Figuring out Buyer Behavior, No. 2

The segment I chose this time around were female college students between the ages of 18-22. One female was a  freshman who lives on-campus, another female was a student athlete, and the last female was a first year graduate student, getting her Master’s in international business. 

Begin with an alternative explanation.

Upon introducing the self-defense workshop idea, I also went about asking potential alternatives to this service. The freshman female believed it should be a free service and should only cater to women or marginalized groups rather than everyone because those are the groups that need these skills the most. The student athlete believed it should mirror the way mixed martial arts classes are taught, with pay as you go classes and a sole focus on just physical actions and bettering them. She believed the price for this service should relatively be the same price as other fitness classes. And for the last interviewee, the female graduate student, she believed there might be too many barriers of entry with this kind of service and that it should be more of an educational service/seminar centered on just learning about crisis management.

How/where do they buy?

With this service, all three candidates believed that if this business were to be successful some form of a monthly membership fee could potentially work. The female student athlete and freshman stressed the importance of having a pay as you go service at first, and then gradually transitioning into a membership for loyal customers. The graduate student believed incorporating some sort of feedback or “refresher session” at the end of each class/workshop would help identify whether the customer feels satisfied with the service; whether that be through an online survey or personal anecdote of the experience directed towards the instructor. 

Post-purchase evaluation.

The female freshman believes that if the service helps make her feel more comfortable about walking home alone at night, she’ll feel “right” about the business and paying for its service. The student athlete agreed, but since she is an athlete and has done strength training, she believes the service will be worth it if there’s a tier structure with a beginner, intermediate, and advanced level. This tier structure would eventually open it up to a wider demographic of individuals and not just limit it to those with no physically active background. The graduate student had a similar opinion to the student athlete, and she greatly emphasized the educational aspect of the service and believes there that it will provide a greater return on investment with more focus on crisis management education.

Conclusion.

This segment of females between the ages of 18-22 surprisingly had some differing views about what they felt would be a better alternative service. Some believed in administering it as an educational service/seminar on proper crisis management, sort of like a class. Others believed it would be more successful if it followed the typical fitness class rubric. All in all, each interviewee’s contribution on the idea definitely provide good insight on how to better the self-defense service.