20A Growing Your Social Capital

Domain Expert

1.     I spoke to Ben Gold, manager of a local Walgreens in South Florida

2.     He is a domain expert because he manages a store that sells various cleaning products and personal hygiene products.

3.     I found this person while shopping in the local store and told him about my assignment and asked if he could talk for a few minutes.

4.     He gave me some good information on how I should frame and market the product, specifically for its easy-to-use, on-the-go qualities. All he expected in return was my customer loyalty to the Walgreens.

5.     This will give me a potential contact if I ever want to sell my product in pharmacies such as Walgreens.

Marketing Expert

1. I spoke to my friend Andrew, the co-owner of a local cooler selling business that sells coolers for college organization formal events.
2. He fits this slot because he also sells to college students as his primary market.
3. I know him personally, as he is a member of my fraternity.
4. I have known him for a while, so he did not necessarily expect a return favor, but I continue to use and refer to his company to my friends.
5. The benefit of such a relationship is that he gave me advice on how to reach the market of young adults, which mainly included using a lot of social media since it is cheap and can reach a lot of people in a short amount of time.

Supplier

1. I spoke to a mutual friend named Stephen, who works for a company that supplies Target with many of its cleaning products.
2. This person fits into this slot because he works for a large, national supplier of a similar good.
3. I found this person after reaching out to a friend to see if he knew anybody who worked for a supplier.
4. Our exchange was rather short and he did not really ask for anything in return outside of asking me a few market/supplier research questions about his business. All in all, I just took a short survey.
5. The benefit of this is that I now have a contact in the supplier business as well as the fact that I made a connection with someone who could introduce me to other people that would expand my network.

Reflect: This differed from some previous networking experiences I have had because it really made me step outside my comfort zone and not only talk to new people, but talk to older people that were not necessarily me peers. However, I am glad I did so because it had the positive impact of growing my overall network.

19A Idea Napkin No. 2

1. Once again, I am Max Winton, a sophomore at the University of Florida. I am a middle child from South Florida. My talents and skills include being loyal, analytical, dependable, determined, and relatable. My experiences include serving as the finance director of my fraternity and being on the executive board of my high school’s National Honor Society. I aspire to be a sports agent or business analyst. This business could be a stepping stone toward building a successful and impressive resume.
2. The product I am offering is a mint or candy capsule that cleans teeth and freshens breath by releasing/dissolving into a liquid. This solves unmet needs because there is not a healthy way for people to clean their mouths on the go during their busy days.
3. The main demographic of who I am offering this product to is anyone with a very busy, on the go lifestyle. This description becomes exceedingly prevalent amongst college students, who are balancing class, involvement, and possibly a job or internship. My customers all have a desire for improved personal hygiene in common.
4. These people will care because this product will be affordable, easy to use, widely available, easy to replace, and effective in the sense that it will not only work but do so on a daily basis and in a variety of contexts.
5. My core competencies are that I am trustworthy, dependable, reliable, analytical, and straightforward. When I tell someone something, it is both easy to understand and easy to believe, which I think help sells products.

I believe both my qualities and the aspects of the customers I am trying to sell to align well. Not only can I relate to them as a student myself, but I understand what they want, what they can afford, and how they want it presented to them.

Feedback memo:

1. It is important, on top of my other qualities, to be both driven and committed.
2. It may be profitable to expand to other markets besides just students. More than just young people care about personal hygiene.
3. Partnering and selling the idea with a larger hygiene company like P&G might also be a good idea.

18A Create a Customer Avatar

My customer avatar is of a college-age student with a busy lifestyle, but that still cares about personal hygiene. In this avatar picture, you can see a college-age, young man who is clean shaven, has a neat haircut, and cares about his appearance. That is definitely the prototypical consumer because the prototypical consumer needs to care about keeping up a high standard of personal hygiene throughout the entire day. This person might have a job, or simply is very involved in several positions on campus. This customer likes to fit in in terms of being socially acceptable, but also likes to stand out, smell good, and always be clean. The avatar is willing to try new things, and is generally optimistic. 

I have several things in common with this consumer. To begin with, we are both college students. In addition, we both care about our personal hygiene and we both are very busy. I definitely fit into the typical group that the avatar represents.

17A Elevator Pitch No. 2

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBF6f-FINOU&feature=youtu.be

2. In summary, the feedback I received was fairly consistent. To begin with, everyone generally agreed that my content was good. The words I was speaking were good, but it was my delivery that needed to be fixed. First, a lot of people said I needed to engage the audience more by making more eye contact. Secondly, I needed to speak with more confidence in the product. Third, I needed to try to show the fact that the pitch was memorized and not being read off of a script.

3. Based on the feedback, I made one major change. In response, I memorized my script much more effectively. I put a camera at eye level so it was evident I am addressing my audience directly. Thus, with better eye contact and more fluid speaking, I was able to provide a better overall pitch.

16 A What’s Your Secret Sauce?

1. The first thing about me that I think is unique is my ability to communicate. I think that I am really good at taking something complex and breaking it down so that everyone can understand. The second thing about me that I think is unique is my determination. I always put my full effort into everything I do and don't give up until I succeed. The third unique thing about me is that I am very organized and good with numbers, which I have developed as Finance Director of my fraternity. The fourth thing about me is that I am loyal, always defending those who I rely on and can trust. Finally, I am analytical and I am always processing information. I always try to understand everything I can and this makes me prepared for any situation.

2. The link to my five interviews can be found on this Soundcloud playlist:

https://soundcloud.com/max-winton-989983617/sets/ent3003

1. I am dedicated and determined, when I start a task, I always finish it.

2. I am a problem solver and I do not get nervous when I am presented with an issue.

3. I am really organized, have a good work ethic, and am a good leader

4. I am pragmatic, sentimental, loyal, and analytical.

5. I am a good writer and am able to speak intelligently on any topic.

3. I would likely not make corrections to the list because for the most part, the lists were rather the same. It makes sense that those closest to me would have a good understanding of who I am, what my strengths are, and why those strengths make me unique.

15A Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

1.     I interviewed Benjamin Levine, Michael Sherman, and Michael Saltzman, three freshmen students at the University of Florida. They all have busy class schedules and only one of them has a job.

2.     Across the three interviews, there were two key factors that the interviewees cared about: price and quality. They see the item as something they would likely want but not need so the price could not be too high or they would have no incentive to buy it. In addition, they care about quality/effectiveness. The whole point of the product is to clean teeth and improve hygiene, so if it can not do so effectively, it would just be a waste to every customer. Side note, this product might be even more popular than ever as personal hygiene is of the utmost importance due to the spread of coronavirus.

3.     Although my segment is very young and orders a lot of stuff online, they definitely are more likely to buy something for their personal health in person. People like to see what they are getting if they know they are putting it in their bodies. Cash/debit/credit cards are definitely the more popular ways to purchase this low-cost item. A middleman pharmacy like CVS is likely to handle the transaction.

4.     What will help determine if it was a good purchase is if people feel more comfortable about their personal health after using the product. Their mouths should feel cleaner and their breath should smell fresher.  Bad taste in their mouth would likely make them think that it was a bad purchase.

5.     As previously summarized, the results were rather consistent across the three interviews, focusing on cleaner teeth, quality, price, and effectiveness.

6.     I would say this segment is a good fit for our product for a multitude of reasons. To begin with, the factors lineup because the product would be rather inexpensive, and hopefully, of high quality. Secondly, this segment doesn’t seem that hard to impress which is good because the product isn't earth-shattering. Finally, the product could be available either in person or online so its convenience will be high for college-age students.