As I was unable to complete the last assignment this is my first experience with interviewing customers. I came up with four simple questions to gauge my preconceptions about the opportunity. My questions were:
How much of your total shopping do you do online?
Have you ever purchased signage before?
What matters more to you, quality or price?
Would you or have you payed more for faster shipping?
My answers surprised me in some ways. Three of the five customers were around my own age with the other two being of an older generation. I assumed the three younger customers would do a fair amount of shopping online but one claimed none while the others claimed less than half. The general consensus about price vs. quality was equal, which I expected. All have paid more for faster shipping if needed. Only the two older customer have purchased signage in the past, which I also expected.
I learned that when interviewing strangers that I could have used less general questions. I assumed that I should keep it as simple as possible to avoid confusion. I explained the questions before filming, and perhaps I would have done better by making it more spontaneous. After these interviews I believe my opportunity of an online sign shop is still viable but will require a targeted market. My tips to next semester would be: 1. Be specific, 2. Keep an open mind about who your customers are, and 3. Don't be nervous.
Hello Luke. I also found some of the answers you got from your interviews surprising. I would assume most young people would do most of their shopping online in this day and age. As for your second question, I expected people to want to have a balance of a good price and quality. For me, most the time I’m willing to pay more for better quality.
I gave a similar tip for people taking the class next semester. I also said to not be nervous when interviewing people. Going out and trying to find people to interview can be nerve-racking, but it isn't as hard as we make it seem.
Check out my interviews: http://jent3003.blogspot.com/2016/02/interviewing-customers-no-2.html
Hi! It sounds like your interviews ended up being very educational. It is good that so many answers surprised you, because now you know what areas to focus on and you can see what aspects of your company are more likely to thrive and which are less likely to be as successful. Your three tips were very good, I think keeping an open mind is the most difficult and it is very important to avoid having bias in your interviews. If you are interested you can check out my blog at http://kyrstind.blogspot.com/. Thanks for sharing.
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ReplyDeleteHello Luke. I also found some of the answers you got from your interviews surprising. I would assume most young people would do most of their shopping online in this day and age. As for your second question, I expected people to want to have a balance of a good price and quality. For me, most the time I’m willing to pay more for better quality.
ReplyDeleteI gave a similar tip for people taking the class next semester. I also said to not be nervous when interviewing people. Going out and trying to find people to interview can be nerve-racking, but it isn't as hard as we make it seem.
Check out my interviews:
http://jent3003.blogspot.com/2016/02/interviewing-customers-no-2.html
Hi! It sounds like your interviews ended up being very educational. It is good that so many answers surprised you, because now you know what areas to focus on and you can see what aspects of your company are more likely to thrive and which are less likely to be as successful. Your three tips were very good, I think keeping an open mind is the most difficult and it is very important to avoid having bias in your interviews. If you are interested you can check out my blog at http://kyrstind.blogspot.com/. Thanks for sharing.
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