Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1 - Assignment 12A

Pick a segment: The segment I chose to interview is a group of college students enrolled in summer classes who have the need for such an app.

Interview 1: The first interview I had was with an undergraduate business student who cares about his grades so much that he is looking to get help from other students on top of tutoring services. This student's need becomes most salient right before an exam. He has no problem with the quizzes and homework in the classes he is enrolled in, but the exams cause him trouble. The tutoring service helps him, but he wants to speak with other students about their studying techniques and what has been working for them. Once he became aware of this need to talk to other students, he reached out to all his friends that he knew were taking summer classes. His search came up short because no one he knew was taking any of the classes that he was. In the end of the interview, he made it clear that such an app would be perfect for him.

Interview 2: The second interview I did was with an undergraduate telecommunications student who wants to do well in school, but cannot afford to pay for tutoring services because she is on a budget. Unlike the first interviewee, this girl doesn't struggle with exams, but she struggles through the homework in her class. She hasn't figured out how to properly use a site that her teacher requires students to do homework on. Her struggle doesn't just become bad when exams get near. Instead, she has been struggling with the weekly homework assignments because of the site. She would love to be able to reach out to fellow students and learn from them. The first thing she did to fulfill her need of finding other students in the same class was click on the "people" tab in Canvas. Reaching out to students via the Canvas messenger didn't work because she didn't know any of the students she reached out to and people very rarely check canvas message notifications. Overall, this student needs access to a free app that connects her with helpful students that will be active on the app.

Interview 3: The third and final interview I had was with a graduate business student who expressed a serious need for the app since he doesn't know too many people around campus. He was a transfer student; therefore, he doesn't know a bunch of people on campus. Considering he is not financially sound enough to pay for tutoring services and also doesn't know many UF students, he knows he is in need of such an app. Whether it's with homework, quizzes, or exams, this student is struggling to succeed in his classes this summer without help from peers. The first thing this student did to get help was attend the office hours of his professor, but the professor didn't provide him with any advice on how to study more efficiently or how to properly approach graded assignments. It was evident that this graduate student would benefit from becoming a user on such an app.

Draw conclusions: The segment of college students enrolled in summer classes that I interviewed have a need to succeed in classes, but they are failing to fulfill this need on their own. It is clear that they need my app to introduce them to other college students enrolled in the same classes that they are taking. These students have constantly been reminded of this need so far this summer. The student in the first interview is consistently reminded of this need as each exam approaches, whereas the next two students I interviewed are in a constant state of need considering there is always some kind of work assigned in their classes. Each of the students' information searches have failed them because it is hard to find individuals willing and able to help. My app will connect such capable students to one another.