25A- What's Next?

Existing Market:

            I talked to three UF students who own smart home products.  I first talked to each of them about what I thought was next for my company.  I outlined in my venture concept my idea to add a repair facet to our service department, and I asked each person I talked to what they thought of this idea.  While each of them thought that this was a good idea, they each had questions about how this would work.  The first asked if the bundles would have a warranty on them.  She argued that a twelve month warranty would give the consumer more trust in the products, as well as the company behind them.  I think that this is a good idea.  I believe that as long as I honored this warranty, the customers would appreciate the convenience and reliability of our service.  As pointed out by my second interviewee, we could also offer extended warranties of three years or more to individuals willing to pay more during checkout.  This would put my company in a better position to keep our customers, as we would continue to have an obligation to each customer.  

            I also asked my interviewees what they thought I should do in the future that I hadn’t thought about yet.  Two of my interviewees called my attention to other smart home sellers, saying that most of them have their own products.  They suggested that if the company grew enough, that I should consider coming out with my own products.  One said they thought that I should come out with some kind of “master remote” that could be used to control all parts of your home.  The other said that I should make something that can turn ordinary appliances into smart appliances through some kind of receiver.  I honestly think that both of these ideas are great.  They would probably even work well together.  They would certainly be one of a kind products, that could pull even more people to the website.  I would have to consider production costs, but I think that the possible growth that would come along with these products would be greater than the cost.

New Market:

            When considering my consumer boundary, I have really only thought about selling to individuals.  I feel like I have set my sights lower than I should have, because businesses could also be a key buyer.  I think businesses could find smart home bundles extremely helpful.  They could help order more office supplies, keep employees up to date, and boost office morale.  I think the products could increase the office productivity, while also lightening the individual employee’s load. 

           

            I talked to two people over 30 who own their own businesses.  The first was a woman who owns a law firm.  She said that she only had a couple employees, but she thought that having a smart home system would be helpful to her and her employees.  She said she would especially appreciate some kind of smart security system, because her offices have been broken into.  She also seemed excited about the idea of having a Rumba, because she doesn’t hire a cleaning company.  Her wants were different than what I expected.  I suppose that we could create some business packages, focused on taking away the little worries and tasks that slow down the day-to-day.  The reasons businesses would buy from us is because of our competitive price, and installation service.  She said she would be interested in the installation service, as long as the price was good and it was done promptly. 

            The second person I talked to was a man with an automotive business.  He said that while the technology might help, it simply wasn’t worth the price.  He said that it probably wouldn’t get used enough, and it might get broken along the course of normal business.  I can understand this, as he doesn’t work in a traditional office, the technology may not be as convenient or useful.  The office needs to be a stable environment, with a willingness to use the technology.  This means that “white collar” business will most likely get more out of the systems than “blue collar” businesses.