Interviewing Customers No. 1
My idea for a new business venture is in Jacksonville Beach.
Jacksonville Beach has a very large surf community. We have some of the best
shapers in the world that live and shape surfboards right here in Jacksonville
Beach. We also have several pro surfers who live and surf here daily. My idea
for what I would call the “Drag & Drop” would be a zip-line that would drag
the surfer out to the end of the pier past the breakers and drop them into the
lineup. It may not sound like a big deal to you, but until you have paddled for
forty five minutes straight without a break then you cannot understand what I am
talking about. You have to get out past the breakers before you can even catch
a wave to surf. Unfortunately, some people who might even be a good surfer
sometimes cannot paddle through the onslaught of the relentless waves Mother
Nature keeps sending towards you at about 6 to 7 second intervals.
So my questions to each of the surfers went like this.
Tell me about the
last time you surfed a big swell.
Did you find paddling out past the breakers was a difficult
for you?
Would you surf more if you did not have to paddle out
anymore? Would you consider that cheating?
Would you be willing to pay a daily fee to use the “Drag
& Drop” zip line to take you to the lineup without having to paddle?
Opportunity: Install zip line at the pier for surfers. The
zip line would take the surfers through the breakers without the exhausting efforts
of paddling out.
I learned out of the 5 surfers that I interview only 2 would
be willing to pay a fee for the service. However, these were much younger
surfers that I am, so paddling out is not so hard for them. Most of the surfers
did think it would be cheating by not having to paddle out. Most people think
if you can’t paddle out through the rough waters then you probably shouldn’t be
out there in the first place.
I would like to further my explorations with an older group
of surfers to see what their thoughts are on this idea. I still think this
could be an opportunity to be explored.
As far as interviewing the customers, they all seemed to
have no problem talking about the very sport they love. Some people that I
approached said they would talk to me but they were not surfers.
I thought the questions you asked all flowed well together. As someone who does not surf I cannot imagine how tiring it is to paddle out that far. I know other people who do surf and they would most likely be willing to pay for this service. Here's mine http://entint1.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteHello in Jacksonville James,
ReplyDeleteI am also located in Jacksonville, and went out asking people what they thought about solar panels. It was quite the interesting experience. I enjoyed your idea about a zip-line that pulls you out so you don't have to paddle. A lot of great ideas are made from thinking of ways to save time and be more efficient, and this is one of those. I have seen piers with carts that you can ride to the end of the pier for a fee but I have never tried one myself. I also liked the comment that if they can't paddle out then maybe they shouldn't be out there at all. It's a valid point due to the losses associated with harsh conditions taking lives. You can check out my blog in the link below.
http://rogerstrobert.blogspot.com/2016/01/customer-interviews-no-1.html