Figuring Out Buyer Behavior

12A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior

Segment:

I chose to segment people who are categorized as social drinkers. The people I interviewed are all above the drinking age, they all enjoy having alcoholic beverages at social events such as dinners, parties, or at bars. I had to interview a good amount of people classified as social drinkers before finding people that admitted to the need of a breathalyzer system installed in their car. After the interviews I assessed why I had this difficulty, I will discuss this later in my post.

Interviews:

Interview #1 (middle aged woman, social drinker):

This interviewee was very concerned for her safety. She said she takes many precautions in her daily routines to assure her safety at all times. However, from time to time she enjoys to have a drink, especially when she goes to friends’ houses or out to bars. She expressed that sometimes she drives places with no intention to drink but ends up having a few. She said that having a system in her car that prevented her from driving would be a great investment, it would assure her safety.

Interview #2 (male college graduate school student, social drinker)

In this interview the interviewee expressed that he never felt like he would need a system in his car, until one of his friends was seriously injured because he was driving drunk. He expressed that sometimes when he goes out he feels safe to drive, when in reality he is not. He said that he wished there was something that would stop him from driving his car when he has had too much to drink.

Interview #3 (middle aged male, social drinker)

This man expressed that he feels he needs something to make him aware of his alcohol consumption before he drives, especially when other people, or his kids are in the car. The man said that he will go to sporting events with his family and be responsible for driving. He said normally he feels ok to drive after a few beers, but sometimes he may have taken it too far but his judgement isn’t able to tell.

What I learned:

While this need exists for almost everyone who drinks and drives a car, many people are in denial that it exists. People do not want to admit that they are too drunk to drive and people do not want to find other alternatives to driving. Many people say that Uber is too expensive, and that if they only limit themselves to a few drinks they will be ok to drive. The people I interviewed had some sort of emotional driving force that allowed them to recognize the need exists. Some people would see this product as an inconvenience, especially after they have been drinking.

I asked the people I interviewed what they did when they had been drinking and had to drive somewhere. One interviewee said that he ‘trusts his gut’ and judgement on whether he was ok to drive, and the other interviewees gave similar answers.

Conclusion

I think that many people in this segment are in denial that this need exists, therefore making the need awareness very low. Many people just said that they Uber or Lyft, however there are circumstances in which they get behind the wheel drunk. No one wants to admit that they drive under the influence, and I think this attitude will be the challenge in trying to create a needs awareness and a market for my product.