25A- What's Next?

Existing Market

I think that I could offer more services than just a traditional scooter repair that occurs when something goes wrong. I think I could provide continuous maintenance by offering "memberships" of some sort that offers customers frequent checkups, preventative maintenance, cleaning, etc. This would be an opportunity that isn't currently available in Gainesville and would appeal to those who do not understand how to take care of their scooter.

Current customers in my market say that they are content, for the most part, with how scooter repairs are currently done and also with my new innovative ideas for onsite repairs and memberships that offer preventative maintenance. These customers emphasized improving my current processes rather than offering totally new ones. They said that if I could offer quality service that is affordable and convenient, I would win their business. They focused more on the fact that current providers of scooter repair take a long time, are expensive, and are time consuming. According to my current market, I should focus on these things. They were open to the preventative maintenance service though (assuming I could prove that a scooter needed continuous maintenance).

Based upon my consumers and my own ideas, I should work on perfecting my current idea. I need to appeal to consumers by offering a service that they can afford and also one that won't require much of their time. This comes down to minimizing costs and offering great customer service. These two objectives are somewhat difficult to do at the same time, but if I can do so, I will have a great advantage in the market. 

I would need to start small and hire labor that isn't expensive. My rent would also need to be cheap. My employees would need to be customer oriented. I would need to decrease the amount of time I spend working on scooters and also would need to repair scooters onsite, sooner than the competitors. 

New Market

I think that the next step, after increasing market share in Gainesville, is to extend to other college campuses. The needs and wants that students have at the University of Florida are probably the same of those at other campuses. While the amount of scooters purchased and the size of the school may differ, it is safe to say that anyone who need a scooter repair will want a convenient one that saves them time and energy.

These new customers would experience the same benefits my current ones do. They'd be pleased by a repair service that is convenient and affordable. If I were to pursue a more affluent market, I could possibly raise prices or offer more memberships. Everyone who owns a scooter needs repairs to be done, but my service would make it more convenient than other services could. 

The customers I spoke to on another college campus in Florida said they like the idea of having a convenient and cost sensitive repair. They spoke about how much trouble they had getting to class or work while their scooters were in repair. My onsite repair would decrease this amount of time that a customer spends without their transportation. They emphasized that if I can also make it affordable, I would beat the current providers because they are apparently overpriced.  

I learned that my new market has the same wants and needs as my current one. They want an affordable repair that isn't time or energy consuming. My assumptions were correct and these new customer seem similar to my current ones. I was surprised to hear that all of the current providers were overpriced. I figured someone would come in and offer lower prices if that were the case. This is somewhat of a red flag for me in this new market. Maybe it's got barriers to entry that I do not know of. 

This new market is attractive but it is more risky. I'm worried that there is a reason for why  new businesses haven't come in to offer lower prices to win over customers. Maybe there is something I don't know. It is attractive in that I would be able to differentiate my business by offering both convenience and affordable service though.