Assignment 9- Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2
WHO: After conducting a second set of interviews, I have come to realize that there are people who fall outside of my market. The people who fall outside of my target market are those who do not have pets to bring when they go to a ski resort, those who do not bring their pets with them to the ski resort and those who do not go to ski resorts at all.
Interview 1: The first person I interviewed was a man in his 50s who has been snowboarding for over 30 years. This man has one dog at home and is married to his wife, and they have four kids. Since all of the kids are on different schedules, his whole family is rarely able to go on a snowboarding trip together. Since someone usually is home, he does not have to worry about bringing the dog with him to Vermont. The stress is not in the back of his mind because he knows that the dog is being taken care of by someone in his family.
Interview 2: The second person I interviewed is in her 20s, and she has been skiing for about ten years. She is the only person in her family who skis, so she usually goes on ski trips with her friends and their families. Because she is the only person in her family who skis, she does not have to worry about her two dogs, as she knows that they are being taken care of.
Interview 3: The third person I interviewed is in her 20s also. She tried snowboarding and skiing when she was younger, but did not like the sport. As a result, she does not ever go to ski resorts. She does not have to worry about her three dogs, because she is rarely away from them.
Interview 4: The fourth person I interviewed is a woman in her 40s. She has been snowboarding for about 25 years, and she has four dogs. She explained how she would love nothing more than to bring her dogs with her to the mountain. However, it is complicated for her to travel 4+ hours with four dogs in the car. She has a dog sitter who she loves, and who the dogs like that come and stay at her house. Since she knows and trusts the dog sitter, she does not have to worry. She also said that if she did bring her dogs, she would need a daily boarding service or someone to come to check on them while she is out on the mountain.
Interview 5: The last person I interviewed was a man in his late-twenties. This man is lucky enough to live year-round on a mountain. He has two dogs and two kids and can ski in and ski out of his house. For him, stopping to check in on the dogs is not a problem, because it is so easy. He has lived on the mountain for six years and has been all over the world to ski. He explained that if he were not fortunate enough to live on the mountain, he would most likely need to use the service as it is a viable solution.
WHAT: The fifth interviewee also had a good observation. He explained that anyone who has been to a ski resort knows that it is an expensive trip. Snowboard and skiing gear, lift tickets, food, and lodging are all very pricey at ski resorts. People who come up with their pets can afford to have them boarded for a day and taken care of.
WHY: I believe that the outsiders' need is different than the insiders' need. The outsiders most of the time do not have this problem. The need I am addressing is for a large, but specific group of people who bring their dogs or pets with them to ski resorts.
Interview 1: The first person I interviewed was a man in his 50s who has been snowboarding for over 30 years. This man has one dog at home and is married to his wife, and they have four kids. Since all of the kids are on different schedules, his whole family is rarely able to go on a snowboarding trip together. Since someone usually is home, he does not have to worry about bringing the dog with him to Vermont. The stress is not in the back of his mind because he knows that the dog is being taken care of by someone in his family.
Interview 2: The second person I interviewed is in her 20s, and she has been skiing for about ten years. She is the only person in her family who skis, so she usually goes on ski trips with her friends and their families. Because she is the only person in her family who skis, she does not have to worry about her two dogs, as she knows that they are being taken care of.
Interview 3: The third person I interviewed is in her 20s also. She tried snowboarding and skiing when she was younger, but did not like the sport. As a result, she does not ever go to ski resorts. She does not have to worry about her three dogs, because she is rarely away from them.
Interview 4: The fourth person I interviewed is a woman in her 40s. She has been snowboarding for about 25 years, and she has four dogs. She explained how she would love nothing more than to bring her dogs with her to the mountain. However, it is complicated for her to travel 4+ hours with four dogs in the car. She has a dog sitter who she loves, and who the dogs like that come and stay at her house. Since she knows and trusts the dog sitter, she does not have to worry. She also said that if she did bring her dogs, she would need a daily boarding service or someone to come to check on them while she is out on the mountain.
Interview 5: The last person I interviewed was a man in his late-twenties. This man is lucky enough to live year-round on a mountain. He has two dogs and two kids and can ski in and ski out of his house. For him, stopping to check in on the dogs is not a problem, because it is so easy. He has lived on the mountain for six years and has been all over the world to ski. He explained that if he were not fortunate enough to live on the mountain, he would most likely need to use the service as it is a viable solution.
WHAT: The fifth interviewee also had a good observation. He explained that anyone who has been to a ski resort knows that it is an expensive trip. Snowboard and skiing gear, lift tickets, food, and lodging are all very pricey at ski resorts. People who come up with their pets can afford to have them boarded for a day and taken care of.
WHY: I believe that the outsiders' need is different than the insiders' need. The outsiders most of the time do not have this problem. The need I am addressing is for a large, but specific group of people who bring their dogs or pets with them to ski resorts.
Inside the Boundary Outside the Boundary
Who:
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People who bring their pets with them to ski resorts.
People who are stressed about caring for their pets while at ski resorts.
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People who do not go to ski resorts
People who do not bring their pets to ski resorts
People who do not have pets
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What:
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To help reduce the stress of caring for their pet while being out on the mountain all day
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If they do not have pets to care for at a ski resort, then they do not have the worry in the back of their mind
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Why:
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People love their pets and treat them as part of the family.
Dogs love the snow, and some owners want to allow them to have fun too
The snow season is short in the northeast; people want to take advantage of it as much as they can
Having the constant worry in the back your mind about your dog is stressful
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Hey Madison! I really enjoyed your evaluation of your idea, and I do truly think it is a really good idea. Whenever my family and I go on vacation, we book my dogs into a care center called Woof and Tails Lodge and they love the experience. I think that if you were to open up a dog sitting business in the mountains, it might be a really good idea to make it cabin themed so that the families checking in their dogs there also felt that their dog was getting the ski resort experience!
ReplyDeleteHi Madison, the first thing that comes to mind when reading your post is how diverse your interviewee pool is. I think you did a good job capturing a range of different people groups that at first glance, definitely seem like someone who would be within your boundary of opportunity. Your conclusions that you make seem correct and well-thought out. I also like how you took a simple approach to this assignment and came to your conclusions in a concise manner.
ReplyDeleteHey Madison after going through all of your interviews and seeing your summary I would say you did a great job with your evaluation. As i have said before I love this idea because families travel with animals always have to figure out what they want to do with their animals. I feel though to even expand your business even further you could create this type of system for all types of vacations. Why only limit it to families on vacation going skiing or snowboarding. With this your market would be able to expand easily, because this is a great idea!
ReplyDeleteHi Madison, I enjoyed reading your in-depth interviews with people coming from different walks of life. This idea is honestly not something I had thought about before, but it seems as though it is something on many people's minds. I believe it's a great idea because people's dogs can get the vacation experience with their owners. Also, the owners can have the relief that their dogs are close by.
ReplyDelete