Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

How Project was Presented to Customers:

“Project Background: So basically, I am doing customer interviews to establish an opportunity – or find an unmet customer need for my entrepreneurship course. The exact need I am trying to understand is roommates not collaborating to clean up the living space, specifically in communal areas such the kitchen, living room, laundry room, etc.

To solve this, I have proposed that universities require freshmen and transfer students to take a one credit course that teaches how to live peacefully with other roommates. The reasoning behind this is that it will be a win-win for both students and university officials: students can receive a relatively easy A, while university officials can lower the unnecessary stress that students experience living with other roommates (especially randomly assigned roommates).

Please only write what you feel is necessary to share your opinion. Again, thank you!”

Questions Asked:

1. Does the price of the one credit class outweigh the benefits of understanding how to live peacefully with other roommates?

2. Does location on campus of this class matter?

3. Should this class be offered online?

4. How would you prefer this course to be taught? Through live lectures, textbook based, participation based, exam based…? Please feel free to provide alternate responses to the ones provided above. 

5. Based off your response to #4, what would you expect from the course materials and the instructor?

6. Should the cost of the course be included within the fees of the college (it’s free) or treated regularly (the cost of one credit hour)?

7. How would you pay for this course (student loans, out of pocket, scholarships, etc.)?

8. After paying for the course, what matters to you the most? Basically, what things or experiences do you want out of the class to make you feel like you didn’t waste money purchasing it?

9. Same question as #8, but now please explain what you would NOT want out of the class? 

Jeremiah Rivera: University of Central Florida, Junior

·       Price does outweigh the benefits of understanding how to live peacefully with other roommates.

·       Most of his roommates know how to live peacefully but they’re either too lazy or do not care enough to put in that effort.

·       Location does matter. Students living on campus will feel more inclined to follow rules than those living off campus.

·       Offer this course as another required small required online component to a student’s admission/orientation process – not a full credit course.

·       The course should focus on how to diffuse responsibilities among the roommates and delegate assignments/tasks based on everyone's schedules and skillsets.

·       Like other small online classes, you’ll learn the information and then take a quiz after each module. Overall grade should be a pass/fail with a predetermined minimum pass grade.

·       Provide real life examples and scenarios (with illustrations) to make it more relatable to students.

·       Should be included within the fees of the college.

·       Will pay through FAFSA/loans, not out of pocket.

·       Goals of the course: to know that people at least understand what behaviors and habits are accepted within a dorm or shared living space, that way the person is to blame if they are not living up to that standard.

·       Would not want an inaccurate or outdated depiction of what really goes down within the dorms or off campus housing.

Sabrina Olivera: University of Florida, Senior

·       Price does not outweigh benefit because my roommates and I figured it out ourselves.

·       Location does not matter.

·       Course should be offered online.

·       Course should be participation based.

·       Materials should be simply discussion posts and participation in lectures.

·       Course should be free.

·       Would pay through student loans.

·       Goals of the course: effective conflict resolution.

·       Would not want another boring lecture.

Kevin Fertel: Florida Gulf Coast University, Graduate School  

·       Price does not outweigh benefit.

·       Location does not matter.

·       The course should not be offered online.

·       Prefers this course as participation-based with minimal assignments and real-life implications.

·       Course should be free.

·       Will pay out of pocket or with a pre-paid fund.

·       Prefers an in-class midterm and final.

·       Goals: Understand the etiquette and respect that is required to have a good relationship with your roommate; learn how to interact better with people, resolve conflicts, share personal space etc.

·       Would not want course to be a waste of time with material that isn’t informational.

Draw conclusions:  

Based on what you know about this segment and what you learned in your interviews, how would you succinctly describe this segment in terms of alternative evaluation, purchase decision, and post-purchase evaluation?

Overall, 2/3 customers prefer this course to be taught online rather than in person. Although this is a small sample size, this insight is interesting because I never considered offering this course online. Knowing this, it might be easier for universities to utilize an online platform as opposed to the use of classrooms on campus. Furthermore, an online class will also be easier to expand to other universities across Florida. Separately, it became obvious to me that this course should not be a burden to students, and therefore I agree with Kevin’s and Sabrina’s opinion of this course being participation with few quizzes or assignments. For purchase decision, it appears that the interviewees vary in methods of payment and thus no real conclusion can be made.

Should this course be offered to them, all interviewees shared that knowledge of how to handle tough situations while treating roommates with respect was a priority. It was evident that the customers value real-world applications of this course in retrospect to their past experiences in college.