What’s Next?

25A – What’s Next?

Existing Market: The "Fan" group from my customer avatars

Step 1: Talk about what you think is what's next in terms of products and services for your venture.

As I keep targeting the Fan customers, my next step would be to expand from just UF and to reach out to other brands and teams that would want something like the ZipStrip.

Step 2:

Alison:
Her biggest recommendations was that I keep talking to as many people about it as possible to further understand what customers want, and to make more options for the actual designs I would sell.

Andrew:
He also wanted multiple designs, but also said that I should be careful to make the product easy to understand in a store with a informative display and by allowing people to try attaching ZipStrips to their jackets in the store.

Alex:
His advise was to start selling online to start, and that I could consider selling jackets as well

Step 3:

With this round of interviews I really cemented my impression that the idea of the ZipStrip is compelling enough to act on, but that my implementation is as important as the idea. I selected all three of these people because they were wearing UF hats, jackets, or shirts and were a part of my target audience. For the most part they all liked the idea and could see it in the bookstore, bur several had comments to make it more successful when there. Whether it is starting online, having a try on display, or many options they all helped give me ideas to attract customers like them.

I had prefaced all three of my interviews on that I had already reached out to UF branding employees, but as of yet have not heard back from the people I was hoping for. For this idea to move forward I will have to continue reaching out, asking people already in my network for referrals and direction, and making more progress so I have enough to actually sell people on the idea when I have an opportunity. Once I have this first market going, then I will be able to actually look at taking more steps for the future of my plans.

New Market: the "Customizer" and "Though Fit" customers from my Customer Avatar assignment

Step 1: After successfully selling to the fans at Uf, I hope to expand to the Customizers and Tough Fits that were included in my older business models.

Step 2: For the Customizers the ZipStrip will be a way to add color and differentiate an outfit. To reach this group I will have a lot of different colors and designs to be sold on a website. For the Tough Fit the ZipStrip will allow the waist of a jacket to be increased to accommodate for weight gain or non-standard body proportions. This will also be sold on the website, but will be made of elastic materials for the most flexibility, and in more neutral colors.   

Step 3: 

Victoria: 

She had a lot of great advise for me on the business side of my plan (I am pretty sure she was reading a full binder sized business plan when I approached her). She warned me against spreading myself too thing at first, making it too expensive, and from starting with a large brand like UF to avoid being exploited. She also said to explain the idea to new groups I should consider giving out samples or finding ways to make more people aware of what a ZipStrip. 

Indica:

She noted that she does not use hoodies or zip up jackets so I might have to look into different types of clothes, and wanted me to expand into other brands and teams to reach new markets.

Step 4: 

The feedback I got was more or less what I had expected for this group. The helped me come up with ideas for how to make my idea work better in my two future groups, but also with the Fans. I think they supported my current plan of starting with one target and then expanding out once I have more resources and experience. 

The challenges I see are that I still am a little unsure of how to advertise to my three groups and especially the tough fit because this product is so new and different. I think that this problem will fade as the fan strategy goes forward. The additional complication of selling online will make targeting a group and location harder but potentially more valuable than just selling to one group in a physical store like what I want to do for the Fans.