Assignment 12A

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

1.) Picking A Segment: I decided to speak to restaurants, one of the types of businesses my product would be targeting. Many restaurants have wheelchair accommodations but there are also restaurants that lack these accommodations. Three out of three restaurants did not have wheelchair ramps to accommodate guests with disabilities.
2.) Three People Who Fit The Segment: I interviewed the owner of one restaurant, a waitress of one restaurant, and a customer in the third.
3.) Need Awareness: In my first interview, the owner expressed that he does believe that wheelchair ramps are vital and necessary, thus establishing his business's need. He articulated that it is difficult to find the extra revenue to afford this expense. This need is extremely salient and is most present when handicapped individuals attempt to enter his restaurant and cannot as a result of the lack of ramps throughout the establishment. The second person I talked to was a waitress at a restaurant. She agreed that there is a definite need for this innovation. She mentioned a time when a man came in asking for a table and specified that he had a sister in a wheelchair and she had to turn them away because they have steps outside their restaurant and no wheelchair-friendly ramp. She got a little emotional talking about this incident because she said she had a lot of sympathy for this woman who was unable to even enter the restaurant. She also articulated that because there is not a particularly large amount of individuals in wheelchairs that attempt to eat at their restaurant, that the owner does not see a need to spend money on a wheelchair ramp. She made a valid point that if there was wheelchair access, they might get even more business. My last interview was with a customer in a restaurant that lacked wheelchair access. She stated that she never thought about the lack of wheelchair access but that it is a need. She said that it is a consistent need among restaurants but that she has only seen a select few with wheelchair access.
4.) Information Search: When tasked with this problem, all of my interviewees were quick to suggest the installation of a wheelchair ramp to solve the problem. Their google search would most likely consist of googling the price of a wheelchair ramp for the restaurant in question. Since this is a critical issue, they would most likely talk to their friends and family about implementing innovative wheelchair ramps.
5.) The Findings: After conducting these interviews, I learned that many individuals care about this issue and it can be universally agreed that this product is needed among restaurants. When tasked with the issue of lack of wheelchair accessibility, all of the interviewees tried to find the most viable solution to the problem.
6.) Drawing Conclusions: This segment has an immediate need and a clearly apparent information search among the public.