9A- Testing the Hypothesis Part 2

To reiterate my opportunity is that I would like to develop a system to have brokers for car buying. I see this as a good opportunity because many people do not know the value of different cars and often have a hard time negotiating price.

Who: I believe my opportunity is one that has great potential, because the car buying experience for many is confusing, and although there are other services out there to help with purchasing a car they all fall short with a generic fell, where as my opportunity would be more personal. Another part of my opportunity is the fact that the car buyers assigned "broker", would be responsible for negotiating the price of the car that the individual is interested in. Although there are some websites that find the best price for the car you may be searching for, my service would allow for not only the "broker" to suggest multiple price options, but also help with the negotiations of the car itself to get the buyer the best price possible.

What: My opportunity provides a service that would differ from all other car buying experiences, although it somewhat resembles a live car buying auction, it differs greatly due to the fact that the experience is more personal without the buyer actually having to be present. Also the "broker", could provide tools and knowledge that the consumer may not have access to regularly, either due to little knowledge about the industry or the limitations of the average car buyer.

Why: The needs of both the people inside and outside of the boundary is the same, although the limits on the boundary solely have to do with the age and financial means of  the individual. This is because not everyone is always in the market to purchase a car, however the market and consumer bases is very large and there is always a the unmet need for a better car buying experience.

Interviews: The majority of individuals I interviewed, were not interested in purchasing a car, however the this interview has some bias due to the interviewees being college students. Out of the 5 individuals i interviewed 4 of the 5 said they were not in the market for a car anytime soon, this made me realize that there are certain boundaries to my customer base, mainly age. Many people purchase a car either out of necessity or because they have the financial means to do so. I asked the participants if my opportunity had strengths that other established car related businesses did not. The responses showed that 3 of the 5 thought the idea of a "broker" was an important characteristic that distinguished my idea from others. I proceeded to ask if my need was the same or different from other needs commonly associated with car buying. All of the interviewees believed that the need for a car "broker", was somewhat a foreign concept they had not heard or thought of before. I concluded from this that the need differed from nearly all others in the car buying experience. I ended the interviews with asking, what each individual thought was the main factor that would make a consumer have the need or not. Many said that if you had no previous experiences buying a car then the need is there, but one individual said that the main factor in his decision to use the service would be price, and the quality of the experience.

               Inside the Boundary:                                                         Outside the Boundary:
Who: Anyone searching for a car                                               Anyone not searching for a car
What: Find the right car at a good price                 A listed directory of cars for sale, prices and values
Why: Those without car buying experience           Car salesmen, car enthusiasts*, shrewd negotiators

*Some ,but not all car enthusiasts may be against having assistance with their car buying experience.