1) Opportunity:
SmartSofas.
2) The who: All people who have a sofa facing or close by to a TV in their homes.
The what: Sofas need to come with an implemented control remote to the TV. That is, the sofa must be able to connect itself to the TV or be an accessory that comes with the purchase of a brand-new TV.
The why: Everyone has experienced being comfortable in bed, watching TV, slowly falling asleep to the point that all is needed is to turn off the TV, until realizing that you have no idea where the control remote is (probably has fallen in between the pillows), forcing you to move around and wake back up. The only way to prevent this is to have a control remote that is stuck to the sofa, so 1) it would never get lost and 2) the user will never deal with having to wake back up again.
3) Testing the who: While this product will mainly focus on people who have TVs in their bedrooms and living rooms, businesses could also be consumers as one could sell this product as a cheap "luxury" product that will drive their employee's morales up.
Testing the what: Do all control remotes get lost? Does this happen to all people or certain people? Could this be used in any other setting?
Testing the why: I think that everyone will see the why because I could not imagine anyone that would prefer having a control remote that moves around rather than one that just sticks to your sofa. Mind you, the target market for this will be users who watch much TV, not a sofa that is not for TV watching.
4) Interviews Summary: From my interviews, I received a lot of positive feedback about my product. I also received new ideas such as expanding the use of the SmartSofa and adding refrigerators, a connection to Wi-Fi, sound systems and connecting it to platforms such as Spotify, etc. After using this product, not a lot of people think they will opt back to using a control remote, that you may have to get up to try to get rather than to just have it installed in your Sofa that you are laying down on.
5) What do I know now that I did not know before: I learned that many people like the idea of a SmartSofa, as well as the thought of expanding the product into new areas so it can have alternating versions and updates to keep the consumers purchasing more and more products as the years go on and becoming loyal customers.
While it seems like this product could have a market, the likely expensive price tag means that it may need to find a more specific target consumer. Having too many options on it can overwhelm your buyers and turn them away from the option. It also works away from the current trends of becoming healthier and aiming for a more nature-oriented lifestyle. Being able to market this product as "green" or health conscious could help in it's design
ReplyDeleteHey Diego,
ReplyDeleteI really like how you later learned that more diversification would be desired by the potential market. Having an option to also have a side fridge with ample drinks seems like a big selling point for customers, especially those who watch sports and don't want to miss a second. The only downside that I can see concerning the different options would be that it would be expensive to display every model in a store. However, online retailing would fit this concept perfectly.