You
I am Caleb Dean and I am an aspiring entrepreneur with a strong work ethic and unrelenting desire for success. Some of my talents include the ability to read people, connect with people, and project a strong presence. I am currently a Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering student. My background in design and technology should allow me to help be a contributing part of the development of the technology, but not the sole designer. After a few public speaking events, I would say that I am a competent public speaker with concise yet informative points. The ability to understand the technological side of the product and communicate with others allows me to believe that my main role in my business is selling the product. I see myself as just a guiding force with the development of the technology. In my life the business would most likely consume most of my time until it became profitable to sell off. Then I would start again.
What are you offering to customers?
The product is a software that virtually maps clothes on a 3D figure of a person using a laptop or web camera. With the product there are accessory products such as; stands, mounts, cases, etc. Further, with the software upgrade, maintenance, and privacy protection services will be offered.
Who are you offering it to?
The following answer may appear slightly confusing. For my product there will be the users and the actual buyers. The users are online clothing shoppers. For the users a typical demographic would be male and females, ages 15-45, with any income, and access to the internet in a developed country. The buyers would be large businesses with online clothing stores. These fashion companies can include your every day relaxing clothes all the way up to designer clothing. Any clothing retailer would fit the possible demographic for buyers.
Why do they care?
The buyers care because it saves money and increases user satisfaction. User or online shoppers would be able to enjoy an interactive system to virtually try on clothes now. The time going to stores is saved, number of returned packages will decrease, and user satisfaction increases. As the user experience becomes more enjoyable, the user has a better post-purchase feeling which encourages them to return for more. In the long run companies buying the software will increase sales as more users comeback and the logistics nightmare of returns is all but ended.
What are your competencies?
This product is different from anything else on the market. Currently the mirror technology or projection technology still requires you to try physical clothes on in order to view how they look later. Further, any other comparable technology is not in a compact and affordable form for users yet. My technology would literally only require a one time picture from the comfort of your home computer.
Evaluation
I think for the most part all of these elements fit nicely together. The hardest thing to do is to distinguish that the users (online shoppers) have an unmet need when it comes to online shopping. This unmet need by the users translates into an unmet need for the buyers (online clothing companies). The buyers unmet need is that their customers are not satisfied, which can cause a loss in sales. Relating these two aspects is very important and showing that one causes the other is the key to selling the product to companies.
Caleb,
ReplyDeleteI would consider myself an online shopping addict and thus, would definitely benefit from your product. I frequently am required to ship back items because they don't fit as expected. I like that the online shopper is not required to buy the software because the cost would've outweighed the benefits in that case. I'm quite curious to read more about your idea and the logistics behind your execution of it. I encourage you to pursue this idea- there's definitely an unmet need for it!