Hero,
So in this exercise, I am delving into a conversation about the "80/20" rule. For anyone who doesn't know what that is, the 80/20 rule is a rule in business stating that, of your target market, 20% will provide you with the vast majority of sales and will make up your most dedicated customer group. In a startup, funds are very limited so using market techniques that actually reach that 20% will save startups from wasting money they can't afford to waste. To illustrate this principle, I've interviewed a Gainesville entrepreneur by the name of Sheldon. He founded his company Cocovana to sell his product, the Coconut Twist. In the following interview, he and I talk about how he targets his 20%.
Also, here's his answers to a few questions I forgot to ask in the interview:
- What are their customers' unmet needs?
- super portable compared to machete and unmet needs are having a tool to safely open coconuts
- Where do they find their customers?
- in health food stores, buying fresh coconuts
- generally Asian and Latino markets
- What are their customer's demographics?
- Latin and Asian groups because coconuts are a part of their culture
- large cities to target Asian and Latino communities
- What kinds of media do their customers consume?
- everyone is on facebook
- not too sure, need to put more effort into figuring this out
Secondly, I went to grocery stores (Wards and a local Asian market) to talk to his 20%. Unfortunately, I didn't actually find anyone buying fresh coconuts... Everyone I explained Sheldon's product to were interested and said it was a neat idea but they didn't feel the need to buy coconuts... So here are 2 sad videos of me talking to myself at different grocery stores.
Reflection: From my interview, I conclude that Sheldon definitely knows his customers problems. The need for a safe, portable coconut opener is the unmet need his company is solving. A difference I encountered may be in where his customers are located. I was at grocery stores for a total of an hour and a half trying to talk to someone buying fresh coconuts, and I couldn't find anyone. If his customers are in grocery stores, I couldn't find them. Maybe his market is so niche that his customers, and I'm talking about the target market, not even the 20%, are more geographically spread out and he's going to need to find some way of reaching them beyond being in stores. I think he'll be able to figure it out though.
That's all folks! Here's a picture of some coconuts:
Cassandra,
ReplyDeleteGood job on your post. That is definitely a strange niche market, and I only buy coconuts once in a blue moon. I can see why you didn't find a single person in his niche market. However, I'm sure in other parts of the world coconuts are eaten daily, so if he expands his business and gets his product to where its needed most I'm sure he could be very successful. Check out my blog post here: http://keifermcclainent3003.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-twenty-percent.html
Hey Cassandra,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed that you picked such a unique start-up company. It was really interesting to see such a focused niche market based company. I think the market for this product is really volatile, which might explain why it was so hard to find customers. This product relies solely on the success of coconuts which can vary based on whether and demand. Overall you did a good job!
If you have the time, you should check out my blog at
http://entoni3003.blogspot.com/
Cassandra, This is such a great post that shows the time and effort you put into this assignment. A hour and a half in the grocery store waiting for people to buy coconuts is a long time. I think that you are right in your assessment of the target customer perhaps not being primarily located in the grocery store. Perhaps in other parts of the world where coconuts are more of a commodity that his product is more successful in. P.S I love the link to the song you have at the top of your blog! Great song! Check out my blog here: http://buschuf.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteOk Cassandra, I did not do this assignment, so I arbitrarily chose your blog...and I am so glad I did. Rarely do you come across one that is so creative and interesting. I like how you put together this 80/20 rule assignment. Good idea to interview Sheldon, and I can definitely see how he would be frustrated with the holding-pattern to manufacture his product. I thought your questions, both oral and written were perfect. I do feel that his product involves "work" -- meaning that someone interested in drinking coconut water would likely (?) appreciate the convenience and efficiency of having it bottled. He's really got to work the angle of the freshness and nutrients one gets from using his product vs. the convenient approach. I envision it working very well in a tropical region...
ReplyDeleteVery interesting choice of entrepreneur. I think he is right that his market will be mostly asian and latino, I have visited a couple countries in Asia and they eat a whole lot more coconut than I have seen eaten in America or Europe. Once he gets it in production he should talk to asian grocery stores and see if they will put it up next to the coconuts and it'll probably sell pretty well. I did not do this assignment so unfortunately I cannot give you a link to mine.
ReplyDeleteHey Cassandra,
ReplyDeleteIt is so cool that you had the opportunity to interview Sheldon because when he taught us about doing an elevator pitch I was really interested in his business. Your interview with him and the three customers went really well. It looks like Sheldon knows what his target market and when his product is sold a lot of people will be interested. Unfortunately, I was not able to finish this assignment so I did not submit it but if you want to check out my blog here is the link:
http://andreacdona.blogspot.com/
Cassandra, first of all your blog is beautiful! I love the design of it and it is definitely one of the better layouts I have had the pleasure of viewing. Also I would like to congratulate you on these successful interviews. You chose a great person to interview (isn't he the guy who presented to our class about elevator pitches). I unfortuantley did not do this assignment but feel free to check out my half way reflection and I would love any advice you have for sprucing up my blog: http://entweekly.blogspot.com/2016/02/half-way-reflection.html
ReplyDeleteCassandra,
ReplyDeleteI really like how you found a current undergrad, UF entrepreneur for your discussion. I think it's important to realize that simply because we're undergrad (or, not explicitly ADULTS yet) we can still take our ideas to a market, and if possible, start a company. Besides his role in the community, he also had great presence and seemed very easy to talk to-- a surely important aspect to running a business.
Hey Cassandra,
ReplyDeleteI loved your choice in entrepreneur. After hearing Sheldon talk about Cocovana in class, I was very intrigued by it. However, I can completely understand having a hard time finding potential customers. I don't know that I have ever bought a coconut. So I can imagine that it is a limited market. You did a splendid job with the interview! Here is a link to my blog if you're interested:
http://ryangoodsonent3003.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-twenty-percent.html
Hello Cassandra, I think you did an excellent job choosing an entrepreneur and I can truly see how important it is to properly find a market. Sheldon seems to be passionate about what he does, and I wish him the most success.
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Deletehttp://ochoasteven2018.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-twenty-percent.html?showComment=1457657376363
DeleteYou did a great job on your post. With the little amount of people in the market for the product, you did a great job finding the right people to talk to about the product. With me never buying a coconut before, I don't know too much about the market structure. From what I see this could be a successful product. Great job!
ReplyDeleteGreat job with this post! By the way i also enjoy your blog format a lot as well, very appealing. I thought the questions you had to ask were very prevalent to the 80/20 rule and it seems like the person you decided to interview really had a good personal knowledge of the problem his product solves.
ReplyDeleteCheck me out
http://letmespeakwithmgmt.blogspot.com/