What's Next?

The Next Step:

The next step for my business venture should be focused on the several features that can be included in the smart phone application. Though I have already incorporated many features, including the feature of Siri, directions, payment, and a what’s nearby feature, technology is expanding rapidly and the features on my application should expand as well. Some features I may want to include in the future to fit more consumers needs include a remember where I parked feature and a frequently visited parking garages feature. New features for the smart phone applications would allow the application to keep up with the expanding technology and will continue meeting all of the consumer’s parking needs.

Interviews:

·      Through my first interviewee, he explained that he loved my business venture and believed it would be of great help to a lot of students. He explained that something we could do that I was not planning on doing is including a feature in the application that easily shows which parking garages and parking lots require a fee and how much those fees are. The interviewee continued on to say that would be extremely helpful to consumers and would allow them to be prepared to pay a fee. When asked about the ideas that I had for consumers, he believed that adding features to the application would be a great idea, but expressed that I should not go overboard so the application could still be easy to navigate and not too busy.

·      My second interviewee explained that she thought the application should have a search bar to search and not just a what’s nearby feature. She explained that she would want to plan ahead to see where parking garages and parking lots were if she was planning on making a farther drive so she did not have to do it when she arrived. She continued to say the search bar to look in specific areas would help consumers when traveling to places they were unfamiliar with. She also mentioned that too many features may make the application harder to use, but thought the features I was thinking of were useful.

·      The last interviewee also provided me with a lot of insight on what else he thought I should be doing. He explained that when creating the app I should try to ensure that it takes up as little storage as possible because as a college student he always struggles with not enough storage on his smart phone. He continued to explain that I should possibly talk to the University of Florida Preview Staff for incoming students and see if it is an application they can recommend to make life easier at the University of Florida. The last interviewee loved all other features and ideas I informed him about.

Reflection:

Based on the interviews and the insight I received from them, it is easier for me to identify the path I need to plan for the future of my business. My expectations also helped shape my path for the future as it is similar to those who I interviewed. Since each interview contained unique ideas it is easy to see that my product can expand in many different ways.

Due to the interviews, I have decided to focus on the features on the application that would be most helpful to the consumers and would make parking an easier task. This makes the most sense in growing in my existing market because it will fit more of the consumers’ needs while still keeping the application easy to use. Out of the interviews the features I would definitely include would be the ability to see if the parking lot or parking garage requires a fee and the search feature. I feel that these features are great ideas and would allow my consumers to have more accessibility.

My interviewees liked the couple features that I mentioned and provided great feedback. I am happy that they told me to ensure I do not overdo it on features as it may make the app too busy and more complicated.

New Market:

The other market I would like to target is the businesses that would be purchasing the real-time display boards. This market is very important as it allows drivers another way to see the parking spots available in the lot or garage. This market would be a main selling point in which I received a lot of profit if they chose to purchase and have the real-time display boards installed. The real-time display board would increase popularity of a parking garage or parking lot as people would know that they would not spend as much time searching for a parking spot as they would in a lot that did not have the installed technology. In addition, with the application and paired display board, they would have the opportunity to make more of a profit if they required a fee to park because they could rid of their current system, which would ultimately save them money.

New Market Interviews:

·      My first interviewee was the owner of a local parking garage. After presenting my product and my venture concept, he explained that he thought it was a wonderful idea that would make the lives of many much easier, but I may have to work out a better way price was to install this. He explained that it was too expensive and it was more than it was worth for the parking garages and parking lots. He continued on to explain that he thinks the application is wonderful and would definitely adopt the display board if it was cheaper and proved to have more benefits for the business. He offered that maybe the display boards could display advertisements to help pay for the board.

·      The second interview was very helpful. She also agrees with the first interviewee that it the display board seems a little expensive for what it has to offer. She does however like the idea of it making payments easier and allowing a steady flow of traffic in and out of the parking garage. She stated that if the price was slightly lower she would be on board with the product. She continued on to say that I could possibly just start with the application and see if the display boards would really be a necessity if the application was successful.

Reflection:

Speaking with these two individuals taught me a lot about the new market. I was not surprised by the rejection of the price as I know that it is a lot and they believe there should be a few more benefits for that much money. I hope to be able to fix this to continue with my real-time display board idea by taking the first interviewees advice and possibly using advertisements as a way to make the display board more affordable for businesses. However, if that still does not work I may decide to focus on just the application as the real-time display board may not be necessary.

This new market is not as attractive as my existing market as my existing market enjoys more of the benefits and would be able to utilize my product better. My existing market proves to be the more promising one, but I hope to adjust what is needed to possibly fit the needs of my new market.