12A – FIGURING OUT BUYER BEHAVIOR NO. 1

Segment:
The segment for my project was interviewing people that were aware of the airline industry, or that they travel frequently. These interviews will help me get more of a clear picture of what is it that people want and see if people also see a lack of the quality of the service provided by other competing airlines. I will also ask if they see this as a viable way of creating a profitable startup.

Interviews:
1)   I interviewed 31-year-old Hispanic male, that works with an international company. His take on the subject was very interesting, as his company actually is related to ships, yachts, boats and cruise ships. So, he is very aware of international transportation, He agreed that there is a lack of routes being offered, he also did agree that the quality of service provided has declined sharply in the last couple of years. However, he has particularly skeptical in the sense that airlines are not very profitable. He told me that before you proceed with any startup, especially that involves a lot of capital raise, that there has to be a lot of in market research to see if there is enough interest for this. He said that also the airline industry is extremely predatory, in the sense that existing airlines can try to make roadblocks in order to avoid the success of your company and lose customers.

2)   I interviewed 26-year-old Hispanic Female, she owns a clothing store in South America and Miami. Speaking with her she could not agree with me more that there is a decline in the air travel industry. She mentioned how she shops textiles in India and travels there frequently in order to buy the necessary need for her store. She said she liked the ability to purchase different options if wanted to on board, that it was not an issue. Yet she felt that the price she paid and the quality of service provided was not the best, and she felt that she was overpaying and that is never a good feeling. She mentioned she did not know a lot of the airline industry profit margins but since she travels often she is very aware of market prices and the in and outs of international travel. She mentioned that if the airline would be created she most definitely use the services if they are as to how I described it to her.

3)   For the 3rdInterview I chose to speak with a Mother of Hispanic background. She mentioned at first how it was so expensive to bring all her children to her home country. That there should be more package deals for group or family travel, that this is not used but it would be an interesting marketing idea in order to attract families and lure them with lower prices, bundle pricing, and exceptional service. I really liked her take of the perspective of more tailored for family travels. I believe this is definitely a market that is last being hurt, also providing good financing for people that can pay their travels in monthly payments, instead of one big payment. She mentioned that if the money is there she would use the service, but she mentioned is not a service that she would use every year, so she would be repeating customers but gaps in between are too much so we would have to find a way for her and her family to use our service more often.

Reflection:
From these interviews to the one I had the previous one, were very productive and got a lot of feedback on how people were dealing with international travel. I also got a lot of positive feedback in the sense that they believe there should be more options available and better. So, people agree that there could be a possible market, because of some flaws in the industry currently. Overall, I believe that it is still at a very premature stage and more studies have to be done so we can start seeing if it is something we could exploit on. Interviewing people of different demographics that are in outside boundaries, see if they might be lured to use our airline. 

Comments

  1. Alexandra WinandiFebruary 16, 2019 at 4:45 PM

    Mario, I thought my interviews were pretty helpful. But your post actually shows how powerful they can be. First, the interviews validated your business idea, there is definitely an unmet need and people are very much aware of it. Second, the interviews provided you with very interesting information about the industry itself, giving you additional food for thought. Excellent post!

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  2. szhiiizFebruary 18, 2019 at 8:33 PM

    Hi Mario
    I thought your interviews were amazing, I like the segment you picked people that travel often, because I think from interviewing those people that are experienced in this industry will give you very valuable feedback, and from interviewing those people that has been in this industry long time, clearly has shown this unmet need existed, and people are aware of it.

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  3. Camila Calero EntrepreneurshipFebruary 18, 2019 at 9:25 PM

    Hi Mario,

    You're probably one of the very few people that have continued to speak about their issue and it clearly shows that you are passionate about this topic. I don't enjoy having to constantly have to stop in either Bogota or Panama to get to Cali, Colombia. Cali is the third most populated city and I hate that many airline don't offer a direct flight to the city I constantly visit. I liked how you interviewed a different subject such as a mother. I liked how you were able to recognize her needs to pay in monthly payments to afford traveling with all her children. Great job on your assignment, like always your posts are a great read!

    ReplyDelete

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