will be using cards rather than cash, so I need to find a solution to serve a larger demographic. The app could maybe signal the server to say to pay with cash. I believe I need to develop more skills about making an app, and also learn more about the experience of being a server, and what restaurants view about the waiting time. Therefore, I would get the business’s opinion too. I also have a problem when it comes to people who do not mind waiting. Some places already have solutions to this problem, so I would need to prove that mine is better, this could be through gathering more resources. Being an athlete and international student fits well with this plan but I definitely think the skills and experiences section is still lacking.