1) The segment that I picked is UF students who are trying to buy textbooks.
2) Need Awareness: In all of my interviews, I found that students agreed that they normally have this problem at the beginning of the semester when they are trying to buy textbooks for their classes. One student talked about how it is always a problem when the professors want them to buy the textbooks right away and she is not even sure if she'll keep the class as it was still add/drop. She said she did not want to spend a lot of money on a book that she might never need. Another student told me that he wanted to see his old textbooks at the end of the semester and found that that it was really hard because people are never sure of their schedules so he found that it is better to wait until the beginning of the following semester.
3) Move to information source: The students that I interviewed differed on what they did when they were faced with the problem. One student said he always tries to find pdf versions of the textbooks. Another student said that she goes on Facebook pages to try to find students selling their old textbooks and if she cannot find it she normally just gets the textbooks from the bookstore. The third student said that she normally looks at online websites like Amazon and eBay.
Overall the information I got from the students was what I expected as I go through the same thing every semester. I think this app could really help this market segment with their unmet need.
Hey Maria! I think you did a great job with choosing your UF students. I can personally relate to having this problem at the beginning of the semester, as that is when students buy their textbooks. Personally, I also try to find pdf versions of the text or find friends who I can pay some money to use their pdf. I think that your product could really help these students, great job!
ReplyDelete-Jenna
Dear Maria,
ReplyDeleteI can see how most people you interviewed normally have this problem at the beginning of the semester when they are trying to buy textbooks for their classes. The one student who talked about how it is always a problem when the professors want them to purchase the textbooks right away was interesting. That is definitely the type of student who would benefit from this service.
Hi Maria,
ReplyDeleteI agree with the people that you interviewed that the beginning of the semester is the time most students are trying to find the cheapest price for books. I can also relate to looking for pdf versions of textbooks as nowadays there are many websites which offer downloadable pdf versions of textbooks for a reduced price. I think students could really benefit from this product.