Pick a Segment: In order to segment my market, I decided to demographically separate my potential customers by age and by circumstance. In this case, I will choose people broadly from ages 18-45 that go out on a regular basis to local restaurants in the United States.
Interviews: I interviewed three more people, from ages 18-45 that go out frequently and are current residents in the United States.
Out of the three people I interviewed, I made sure that each of them had the unmet need I described in my previous posts. From here, I moved on to ask questions about the setting in which each of these people find that their need is being unmet, and with all three cases, I learned that they find themselves at an establishment that requires them to tip or suggests them to tip the workers. All three of the people I interviewed go out to dinner often, so their time of day was afternoon to later at night.
Surprisingly, the first thing that the younger people I interviewed said they do when they find themselves in the uncomfortable gratuity situation, they usually just tip approximately 20% to their server. The older person I interviewed (45) stated that when they find themselves in this situation they just do not tip altogether, which is OK, but obviously leaves the server not satisfied and bitter. The younger people I interviewed usually just find a place in which they don't have to tip as much so they look online via a maps app to find such an environment. The older person I interviewed simply continues to not tip when they feel uncomfortable. This situation makes the friends and family uncomfortable, leading to both sides being unhappy at all times.
Findings: What I have learned from these interviews is that although the younger members seemed to be more courteous and subjective to the tipping environment, they still had the need and were unhappy when the situation became uncomfortable or if they felt that they were being disrespectful had they not tipped enough. On the other hand, the older person I interviewed seemed to stand their ground more, and not be upset as much, but this is a perfect example for why the servers are the ones who receive the short end of the stick in this situation because they are not getting paid. These three people obviously do not represent all of the American population, but we could make an inference that they represent some if not most.
Conclusion: After reflecting and summarizing what I have learned from my interviews, I can say that this specific market segmentation is appropriate for my current opportunity. I could specify more on age, but I believe that all ages and opinions are a major factor when it comes to whether or not the customer or worker is experiencing an unmet need. When these interviewees search for information to help ease the pain of their situations they find themselves in at gratuity establishments, they probably do not find much helpful information considering that most of the American restaurant industry involves tipping and lowering the wages of servers. This is also why I believe that this opportunity still holds strong for the most part, although it may be too broad and I may need to specify my market segmentation more, or even change my opportunity altogether.
Hi Jared,
ReplyDeleteI think your post is very intriguing. It is one of the many that actually can have a large age audience. Most people have made opportunities that are specific to the younger audiences around our generation. I think you have an advantage because you have a larger audience to sell to than most of us do.
Hey Jared. As someone who has worked in the scene I understand your point of view perfectly and agree with you. Younger audiences tend to feel the pressure of leaving more gratuity because of how it works, not necessarily the service. The broad target audience is great, it is very true that older generations tend to stand their ground more
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