Assignment 12A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

The segment I will be focusing on is adults within the age range of 30 to 60 years old who live in my neighborhood and have at least one dog.

Interview 1: For my first interview, I interviewed a 48-year-old woman who owns a small dog.

Need awareness: She is diligent with picking up after her dog, but she notices this problem when she goes to walk her dog and sees unclaimed dog waste on her driveway. She has noticed this every morning for the past year and suspects it's her new neighbor's dog. She mentioned that her neighbor walks her dog early because she likes to exercise first thing in the morning.

Information search: She picks up the dog waste with a pet waste bag because she wants to keep her property clean. When I asked her about the pet waste bags she uses for her dog, she told me that she mainly purchases them online. When she searches on Google, she enters the search terms "best pet waste bags for small dogs." But, she told me that if her shipment runs behind schedule or if she needs extra pet waste bags before her next order, she will go to her local pet store and purchase more. She expresses her frustrations about this problem to her sister, who is also a dog owner. She hopes that a long-term solution will be implemented within our neighborhood.

Interview 2: For my second interview, I interviewed a 39-year-old woman who is a mother of two children and owns a large dog.

Need awareness: She notices this need when she occasionally forgets to bring pet waste bags to pick up after her dog during her walks. She has two young children, so she becomes easily distracted when she is completing a task (for example, getting ready to go on a walk with her family's dog), and they want to show her something or play with her.

Information search: She goes online to find affordable yet convenient ways to solve this problem. For now, she has a subscription service through Chewy where she has items like pet waste bags delivered to her house every month. She discovered Chewy when she entered the search terms "pet waste bags for large dogs." She talks to her husband about this problem because even though she gets the pet waste bags delivered to her house, she still occasionally forgets them before she goes on walks and this makes her feel frustrated because of all the money they spend per month on pet waste bags.

Interview 3: For my last interview, I interviewed a 56-year-old man who owns a large dog. 

Need awareness: He notices this need when he walks his dog every day and notices that his neighbor does not pick up after his dog's waste. This frustrates him because he is aware of the negative environmental effects dog waste has, and he doesn't understand how his neighbor could just leave his dog's waste behind. He thinks his neighbor is irresponsible because he doesn't pick up his dog's waste. He told me he brings pet waste bags with him every time he walks his dog and is responsible when picking up and disposing of his dog's waste.

Information search: He ties pet waste bags onto his dog's leash before walks. When I asked him about the brand of pet waste bags he has and how he found them, he said he doesn't remember the name but that he saw them when going to PetSmart for dog food. He usually re-purchases pet waste bags every month and does not buy them online.

Report findings

I learned from my interviews that there is no current long-term solution to the problem of increasing dog waste in my neighborhood. This problem is one that occurs often because people in my neighborhood who own dogs walk their dogs every day. As a result, my product is a valid solution because it provides a long-term solution for decreasing, if not eliminating, dog waste. It is also simple and convenient, so dog owners won't feel burdened at the thought of using it.

Draw conclusions

Based on the information above, I believe this segment primarily searches for information online. They also find information through recommendations from family and friends and finding products in their local pet stores. They become aware of this need when they see unclaimed dog waste in their neighborhood or if they forget to bring pet waste bags with them during their walks with their dogs.