15A - Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

1. Interviews

• Zack, 21, UF Junior
• Nico, 22, UF Senior
• Rachel, 20, FSU Junior

2. Alternative Evaluation

• For this particular part of my interviews, I asked questions based on other services that would compete with mine in the real market. Figuring out what people within my segment thought of cleaning / maid services was my main focus here. I learned that Zack has never actually hired a maid for his apartment with 3 other roommates, yet he was pretty glad when I mentioned that it is not very expensive if split amongst 4 people. Nico has hired a maid for his house in Gainesville, where he lives with 1 other roommate. He does so on a monthly basis, so the costs definitely add up. Rachel lives in an apartment complex in Tallahassee with 3 other girls. She said that when it gets messy, she and her roommates would make a collective effort to clean up. She brushed off the idea of paying for a cleaning service.

3. How/where do they buy?

• Potential customers for my service are most likely to buy online, since the basis of my idea is a phone application. These customers would also likely search for alternatives online, where they can research and compare cleaning services based on prices, ratings, etc. Since the costs for both my service and alternatives are always a one-time service fee, customers are most likely to use cash, as opposed to financing. There is no B2B interaction for my service or others', so only the customer, our company, and our host platform are involved in the business decision. When I brought up my idea to Zack and Nico, they said it's definitely something they'd try to make a habit out of; they also agreed that a paywall would be smarter than incorporating ads into my application. Rachel was frank in telling me that it's not something she would try, but mostly because she already has a fair system amongst her roommates.

4. Post-Purchase Evaluation

• After purchasing a cleaning service, customers will likely take a detailed look around to see if the job was well-done. If they decide it was, they will feel that the money was well-spent, and they may even take further precautions to make sure that their home remains clean. If the job was not well-done (e.g. the customer can tell there are many missed spots that are still dirty), the customer will likely feel like the money was wasted, perhaps because they could've done a better job themself. As for my app, customers will feel it is well-worth the money if they can incorporate the service into their weekly routine.

5. Findings

• Since my service is fairly unique, there is not much competition to be considered in regards to cleaning services, since the overbearing majority either hire maids or clean up themselves. I learned that there are people in my target segment who do hire maids and also people who would not mind at all to split costs amongst their roommates for a cleaning service. I also learned how they weigh out whether or not the service was worth the money, and how my idea compares in terms of price, effort, and accuracy.

6. Conclusions

• This segment would highly consider my app over a cleaning service, primarily because of the difference in cost. They also don't see much of a problem paying for a maid service by splitting costs amongst their roommates in the first place. This shows that price is not a major factor in their purchase decision, because my app requires effort. For my idea to work, I will need to find an effective way to incorporate the app into the varying weekly routines of people in the segment.