2. I spoke with only people at one building. This time I picked people in my dorm area to branch out from the previous area. The students were by majority both first and second year students. I went to students and refrained from interviewing faculty staff members.
3. I specified my second set of questions to be based more on studying instead of general college experience/life in general. I did this to see if I could get a more specific opportunity I could handle with my own two hands instead of a large opportunity I would not be able to resolve on my own.
4. Videos are linked down below.
5. I still feel very uncomfortable going up to people and asking them for video-recorded interviews. If this was done through e-mail, it would be so much easier to do. I think I was less anxious and hesitant on asking people for interviews though, and I wasn't as nervous as I was in my first round of interviews. I think if I work on fine-tuning my questions just a little more, they can lead to me hearing interesting and more varied opinions.
6. Always say thank you instead of I'm sorry. This shows the person being interviewed that you appreciate their time and you're not seeing the overall experience as burdensome, so they in turn will treat the interview in a better light. Also, tell your interviewee that they are going to be recorded on video ahead of time. This prevents them from being nervous/startled when you pull out a camera and record the interview. Finally, give them space on how they want to look and where they want to be interviewed. Being recorded on video makes people more aware of their appearance and people generally want to look nice for the camera and be in a comfortable area.
Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZJvt-U4018
https://youtu.be/VoEha6qAvIY
https://youtu.be/7S2VskMBSQI
https://youtu.be/qUZRPKs32DA
https://youtu.be/AU5q6NsXrq8
Rosie,
ReplyDeleteI listened to your interviews and I have to commend you on being able to approach these unknown people and asking them for an interview. It takes great confidence and it was great.
I have been in sales as well as HR, so I have a couple of ideas that might help, not only the listener, but might be effective for you in future interviews or meetings.
I am not sure if you met these people and told them what you needed and then recorded them - but, one thing that might pull in the listener is to set the agenda. I am sure you did this when you discussed it with them prior to the interview, but we can't see that in the interview. But by setting the agenda, it helps all to understand what we are going to capture in this interview. In meetings it is important because it gives a target on where you are going, and what you will find when you get there. I read your post before listening to your videos, otherwise I might have had a tough time following where you were going. The other things would be to wrap up the interview and next steps. Whether it be that you will get back with them about your findings, or you appreciate their input because now you can do whatever you will do with that information. Does that make sense? It is really a follow through on an interview. It will be worth your while to learn this lesson well because in job interviews, you will find it valuable.
You did a great job in follow up questions, by the way. A couple of times I recognized your drilling down when the candidate answered a question to find out more of what he was feeling or saying. That's a great way to establish needs analysis.
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ReplyDeleteHi, Rosie. Great job at your customer interviews. It looks like your idea has some great potential. Your customer market is definitely accurate, since we all could use some help in this area. I commend you on approaching people you don't know. It is difficult, but will help you attain better results than if you were merely interviewing your friends. It was difficult to tell if you're coming across confidently, since the camera focus was on your customers. However, your speech was deliberate and focused, which shows that you are becoming more comfortable with your idea and the market.
ReplyDeleteRocio,
ReplyDeleteI am a little confused about what specifically your opportunity is. I think next time I would clarify your opportunity in the description. I think you did a great job interviewing people and having them elaborate on their answers. I understand that you are focusing on studying, but what is your end goal? I interviewed customers about late night food options in Gainesville, so you should check it out here: http://katieaustintx.blogspot.com/2016/02/interviewing-customers-no-2.html
Hello Rosie,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post, and think that your idea is an interesting one. I don’t personally have much experience with the problem that you’re trying to solve, if that problem is the one expressed in your Study Buddy pitch, but that just means that I’m not in your target demographic. I see that most of your interviewees used the library or public areas to study, but I didn’t see much in terms of the interviewees concerned about limited access to mobile charging stations. Perhaps you could ask questions that are more specific to figure out if the idea would call to the market size that you are looking for. If the purpose of this submission was to get more ideas, in case you want something even more marketable, however, than what you are doing right now is good!
I linked my blog below, if you would like to take a look at it!
http://entrepreneurship3003blog.blogspot.com
Hey. Good job getting your interviews! Even after reading your blog and watching the interviews, I am not sure exactly what opportunity you are trying to take advantage of. As such, I do not know how best to advise you to move forward or what you could really do better at in order to achieve your idea. You can check my blog out at http://entreprenuerintraining.blogspot.com.
ReplyDeleteRosie-
ReplyDeleteI totally understand your shyness at walking up to random people and asking them questions! I liked the advice you had to give, too. I am still kind of confused at what you were trying to fix or improve.
I think places to study, like Beaty Commons, would be beneficial to other students. Good Luck!
I did not write my own post to this, but you can check out my first one: http://kwallaceent.blogspot.com/2016/01/customer-interviews-no-1.html
Thanks! Katherine Wallace