Assignment 25: What's Next?

Existing Market

Step 1:

               What is next for my product is to figure out and lay out a real business model for what I believe my product will become. I would need to think about all of the things that I need to acquire and all of the people I would need to involve in the planning, development, implementation and maintenance of the product. This would include people such as software developers and programmers that would help develop the app to my specifications and also to maintain the app so it can function properly. I would also need to advertise to the public my app and what its uses are. I would try to use a guerrilla marketing tactic or something that is very cheap that I can do on my own to start off in the Gainesville area.

Step 2:

               The three potential customers that I interviewed all thought that my ideas were good. They all said that if the product existed and they knew about it, then they would give it a try. What they would want to see with the app is if it is actually effective in the sense that are people using it. The app works more effectively as more people use it because it is a social media platform that helps users form groups for sporting events. That is the number one thing that they wanted to see from the app, along with functionality of the app as well.

Step 3:

               Based on what I have gathered from these interviews I think the first thing that I need to do is do some more research within the market. I need to see if this is actually something that is worth pursuing and investing my own money into or if it is just going to flop. I would do this by asking if people would download the app and try to get a better gauge of what my consumer base actually want and what they are willing to pay for the product. I would also try to see what other problems they are facing to see if there is some other product that would be better to implement than the one that I have planned currently.

               The next thing that I would do once I know what the customer wants and what they are willing to pay, is to develop the product. I would need to hire people to produce the app that I am currently planning to make and also to maintain the app once it is up and out to the market. At the same time I would be looking to advertise the product in the Gainesville area as much as I can to my target market. This would be through posters or brochures, handing things out to people on campus during busy times of the week, and other things of that nature that are not too expensive and are effective at gaining traction. These are difficult steps to try to undertake but this is what needs to be done for the product to be a success and a real thing.

New Market

Step 1:

               The next market that I plan on targeting is the St. Petersburg area. This is a drastically different market from the one that I am currently targeting which is the Gainesville area because it is not as big of a college town and is wealthier than Gainesville. I also have lived there for most of my life so I have some connections down there that I think could help me disseminate my product effectively. It is a more difficult market to target though because it is not a college town so the people are less likely to adapt to things on apps because they are older and don’t necessarily like trying new things. They are also busier than college students because they have jobs and families and other things and don’t have time to play sports or anything like that. I also suspect that they won’t have the same needs as the UF students.

Step 2:

               I think that my venture concept will create value for these people because those who want to play sports but don’t have the time or the connections to coordinate them would be able to use my app speed up and ease this process. Since they are busy people, they would love to have an app that allows them to plan and coordinate events much easier with other people and also would build their network of people by connecting them with other people who have something in common with them. It can provide value in two ways that I think would be useful for the people in this market.

Step 3:

               I interviewed two of my peers from high school who still live in the area and they said just about the same as what the other people said in the Gainesville market. They said that they would be looking for functionality and if other people are actually using the app so that they could get all of the benefits from the product. They do like my idea and like how it can simplify and accelerate the planning process for sporting events and they also like that it will connect them with strangers who have a common interest.

Step 4:

               The second market is actually surprisingly similar to the first market but I think the demand for the product is much stronger in first market than the second. Although St. Petersburg is a wealthier city than Gainesville, the demand for the product is less than the demand in Gainesville because there are simply more younger people and more college students who play sports more frequently than the citizens of St. Petersburg. The St. Petersburg market does not look as attractive as the Gainesville market because of this but I think that in the future if the product gets good traction and is performing well, then I think the logical next step would be to move to the St. Petersburg market.