What's Next?

Existing Market

    I believe that the next step is is actually developing the proposed product, or research and development. Since I have constructed the market research and demand for protective headgear equipment, the next step would be actually construct the product and test for functionality. This would involve creating a prototype and running different tests and simulations to gauge the overall effectiveness of the product. My product will be composed to durable metal materials, so finding the right balance in product composition will be crucial to the efficacy of the helmet.

    After interviewing three customers and explaining to them my business, all three actually asked if I could demonstrate or showcase the product to them. They were interested in actually seeing the tangible product so that they could visualize my proposed business concept. However, I had to express that a product was not yet created and this led them to your suggestion of what the next step of my venture would be: creating a model product that can be conveyed to target consumers. All three interviewees alluded to practicality and wanted to ensure that the protective headgear would not be too stifling or heavy for manual laborers. One interviewee did also mention the suggestion to perform more market research to ensure that the business model can truly be sustaining and successful. Since their suggestions were similar to what I thought would be the next step, we were in agreement in terms of the direction of the venture and what actions ought to be taken. 

    Based on my expectations and the feedback that I received from customers, I believe the next step would be create some tangible representation of what my product is. Even if it is not the actual product itself, having a model or representation of some sort would be super helpful in conveying my business concept to target customers. While it is easy to hear the many benefits and advantages of a product, it is often more difficult to actually visualize what that product is. Thus, by creating a model or prototype, customers can better understand the vision and feel compelled to try the product in the future. In creating a prototype, product testing can also be done to ensure the effectiveness of the headgear. It is vital that a product actually does what it advertises, so running tests and simulations would be an integral process in ensuring the legitimacy of a product.

New Market

    My target market has been primarily end-consumers (manual laborers who their daily tasks outside and on elevated surface, such as roofers). Thus, a completely new market would targeting B2B or offering my proposed product to another business. 

    My radically different market, which I describe as being a business market now, would create value for people in that market by providing them a product that they can wholesale to their already existing customers. In this business model, I would essentially be serving as a manufacturer who supplies my protective headgear equipment to retailers and other business. If these businesses already have an established customer market, then providing them a new product will allow them to address more of their customers' needs. For instance, consider a home improvement store like Home Depot. I would provide my products to Home Depot and they would subsequently offer it to their customers. 

    In this section, I interviewed two employees from Home Depot. When I expressed my business concept to them, they both felt as if my product would fit in their overall product offerings. Since Home Depot specializes in home improvement, including construction products, protective headgear for roofers fits their overall store theme. This was something that was stressed during my interviews: compatibility and theme. Both interviewees explained that my product could be adapted for any business retailer as long as it fits the scheme of the overall products they are selling. For example, one interviewee provided an example and explained that my product would not be suitable for a place like PetCo, a company that specializes in pet products. However, in stores specializing in home improvement and hardware, like Lowe's and Ace Hardware, my product could definitely fit under their product offerings.

    Upon conducting this portion of the assignment, I realized that there is a totally new market that I had never really considered before (B2B). I had always thought only about the end-consumer, but never about selling my product to other businesses. This new target market definitely seems just as feasible and there exists a clear opportunity to find success. In my Venture Concept assignment, I had talked about wanting to potentially expand the services of my product by creating additional items within my product category. However, I now realize that an alternative approach would be to simply expand my target market by offering my product to a new set of customers.