Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

Choosing a segment: 

For this assignment, I chose a segment of young individuals who were looking to adopt or buy their first dog. They all visited a local owned pet store to gain some background information on what the best route for getting their first pet would be and what some of the essentials are (bowls, leash, etc.) The first two were recent graduates who had just moved into their first apartment but were still working part time jobs, as they had not fully transitioned into their careers yet. The third, is an avid gym goer who spends most of her spare time biking and jogging. She was interested in adopting a full-grown dog to keep her company on her daily run.

What I learned: 

As I had expected, I learned that the demand for this type of product is relatively high, with the main concern being cost. None of my interviewees had ever heard of a similar product and were excited about the idea of something like it being implemented. The avid gym goer mentioned that she wouldn’t be interested in having to drive anywhere to pick up food for her dog, as she has become accustomed to online shopping and the ease of use associated with it. This provided me with great feedback, as my primary focus would be implementing effective and efficient methods to make it easy for customers to order online and get their products within a short time frame, ensuring the freshness of the food.

When searching for a solution to the problem, they said they wouldn’t have ever though to search for a “solution”, as they naturally assumed that they already had access to the best possible options for their pets. After informing them of the reality of the situation, they proposed asking their dog’s veterinarians for the best options.

This opened my eyes to an obstacle I had not foreseen, being that, most owners would trust the recommendation of their veterinarian before anyone else. I had not initially thought that spreading this information to veterinarian offices would be so vital.    

How I would describe this segment: 

This segment would certainly be interested in obtaining knowledge regarding best practices for raising a dog and healthy diet options. They were not greatly aware of this need, as it has not had much attention shifted towards it (whereas most of the attention regarding healthy diets mainly pertains to humans currently) and their ideas for information search introduced new, more important areas that I have to focus on marketing to.