Existing Market
The next step for consulting service/product combo would be to finalize supplier relations and begin meetings with local, franchised gas stations to see how their support would hold up. Once I have connections with a supplier, the meetings will be more credible as I already have the means of production accounted for.
I interviewed three friends from my sustainability class that use motor vehicles and cash and they agreed with my initial thought of finalizing supplier relations and pursuing the gas stations. The first interviewee, Rachel, also said it may be smart to set up relations with cash carriers such as Brinks who would take the money out of the machines in a secure fashion. When asking about future steps for customer desires, everyone believed that this is about far as the gas industry will allow innovation to go. Touch ups such as allowing the machine to provide change in dollar bill form as opposed to change (like most other cash readers) would also make the opportunity more desirable as people dislike change nowadays.
Most people that I interviewed are supportive of my idea and believe that is something that they would use when fueling their vehicle. The diverse feedback I received was also very instrumental in fine-tuning my opportunity into something that is even more convenient than I originally imagined. Growing the market for the end user is most likely impossible as it is heavily unlikely that we could persuade those who don't fit the market to partake in the opportunity. If you drive an electric vehicle then there is no reason to buy a gas fueling vehicle. There is also no reason to use cash if a customer is perfectly fine using cards exclusively.
The only step in growing into the market would be to begin pursuing gas stations with the end goal of implementing my services and product relations. As I've stated before, once there are a few initial successes it will be much easier to expand the business in the market.
New Market
The only other market to expand into would be overseas market. Both affluent and poor Americans use gas and my business directly markets to businesses and the end consumer. I could not reasonably sell my services to the average user of the product as they do not own the gas pumps. I can only pitch the idea to businesses with the end consumer in mind.
Expanding into overseas market will bring similar success that it does in American markets. They would utilize the surfaces in the same fashion that customers within the United States would.
I talked to two of my friend's sister's friends who currently go to school in the United Kingdom. They said they had visited United State's gas stations before and it would be a very similar market for my opportunity. I would not need to change anything besides the currency that the card readers handle, which may be more difficult.
Almost all of my assumptions of this new market were the same. I knew beforehand that many western countries in Europe have very similar amenities that we possess and therefore would be an easy bridge to expand overseas. Specifically starting in the United Kingdom also turns out to be very beneficial as they are the most similar Western European country to the United States.
Overseas ventures in countries that are very similar to the United States are almost just as attractive as the current market segment in our country. However, countries in Asia, Eastern Europe, and South America may turn out to be less attractive either due to cultural differences or lack of population that utilizes motor vehicles.
The next step for consulting service/product combo would be to finalize supplier relations and begin meetings with local, franchised gas stations to see how their support would hold up. Once I have connections with a supplier, the meetings will be more credible as I already have the means of production accounted for.
I interviewed three friends from my sustainability class that use motor vehicles and cash and they agreed with my initial thought of finalizing supplier relations and pursuing the gas stations. The first interviewee, Rachel, also said it may be smart to set up relations with cash carriers such as Brinks who would take the money out of the machines in a secure fashion. When asking about future steps for customer desires, everyone believed that this is about far as the gas industry will allow innovation to go. Touch ups such as allowing the machine to provide change in dollar bill form as opposed to change (like most other cash readers) would also make the opportunity more desirable as people dislike change nowadays.
Most people that I interviewed are supportive of my idea and believe that is something that they would use when fueling their vehicle. The diverse feedback I received was also very instrumental in fine-tuning my opportunity into something that is even more convenient than I originally imagined. Growing the market for the end user is most likely impossible as it is heavily unlikely that we could persuade those who don't fit the market to partake in the opportunity. If you drive an electric vehicle then there is no reason to buy a gas fueling vehicle. There is also no reason to use cash if a customer is perfectly fine using cards exclusively.
The only step in growing into the market would be to begin pursuing gas stations with the end goal of implementing my services and product relations. As I've stated before, once there are a few initial successes it will be much easier to expand the business in the market.
New Market
The only other market to expand into would be overseas market. Both affluent and poor Americans use gas and my business directly markets to businesses and the end consumer. I could not reasonably sell my services to the average user of the product as they do not own the gas pumps. I can only pitch the idea to businesses with the end consumer in mind.
Expanding into overseas market will bring similar success that it does in American markets. They would utilize the surfaces in the same fashion that customers within the United States would.
I talked to two of my friend's sister's friends who currently go to school in the United Kingdom. They said they had visited United State's gas stations before and it would be a very similar market for my opportunity. I would not need to change anything besides the currency that the card readers handle, which may be more difficult.
Almost all of my assumptions of this new market were the same. I knew beforehand that many western countries in Europe have very similar amenities that we possess and therefore would be an easy bridge to expand overseas. Specifically starting in the United Kingdom also turns out to be very beneficial as they are the most similar Western European country to the United States.
Overseas ventures in countries that are very similar to the United States are almost just as attractive as the current market segment in our country. However, countries in Asia, Eastern Europe, and South America may turn out to be less attractive either due to cultural differences or lack of population that utilizes motor vehicles.
Hello Sean,
ReplyDeleteI agree that some customers may see your service as unnecessary for them, because they don’t own cars. Usually cars in some countries are too expensive. In addition, most of the people in those countries use public transportation, walk, or ride bicycles. However, I still think your business idea can be profitable in the states.
I think that overseas markets would have to require a bit of research but they do have potential. Like Aviana said, some countries may view cars as too expensive but you may also find countries where there is an even higher use of cash to pay for gasoline and automated machines that could provide the service could very well be in high demand. Regardless, it does appear to have a market here that you can take advantage of and certainly seems like a good idea
ReplyDeleteI think going overseas is the wrong idea. I think you need to master it in the states and then go overseas once it is already mastered here. I do however agree on your first next step. That would be the most important part, finding the local suppliers and growing from there. Your idea could work but it would be best to start small and then work your way up. Ultimately, I think your idea could work and could possibly be part of the way that you buy gas in the future.
ReplyDelete