Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1 – 12A

1) Pick a segment

I picked the segment of mothers and female guardians, of children 14 and younger. It wasn’t very hard to find people in this segment, there are parents all around and I actually stopped a couple when I was at the park with my nephew.

2) Interviews

1. Rebecca, 32

Rebecca is a mother of 2 children, ages 4 and 1. She told me how she is constantly on the road with her children in tow. I presented my idea to her and she expressed how she was interested in it. She said she would get a device for her car and her husbands. She is always going to the store and reading up on the latest safety gadgets online for her children because like a lot of other mothers, safety is her number one concern. I asked if there was anything in particular that she searches and she said she usually just types general terms like “child safety technology”.

2. Mayte, 30

Mayte is a mother of a 1 year old. She has only 1 child and told me how she is constantly worried about her son’s safety and health. She purchases technology like monitors to check on her son’s safety constantly. I presented my idea to her and she was so excited. She mentioned how she hasn’t heard of any device that caters to that need, especially something designed for the car. I asked her how she regularly find solutions for her child’s safety and since she is still a new mother she looks to the advice of other mothers and recommendations from them. She takes more preventative measures of safety rather than reaction methods and is interested in the product.

 3. Julie, 54

Julie is a widowed mother of 3 with only 2 children under the age of 14. Her daughter is 8 and her son is 10. I wanted to get her opinion since her children are a bit older and can speak and communicate. I presented my idea to her and she mentioned that it was important for something like this to be on the market. She actually mentioned that she watched the interview on TV where a mother lost a child due to heatstroke in a vehicle. I asked her if she would purchase this for her own children and she said she would. There are times when she has seen her daughter playing outside in the car with her brother on hot days. I also made sure to ask her how she finds solutions to her problems regarding child safety and she mentioned she does research online. She usually watches the news and searches google for things like “preventing tragedies”.

3) Draw conclusions  

Before I conducted the interviews of people in my segment I didn’t believe parents of children older than 6 would be interested since by this age they can already communicate. But I realized that even at this age children are strapped in car seats and can fall asleep. I think the need is still there. I also learned that a majority of parents with children drive separate vehicles and that would mean that each parent would have the need of purchasing a device. That means double the products sold. I decided to do my own research on “child safety” and there is an interest in this topic as well as related topics like “child car safety”, “car seat safety”, etc. All are terms that would be related to my product. I believe the segment I chose, mothers and female guardians of children under the age of 14 are not really aware of their need, but after I spoke to them and presented my idea, they agreed the importance of the matter. I also realize that mothers learn a lot about products through recommendation and word of mouth. I think this would be a benefit and would account for free marketing.