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What's Next?

EXISTING MARKET
What's Next? 
I think that the next step for the SeaStraw should be to create a new model of the straw that is somehow foldable, compressable, pop-up, or more portable in any way. Since I'll be marketing partially to UF students, this feature could be an attractive feature for people who want to bring the straw out with them to the bars or just on-the-go in general. Regarding services, I just want to keep spreading word about the SeaStraw and getting it out to as many businesses, distributors, and happy customers as possible. 
First interview:  The first person I interviewed brought up how the next step should be to back up the claims with more facts. He asked me how I would be getting this seaweed, which I obviously do not know right now, but it shows that this product will need to be well-explained and science-based for people to fall in love with it. He also really liked my idea of making the straw more portable because he would not carry around a big straw in his pocket.
Second interview: The second person I interviewed said that we should be selling business to business and trying to get this straw out to the public through distributors. He told me that he doesn't see much potential for selling the straws to individual because he does not think any of his friends would personally go buy them online, but they'd be more happy with the product being given it at a place like the Swamp. 
Third interview:  The last person I interviewed also agreed that my next step should be getting to restaurants to try and sell as many straws as possible. Since it's such a new small company, I should try and get the maximum amount of straws sold as possible. She liked the idea of portable straws but also didn't know if it would be worth spending money on creating this new product, when the money could be spent on improving or advertising the original SeaStraw more 
Step 3: Based on your own expectations and the feedback you received from customers, set a path for the future. In two to three paragraphs, describe what makes the most sense for your venture in terms of growing in your existing market.
NEW MARKET
Step 1: Identify a radically different market from what you're currently planning to target. If you're currently targeting B2B, think about going after a B2C market. If you're currently targeting an affluent part of society, think about targeting a very poor part of society.
Step 2: Once you have identified a radically different market, describe how you think your venture concept might be able to create value for people in that market. You may have to get creative with this -- that's OK -- and perfectly welcome!
Step 3: Interview two people from this new market. Again, describe to each interviewee what your concept is. Then, ask them how they think your business might be help to meet customers like them. What kinds of adaptations to the product/service mix do they think you should make to be successful in this new market? 
REFLECTION
I ultimately learn that less people are going to buy the straws themselves than I had earlier anticipated. I pictured a lot of young people being willing to go out and buy the straws online because they were interested, and I definitely still know some girls specifically who would do that, but I don't think it will be enough. Restaurants and businesses should definitely be my main target in the future.
Honestly, this market of mainly restaurants is less attractive than the existing market I pictured that involved more individual selling and young people buying online. I don't know much about getting distributors and mass distributing items, but I do imagine that it requires a lot of product success in the first place to even get to that point. That is kind of scary and intimidating, but I'm also not going to give up on the power of advertising and social media to try and reach young people and individual sales. 

Comments

  1. Justino Quezada Jr.April 12, 2020 at 6:52 PM

    Hello Linnea,
    I personally agree with your second interviewee in your existing market. I definitely see their point. I do not think I have ever bought a straw in my life and I have only met one person every who bought their own straw to bring to a restaurant with them. I think it is a good idea to target restaurants and businesses as you mentioned. Your plan of social media advertising is a good start to trying to accomplish them.

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  2. Camila ParraApril 12, 2020 at 9:08 PM

    Hi Linnea,
    I think you are on a good thought track with your project and having the addition of it being easily portable is a great idea-- which could also get you a competitive advantage. It's great how well you reflected from your feedback, and I don't think you should get discouraged from mass distribution. You could potentially start with a sample size to distribute to friends on campus and ask for a feedback survey to see what factors of the straw you can improve on to then try and make a straw for the general public and grow your product. If not, mass distribution will still get you a lot of profit! Great job.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Maeghan SolankiApril 13, 2020 at 6:34 AM

    Linnea,
    I enjoyed your interviewee's point about the ability of this product to be used in business to business transactions. It is really the best idea as most people wouldn't go out of their way to bring a plastic straw to an establishment, nor paper straw, in the first place. It would be better to acclimate customers to your product via commercial avenues like restaurants and fast-food eateries before expanding to see if the public is willing to make the move to carry around your straw.
    Although a more portable model would be great, there is no guarantee that someone will use it. What I mean is, I have a portable reusable straw, and I always forget it. I know that I am not alone in this struggle, so I know that I can fairly assume that people will forget to use your straw and it may be seen as a waste or bad purchase. Perhaps if you found a way to motivate the use of your straw, it would be an effective deterrent to the above problem.
    Overall, excellent work!
    Respectfully, Maeghan Solanki

    ReplyDelete
  4. Christopher ZislinApril 13, 2020 at 7:12 AM

    Hey Linnea,
    Your interviews seem to have been very descriptive and went well. Your second interviewee's comments were right on the money. In order to market this product correctly I think you need to go B2B. These businesses can promote your product and if a customer at the fast food or sit down restaurant enjoy the straw, then they might go buy it online.

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