The type of customer that I see in my head for my
product/service could literally be anyone. Although, certain pictures do come
to mind. I imagine the mom who needs to drop off her 3 kids to school while
also being late for work. After she drops the kids off, she sits at a red light
for no reason freaking out that she will be late for her meeting.
Another type of customer I see is the man in his mid-twenties
who just landed the big job but overslept on one of his first days. Now he is
frantically driving to work trying to make it in time but the same red light at
that one intersection always holds him up for at least 4 minutes. He thinks to
himself, “couldn’t there be a solution to this problem? There are no cars coming
from the other direction.”
Finally, the third, and by far the broadest, group of people
I see as customers is anyone who is impatient, which is 95 percent of the world’s
population. Imagine a long traffic jam, cars honking, and all you want to do is
get to your destination and stretch your legs since you have been in the car
for way too long.
I have to say that I fall into the last category of
customer. I am very impatient when it comes to driving and like to get to where
I need to go quickly. I absolutely despise traffic. I am from New York, so that
might have something to do with it. But, more than anything, I dislike sitting
at red lights when there are no cars coming in the other direction for hundreds
of feet, and there’s a long line of cars waiting to go at the red light. Smart
light technology should be implemented everywhere!
I agree that I am also the third prototypical customer because I get impatient, as well, especially with driving and waiting for the traffic light to turn green. Driving is such a hassle and that is exactly why I try avoid driving. Also, it is funny that you bring up the mother on the wheel tired because that is an exact representation of my mother when she used to drop me off at school.
ReplyDeleteHey, I am totally the last type of customer as well! I literally can't stand sitting at a red light for absolutely no reason. Last night for instance, I had to drop my roommate off at the airport at 4am. On the way back, all I wanted to do was go back to bed, but for some reason I found myself sitting at a red light for 10 mins when there weren't even any cars coming from the other direction. Its so frustrating when you're trying to just get somewhere, but have to sit at the light for no reason.
ReplyDeleteBen,
ReplyDeleteI am also the third type of customer. Although I am trying to be more patient, the traffic light issue is still bother me. For example, I was late to work last week because of the traffic light. I waited for more than 10 mins at a red, and I had to take a detour for no reason. So I hope your smart traffic lights can solve problem like this in the future.
Hey Ben
ReplyDeleteGreat post and I really enjoyed your picture that shows your prototypical customer, its spot on! That’s what I look like when I am stuck in traffic. I actually laughed and 100% agree with you when you say that this product is for people who are impatient and that’s 95% of the population. Overall your idea is great and would help take off the stress of driving in traffic.
I like that you gave a couple of different examples of potential customers. I definitely fall into the last category. I used to not even leave my place between 4:30-6:30 because the traffic was so bad and I knew I would just get frustrated. It is definitely a wide range of people that you are targeting, but that makes sense since your product is a city-wide product, not something that individuals would be purchasing.
ReplyDeleteHi Ben, I feel like your consumer descriptions were extremely accurate. I appreciated that you had many different types of customers who you thought would be interested in your product. I also believe that the frustration that your portrayed in your "stressed mom" demographic was extremely accurate. Overall, I think you did an excellent job portraying the consumers that would most appreciate your product.
ReplyDeleteHey ben,
ReplyDeleteAs I have said before, I am a big fan of your product. I easily get road rage and sitting at a red light at 11pm at night with no cars in sight can be very irking. As you can tell, I too fall into the last category. I see no down side to your product other than the costs of implementing the smart traffic lights. However, I believe that all of the benefits far outweigh the downside. great idea!