15A - Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No.2

Last week, you investigated the beginning phases of your customer segment's buying
behavior process. This week, I'd ask you to take a closer look at the back half of the buying
process: how customers evaluate alternatives, how they purchase a product/service,
and how they evaluate the purchase afterward. I'm again asking you to complete three
customer interviews to help us better assess your segment. Moreover, this exercise helps us
practice opportunity assessment, or the "ability to evaluate the content structure of opportunities
to accurate determine their relative attractiveness."

1) Find three people who would fit that segment and arrange to interview them.

#1 - Tanguy E.P.

#2 - David ES

#3 - Michael P

2) Segment

Avoid waiting in long lines

Application: LineCutter

Waze-like user interface consisting of:

• GPS routing in malls to give quickest route to store
• Alerts when stores are empty/clear out
• Waiting times on store lines
• General employee evaluations for every store visited
• Friends or nearby LineCutters can update live information to app,

so app is consistently updated

3) Begin with alternative evaluation. In the last case exercise, you determined

how customers sought information related to solving their need. The outcome of this step

is to produce a set of alternatives. Customers pick from among this set of alternatives.

In this step, your job is to figure out how they do their picking. Does price matter the most?

Does quality? Does style? Is there more than one factor that is important to your customer

segment?

#1 - Tanguy

Tanguy said that when he goes out shopping or stays in to buy online goods he says
he always looks for the best price, so price is important to him. He says he would sacrifice
some quality for a better price, so quality isn’t as much of a concern for him. The style is
pretty important to him because that is usually what makes or breaks the product for him.
The factors that my customer values are price and quality.

#2 - David

David says the price isn’t the most important thing to him when he purchases an item. He
thinks the quality of the product is what will dictate his decision. The style is the least relevant
factor to him. David says that price and quality are his top 2 factors for deciding on what to buy.

#3 - Michael
Michael thinks the price of the product is the most important factor when making his
purchase. He values the quality, but still preferences the price over the quality. He doesn’t
really care about the style of the product as long it is functional at the best price given.
Michael values the price of the product over any other factor because at the end of the
day, as long as you received a good price and the product works, then you got a good deal.

4) How/where do they buy? Elements of the actual transaction can help characterize your
segment. Is your segment more likely to buy online or in a store? Are they more likely to use
cash or will they finance the purchase? Etc. If this is a B2B purchase, who's involved in the
purchase decision?

Online store. Debit/Credit → No Finance needed. Marketed for customers, but their could be
future use for the businesses that run the stores. Businesses could improve efficiency of store
using the app to track the level of activity on the floor of the store.

#1 - Tanguy

Tanguy prefers purchasing his products online because of the variety offered on the e-
market. He says if it is an expensive purchase he doesn’t mind financing the payments
because he knows he will be able to pay off the payments for the product over time rather
than upfront and full.

#2 - David

David prefers to buy his products in person, so he can see the product before purchasing
it to verify the quality. David prefers paying in full with cash rather than financing because
he doesn’t like to worry about debt or missing payments.

#3 - Michael

Michael prefers purchasing his products online because of the convenience and speed of

online shopping. He also prefers paying with cash or debit. He doesn’t like the idea of

financing because that is just another potential debt to accumulate.

5) Post-purchase evaluation. What matters most to your customers when they think back
on the 'rightness' of the purchase? What helps them determine the purchase was a good
idea? What sorts of things make them think a purchase was a bad idea?

It saves them time and money downloading the app. Never have to wait in excessively
long lines. If it will be effective and useful and vice versa, so my app is considered ‘right’
because it is effective and useful to my customers.

#1 - Tanguy

Tanguy considers is the product he purchased functional and if it is then he thinks his

purchase was right. If the purchase was right, then he says it ultimately was a good idea

to make the purchase. He says if the product is dysfunctional, then he immediately assumes

the purchase was a bad idea no matter the exchange or refund policy.

#2 - David

David says if he doesn’t reconsider his purchase right away that is a clear sign he made
the right purchase. He said another clear sign is the immediate satisfaction or joy after
purchasing a product

#3 - Michael

Michael thinks about whether he received the best price for the product he purchased. He

thinks if he received the best price, then his purchase was a good idea. He thinks his

purchase was a bad idea solely if he thinks he got ripped off. He assumes the prices

ensures the quality.

6) Report the findings. Simply summarize your interviews.

Among the interviews I conducted, I came across relatively similar responses and they

only varied in preference. The main factors that my interviews led to me to come up with

were price and quality. Lastly, the customer believes he made the right decision purchasing

a product if he is satisfied with his purchase upon purchase and has no second thoughts.

Another factor in evaluating whether the customer made the right decision purchasing a

product is if the product is functional.

7) Draw conclusions. Based on what you know about this segment and what you
learned in your interviews, how would you succinctly describe this segment in terms
of alternative evaluation, purchase decision, and post-purchase evaluation?

Based on the interviews I conducted, in terms of alternative evaluation, my segment will

appeal to my consumers because it meets their price and quality expectations. LineCutter

would be a mobile application available on iPhone and Android app stores.

In terms of purchase decision, my segment helps my customers save time and money,

which is convenient. Convenience alongside saving money are important factors that

motivate the decision-making process to purchase an item.

In terms of post-purchase evaluation, my segment is a valued product because it meets the

needs of my consumers. The functionality and convenience that my product offers is why

my product has the potential to succeed.