Create a Customer Avatar

 

Image pulled from this link.

 

Image pulled from this link.

My "customer avatar" would qualify as an undergraduate student that is in-between the ages of 18 to 21 or 22 years old that has lost a ticket to a university sporting event like football, basketball, baseball, and other sports. As I am also a student that enjoys attending sporting events like football and basketball, I have also lost one of my tickets after claiming it from the Gators Student Ticketing Office on campus. We have all gone through the same process with trying to see if the ticketing office was able to print it off again, but have been stuck with the other solutions like buying a new ticket through the office or through the Facebook group for selling and buying tickets for sporting events.

My "customer avatar" can be considered very diverse with the different amount of people that attend football games. However, I believe roughly 60-70% of them are invested into some health and fitness routine or program as that is becoming a growing hobby among the younger generation that attend university. I would consider only a few of them are married, mainly the upper portion of my audience, and slim chance of any of the customer audience having children at this point in their lives. When it comes to the male demographic of my avatar, I believe that they are sport fanatics and are well-versed in different sports from the university like baseball and basketball. They are also likely to invested into the sports atmosphere in general involving different schools around the country. As for the female demographic, I believe they attend sporting events in support of the university and as social events with their friends and family at university. I believe that a few that are invested into sports outside what is offered by the university.

Another characteristic that my customer avatar possibly have is that they are stressed and busy college students that are faced with the challenge of living their lives, attending classes and preparing themselves for a future after college. This can lead into them being forgetful and/or have the tendency to misplace items like football or basketball tickets.

I think when it comes to political stance in government, I think with them being college students they generally lean more liberal than they do conservative. A lot of young adults that attend university tend to lean towards the democratic party and recognize who they are interested in voting for and who they aren't. I believe that there is a minority of conservative supporters that fall within the target audience, but the overwhelming majority is on the left side of the political spectrum.

As for me, I have a lot in common with my customer avatar because I am a 22-year-old student that enjoys attending sporting events like football and basketball. I have also lost a ticket prior to a game like they have and went through the recovery process. As for political spectrum, I am middle-of-the-road when it comes to it, but I tend to lean to the left of the spectrum. I don't think it is a coincidence that I have a lot of similarities with my customer avatar. I just think it's a common scenario for a lot of people to fall into it.

Elevator Pitch No. 2

Elevator Pitch No. 2

The feedback I got from my previous elevator pitch harped on improving how I worded my skills and accomplishments in the middle of my pitch. After going back and watching my old pitch, I agreed with them and the parts didn't seem to flow very well together. To improve it, I switched around the order in which I said things in my second elevator pitch and just reduced the overall wordiness of the sections to improve the flow of the speech. I think my second elevator pitch flows a lot better in comparison to my old pitch. I am also no longer congested from being sick so it sounds much better than the first one did.

What's your Secret Sauce?

My Unique Human Capital

1. Adaptability - I am good at adapting in any situation that is presented to me. If a problem or hindrance pops up that forces me to change how I do things, I can quickly adapt to the problem and figure out a workaround to it without delay. This allows me to work in fast-paced environments that require a lot of moving parts and for the person to be able to change on the fly without much notice.

2. Determination - When I aim to accomplish an objective or task that is presented to me, I put my all in for it to accomplish the task. This allows me to stand out from others by showing that I am committed to what I am doing and aiming to get it done efficiently, but also correctly.

3. Perfectionist - When it comes to tasks, objectives, or anything that I am working on, I go above and beyond to make sure that it is able to compete with others around me. I strive to be the best out of everyone else, and I continuously aim to fully utilize the potential that I have when working on a project.

4. Dependability - When others are counting on me, I make sure to work for them like I am working for myself in the professional world. I want others to view me how I want to view myself in the world. I will make sacrifices for others that I am working with to meet a deadline or that a project is above normal standards when it is due. I work with others better than most can as I don't want to be seen as the weak link of the team.

5. Humble - I always tell myself that I need to stay grounded in the world because I am no better than anyone else in the world. However, by telling myself that I'm not better than this person or that person, it pushes me to try to be better than them. I don't see myself on top of the world and continuously try to improve myself, but others around me so they can grow alongside me.


The Interviews

Interview with my one of my best friends, Alex.

Alex spoke about how I am one of the nicest people he's ever met, a hard-worker, and outgoing but also quiet too. He also talked about my technological skills with computers and how I am crafty and artistic when accomplishing tasks.

Interview with another one of my best friends, Nathan.

Nathan mentioned that I am hard-worker with the drive to do things. He also mentioned that I am one of the smarter people in our group of friends and acts as a ringleader for our group of friends and dispels confusion in it. He also mentioned that I am helpful towards others and I am always giving 100% in any task.

Interview with another one of my best friends, Coal.

Coal said that I was the most-welcoming person of our group of friends and made sure to include him (Coal) in our activities. Coal also said that I have the motivational skills to be a leader and the dedication to getting tasks done.

Interview with my father, David.

My dad said I'm a determined and focused person, but I am also willing to listen to others and hear their side to a situation. He also talked about how discipline I am and was able to make the right decisions to benefit me. My dad also mentioned that I am even-tempered and have the ability to remain calm in situations. He also said that I am able to see how things really are and not show animosity towards others in situations.

Interview with my mother, Kim.

My mom mentioned that she saw in me is that I am an even-tempered person and didn't allow things to affect me in stressful situations. She also said I am cooperative with others when asked to do things as long as they were in-line with my beliefs. She said I am a team-player as well through my experience with football and soccer. She also mentioned that I am inquisitive and I wanted to know how everything worked to understand how the situation like when I had my shoulder surgery. 

Reflection

When comparing a lot of the characteristics that I used to describe myself and what others had to say about me, I see a lot of similarities from what people said with how I described myself, but also some differences. A lot of people mentioned that I am determined with everything that I do and that I work hard to make sure it is the best that it can be. Some also said that I can be relied upon by others showing my dependability when working together in a team. When I go back and listen to what the interviewees had to say about me, I can recognize almost everything they say applies to me as a person or what my human capital is. I think they were correct with how they thought of me along with how I thought of myself in the world. 

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

 The Interviews

The segment that I chose for assignment 12A was students that are current season ticket holders that have either lost their ticket or a guest they have purchased prior to a football game. With each interview lasting around 10 to 12 minutes for each interviewee, I was able to find out more information about how they choose from the alternatives that I proposed to them during the process. Since the opportunity that I presented in previous assignments is limited to certain alternatives, the information I got from them was similar to what others have said in past interviews.

The Alternative Evaluation

Before the interview process, I create a small list of alternatives and proposed it to the three interviewees to figure out which one they preferred regarding their unmet need.

1. A would-be system in the ticketing office software that can track lost or stolen tickets and be reprinted for the purchaser.

2. Hoping to find your ticket after you have lost your ticket.

3. Buying another ticket through the ticketing office or a Facebook group

4. Not attending the game.

The last three alternatives were proposed to them before I asked them about the first alternative to get results on both sets of alternatives. Without the first alternative, two of the three people stated that they usually stick with the third and fourth alternative when it comes solving the issue of losing their ticket(s). The third participant mentioned that he went to look for his lost ticket from the first game of the season this year. He was able to find it after he retraced his steps from throughout the day after he picked up his ticket from the ticketing office. However, I proposed the first alternative to the participants and they all were in agreement that if this alternative did exist now, they would've chosen this one as the first step to figure out their problem.

How/Where do they buy?

When I asked them about how they go about purchasing a new ticket after losing their previous one, they usually use their credit card if they go through the ticketing office, but cash when they purchase through the Facebook group because you have to pick it up with the seller to get the ticket. One of the participants mentioned that she has used Venmo once because she didn't have cash on her at the time, but usually pays with cash. All of them mentioned cash is easiest way to go about purchasing tickets because you have to pick it up at the same time.

Post-Purchase Evaluation

When I asked them about the post-purchase experience, they usually are happy with having a ticket for the game instead of not having one after losing their ticket. One of the participants mentioned that they have got a seat that wasn't as good as his previous seats so he was upset about that, but he was just happy that he had a ticket for the game instead of not having one. The participants did express negative feelings when I asked them about the potential system in place to find lost tickets because they wish it existed now so they didn't have to buy tickets again after they have lost their previous ones.

Conclusions

After interviewing the participants and running through the alternatives that I proposed to them, it's similar to my previous interviews with the consumer audience that this opportunity is geared towards. This opportunity is specific and niche to the consumer audience that it starts becoming mundane when interviewing more people because of the limitation of what the opportunity is. I still believe the opportunity still exists for the consumer audience, but I think it is simply just limited to that. I don't believe is there some form of expansion outside what the opportunity intends to do with the original unmet need.

Halfway Reflection

1. I do believe tenaciousness is a competency to possess as an entrepreneur. I think the biggest contributor that allows me to keep up with the requirements of this class was by opting-in into the Gator Squad for the class. By doing this, it pushed me to compare how well my work is to others that are within my group and 'competing' with them to do a better job with it. Along with that, I tend to work ahead with the assignments and critiquing and correcting them extensively throughout the week they are due.


2. Tenaciousness is also about attitude. When I hit the point where we had to start conducting extensive interviews with random people that fall within our consumer audience for our past assignments to figure out their thoughts, behaviors, ideas, and opinions about the unmet need and potential solution. I'm not a person that is open to randomly interacting with people without having some prior interaction before. However, what pulled me through is my prior experience from old mentors that preached about "be comfortable with being uncomfortable" which helped me with taking care of what I needed to get done for this class. I believed I have developed a tenacious attitude from the past two months in this class. It has fostered the mindset of showing determination in the ideas you are passionate about bringing to the world. I think the experiences that have developed this is the assignments that move through the levels of the unmet need/opportunity we have identified in our past posts that have allowed us to develop a connection with them.


3. As for three tips that I offer for next semester's students:

• Express determination in this class. The skills and knowledge that you gain from this class will help you in the future with whatever your end goal is in life.

• Dedicate time to this class. Don't do the work from this class with a lazy mindset, it shows in the assignments that you post and people will be able to see how much of 'tenacity' you have for it. 
• Compete with yourself and others. In life, we compare ourselves to others and you should do the same with others in this class. Try to beat yourself when working in this class.

Reading Reflection No. 1

 The Wright Brothers by David McCullough

You read about an entrepreneur:

• What surprised you the most?
• The most surprising thing about the Wright brothers when they were starting off their aviation dream was that the "trigger event" or event that kicked off their dream was the death of Otto Lilienthal during a flight in 1896 on his "No. 11" glider after falling from an altitude of 50 feet. 
• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?
• I think the most admirable thing about the Wright brothers was that they tried to sell their invention to the United States military. However, the U.S. War Department didn't even respond to the letter sent by the brothers. They eventually decided to sell it to France where they declared them heroes for their inventions.
• What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?
•  The least admirable thing about the Wright brothers was how they treated Octave Chanute as Chanute felt that the knowledge of aviation should be shared with the world freely while the Wright brothers were more interested in monetizing their glider invention. The Wright brothers also "bad mouthed" Chanute in public speeches that made it seem like Chanute was trying to capitalize off the Wright brother's success. However, the Wright brothers were the first to contact Chanute about aviation information.
• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?
•  Wilbur Wright was struck in the mouth by a hockey stick right before he left for university that knocked out the majority of his front teeth. He became a recluse afterward, giving up attending university, and taking care of his terminally ill mother. However, Orville and Wilbur eventually built a printing press that led to them opening up their own printing shop.

What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?

• The Wright brothers were extremely bright entrepreneurs in the birthing stage of flying machines. Both of the brothers were inspirations for each other and the biggest competency they possessed was the fact that they were both tenacious in reaching their goal of creating the first fully-functional manned flying machine in a time that was thought impossible.

Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

• The most confusing part of the reading was the fact that the United States decided to ignore the invention by the Wright brothers, allowing the opportunity for them to sell it to France and become heroes to them. I thought it was strange to see that the U.S. War Department had no interest in it since U.S. is known for having an exceptional military.

If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

• Did either of you have any regrets with what happened after the success of your flying machines that led to your fame around the world?
• How did y'all envision the future of the aviation industry after accomplishing what you did in the early 20th century?

For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

• I think the Wright brother's opinion of hard work is like I said in a previous question which is tenacity. I think they believed in being dedicated with their dreams in the aviation industry which allowed them to achieve what they did before others were able to do.

Figuring Out Buying Behavior No. 1

The Segment: 

The segment I selected for the interviews was students that were season-ticket holders that have either lost their own ticket or lost a guest ticket they have purchased.

The Interviewees: 

Matt, a 19-year-old Journalism major that I met through a previous writing class.

Larissa, a 21-year-old pre-occupational major that I work with at the performing arts center at the university.

Jonah, a 22-year-old political science major that I met through my foreign language class for my major.

The Need Awareness:

It was easy to find people that I could potentially interview with the number of students on campus that have season tickets for the football games. However, it was a little difficult to find those that have either lost their own ticket or a guest ticket prior to a football game. Luckily, I was able to find them through my contact list from previous classes that I had in the past.

All three of the interviewees mentioned that they have this unmet need because they have all lost a ticket at least once whether it was one of theirs or a guest ticket they purchased during the week. Matt actually lost his Florida-Georgia ticket he purchased two weeks before the game and had to repurchase a ticket for the game because of the ticketing office inability to track it. The interviewees stated that the only time where the unmet need applies is during the season and after they have picked up their tickets the week before the game. Usually, they experience it when they are on campus as that is where they all lost their tickets in the past. They mentioned that sometimes don't store them properly and they either fall out of their pocket or left on a table and are usually gone when they try to go back for them.

The Information Search:

When I asked them what they usually do right after they lose their ticket, they try to retrace their steps on where they have been between when they picked up their ticket and when they lost it. After that, they either try to go online to the ticketing office website or call them to ask them what can they do since they lost their ticket. Larissa lost a ticket on campus with her friends and asked them if they could help her find it. The interviewees usually end up either buying a new ticket online through the ticketing office on Friday or through a Facebook group dedicated to selling claimed and unclaimed tickets.

The Findings and Conclusion:

Compared to my past interviews about this topic, they were pretty similar to other students that have lost a ticket in the past. A lot of the information was similar to other students in what they do when they lose a ticket. They recognize that this need really needs to be addressed by the ticketing office because they don't think it's "fair" that the only solution they have available to them is to buy another ticket or not attend the game. The solution I proposed to them received positive feedback from all the interviewees and wish it was in place for the future.

Idea Napkin No. 1

1. Who am I? My name is Sean Pruitt, and I am a senior advertising student at the University of Florida. I have worked in the customer service industry since high school and have experience in ticketing software from working at the performing arts centers. I also have experience in digital design software like Photoshop, InDesign, After Effects, and Premiere Pro.

As for aspirations in life, I plan to join the Air Force as a Public Affairs Officer after graduation. I'm also looking into working as a freelance graphic artist/editor as another form of income post-graduation. It is important to me to maintain the skills that I have learned through my major so I can stay competitive in the market.

I have experience of working with ticketing software from working at the performing arts center and what to expect when it comes to working with customers of the performing arts center. The service I proposed was for the Gator Student Ticketing Office to implement a feature in their software that can help track lost or stolen football tickets during the season.

2. What: The service that I am proposing is a new feature for the ticketing software that exists for the ticket office at the football stadium. The feature would involve scanning the tickets into the student's account upon picking them up with their accompanying student ID card. Once the tickets have been scanned by the employees at the office, the tickets would be "linked" to the ID card where they could be tracked if they are lost or stolen while on campus.

3. Who: The primary demographic of this service would be students that either has season tickets for the football season or students that regularly attend football games. Not only are these students buying for themselves, but they are also guest ticket purchasers as well. The most important characteristic the demographics have is that they have lost a ticket in the past or have concerns about losing a ticket in the future. They also want to avoid having to repurchase a ticket if they were to lose their already claimed ticket.

4. Why: The service is valuable to the consumer because they will be able to retrieve a lost or stolen ticket without having to repurchase another ticket for the football game. They will save money because they won't have to purchase another ticket that will probably not be near their friends or family. Not only will the students benefit, but guests that are coming with the student will avoid being out-of-luck if they were to lose their ticket because they would have to purchase another one too.

5. Core competencies: I believe what sets this service apart from others is that the service for the ticketing office doesn't exist yet. The only option that exists for students that have tickets lost or stolen in the past and had to repurchase them through the ticketing office. The ticketing office lacks the feature in their software to be able to provide this service and the unmet need exists for many students that attend football games throughout the season.

I believe the core competencies fit together fairly well when it comes to this concept. There is an unmet need that requires a service to fix it for the ticketing office. The solution I am proposing is able to easily solve the issue many students and guests have when dealing with the ticketing office for football games during the season. However, I think the biggest issue with the service concept is that I don't have to skillset to develop the actual software feature that could solve the unmet need and if it will be worth it for the ticketing office to retrain staff and procedure changes when handing out tickets. Not only that, but it could be an expensive task that doesn't see any monetary return towards the ticketing office at the football stadium.