Assignment 4A- Forming an Opportunity Belief

Assignment 4A- Forming an Opportunity Belief

Our global economic market contains many holes. When entrepreneurs find these holes, they create an item to satisfy the unlimited demands of the consumer market. I believe that a hole exists in the market for alcoholic beverages. An opportunity to create an adult beverage that hydrates you, like many sports drinks, has yet to exist.

            I have a feeling that the market for alcoholic beverages is missing a beverage that hydrates the consumer with they drink, helping prevent hangovers from occurring during the following day. Two market groups that have a need for such an item are college students and adults who consume alcoholic beverages. Often college students have early classes but still choose to go out and drink the night before. The same problem occurs with adults who have to work the morning after a long night of drinking. I believe that a need for such a product has always existed and am surprised that no adult beverage companies have successfully created and marketed a product to satisfy this need.

Currently, students and adults who drink alcohol tend to drink water before bed to prevent hangovers. Additionally, buses that pump an IV full of electrolytes into your body exist, but are a very expensive option. I do not like certainty and believe that no idea can be 100% successful, but I do believe that there is a 90% chance that this opportunity exists.

I believe that the prototypical customer for the product that I wish to introduce would be college students and working adults.

1.     Interview One: Eric John- Male College Student

Interviewer: Have you over woke up in the morning after a night of drinking with a hangover?

John: Yes, more than once.

Interviewer: Has a hangover ever effected your day?

John: One morning I woke up with a very bad hangover after a night of drinking which resulted in me missing class the next day.

Interviewer: Have you ever heard of a product that hydrates you while you drink alcohol?

John: No, I never have but that sounds like a good idea.

Interviewer: Do you believe that if such a product existed, it would be beneficial to college students.

John: Yes, it would definitely be beneficial because students would wake up with less of a hangover and students would be much more productive the next day.

Interviewer: When do you believe a need for such a product arose?

John: Probably since mass consumption of alcohol became commercialized.

Interviewer: What are you currently doing to prevent hangovers and how effective is this method?

John: I am currently doing nothing to prevent hangovers and it is very effective in giving me hangovers.

Interviewer: How likely would it be for you personally to buy this product?

John: Depends on the price. If it tastes good and it is not too expensive, I would definitely buy this product.

2.     Interview Two: Camille Goldberg- Female College Student

Interviewer: Have you over woke up in the morning after a night of drinking with a hangover?

Goldberg: I have.

Interviewer: Please describe that morning to me in vivid detail?

Goldberg: I woke up at like one P.M. and stayed in bed for the rest of the day. I didn’t accomplish anything productive because my head hurt too much.

Interviewer: Have you ever heard of a product that hydrates you while you drink alcohol?

Goldberg: No, I don’t think that exists.

Interviewer: What are you currently doing to prevent hangovers and how effective is this method?

Goldberg: If I know I’m going out, I will drink a lot of water throughout the day but it normally doesn’t do anything.

Interviewer: Do you believe that if a product that helped prevent hangovers while simultaneously getting you drunk existed, college students would benefit and buy such a product?

Goldberg: Yes, depending on the price. College kids would buy this product so they wouldn’t experience the side effects of hangovers.

Interviewer: How likely would it be for you personally to buy this product?

Goldberg: I would definitely buy this product. It would make drinking more fun because I wouldn’t have to think about feeling sick the next morning.

3.     Interview Three- Eugene Lopatukhin- 51-Year-old Working Man

Interviewer: Have you over woken up in the morning after a night of drinking with a hangover?

Lopatukhin: Yes.

Interviewer: Please describe that day in vivid detail.

Lopatukhin: I had a pounding headache and could not function. I wish that I did not drink the night before and I just wanted to stay in bed all day.

Interviewer: Have you ever heard of a product that hydrates you while you drink alcohol?

Lopatukhin: Yes, I have but I do not remember what it was called and have never tried it.

Interviewer: What are you currently doing to prevent hangovers and how effective is this method?

Lopatukhin: I don’t binge drink and it is very effective.

Interviewer: If such a product existed, how likely would you be to buy it?

Lopatukhin: Not very likely because I am a mature person and do not drink in excess, therefore I rarely get hangovers.

Interviewer: Do you believe that other people your age would buy such a product.

Lopatukhin: No, I do not believe so because most people my age do not drink to the point of hangovers, but I do believe that college students would buy this product.

            Reflection:

The three interviews that I conducted confirmed my belief that there is a need for an alcoholic beverage that has added ingredients for hydration. Based on the answers that I received from the first two interviews, I believe that many college students would buy my product if it existed and was well marketed. My initial claim that working adults would also benefit from such a product was rejected by my interviewee. Additionally, I was surprised to hear that the adult that I interviewed had heard of such a product before. His response leads me to believe that even if an existing product exists, my product can still succeed. I assume that whatever similar product exists was not marketed in the appropriate way. In conclusion, the opportunity that I identified seems to exist based on the interviewees responses. I confirmed my belief that people are unproductive when they are hungover and that no well-known product exists to satisfy the need to prevent hangovers before they occur.

Summary:

I still believe that my original opportunity still exists and am very satisfied with the answers that I received while conducting the interviews.  I believe that I would definitely need to use a larger sample size to gather what I deem is a sufficient number of responses before I went through with creating my product. A larger sample size for interviews would help me create an accurate and effective marketing campaign for the product. My idea for a product did not change after conducting the interviews. I now believe that my idea would have more success and draw larger revenue when advertised and targeted at college students versus my initial claim that a large market also exists for adults. I believe that if large scale interviews are conducted and the interviewees identify a different need than what the entrepreneur had originally anticipated, it would be wise for the entrepreneur to adapt their product based to satisfy the consumers’ needs. Customer feedback is essential in the early stages of product design and marketing.