What's Next?
Current Market
My product currently appeals to low-income Americans, specifically those who live in densely populated urban and suburban areas. People who live in dorms or apartments are also included in this grouping.
I have interviewed two students from Florida and one students from Queens, New York. It is important to note that New York is a hotspot for bed bugs. This is true for both “cheap” and “nice” apartments.
The girl from New York has never encountered bed bugs; however, she has known multiple who have. She even placed a bed bug cover over her mattress. These covers are meant to give bed bugs fewer spaces to hide on your mattress. She also regularly checked for these bugs. Overall, it is apparent that New Yorkers are very aware of bed bugs and are constantly checking for their presence. New Yorkers and people who live in cities are more likely to buy products related to pest monitoring because they are more aware of these pests’ prevalence. The two students from Florida who I interviewed have never seen a bed bug or encountered an infestation. These two students were from small towns in the panhandle.
New Market
I have briefly mentioned this before; however, my new market would be hotel managers or cleaners. Hotels can be sued over bed bug bites and spend a large sum of money to prevent bed bug infestations.
I do not know many people who work in hotels; however, I have a friend who works as a customer service representative for a hotel in Orlando. I called her and asked if I could interview her, as well as two co-workers. She accepted.
I talked to the three women at once over a Skype call. I asked them about this idea. They said that Orlando hotels in certain pest control products, such as bed bug mattress covers. They are also told to check for certain insect pests. They weren’t allowed to tell me any other details. They said the product was an okay idea. They didn’t know much about which pest monitoring products were preferred. They also weren’t sure if a visible bed bug trap would be good for business.
To make this product appeal to this market, I would have to make the trap discreet. People staying at the hotel should not be able to know there are bed bug monitors in their room. I may also have to make the product smaller, but equally as effective.
My product currently appeals to low-income Americans, specifically those who live in densely populated urban and suburban areas. People who live in dorms or apartments are also included in this grouping.
I have interviewed two students from Florida and one students from Queens, New York. It is important to note that New York is a hotspot for bed bugs. This is true for both “cheap” and “nice” apartments.
The girl from New York has never encountered bed bugs; however, she has known multiple who have. She even placed a bed bug cover over her mattress. These covers are meant to give bed bugs fewer spaces to hide on your mattress. She also regularly checked for these bugs. Overall, it is apparent that New Yorkers are very aware of bed bugs and are constantly checking for their presence. New Yorkers and people who live in cities are more likely to buy products related to pest monitoring because they are more aware of these pests’ prevalence. The two students from Florida who I interviewed have never seen a bed bug or encountered an infestation. These two students were from small towns in the panhandle.
New Market
I have briefly mentioned this before; however, my new market would be hotel managers or cleaners. Hotels can be sued over bed bug bites and spend a large sum of money to prevent bed bug infestations.
I do not know many people who work in hotels; however, I have a friend who works as a customer service representative for a hotel in Orlando. I called her and asked if I could interview her, as well as two co-workers. She accepted.
I talked to the three women at once over a Skype call. I asked them about this idea. They said that Orlando hotels in certain pest control products, such as bed bug mattress covers. They are also told to check for certain insect pests. They weren’t allowed to tell me any other details. They said the product was an okay idea. They didn’t know much about which pest monitoring products were preferred. They also weren’t sure if a visible bed bug trap would be good for business.
To make this product appeal to this market, I would have to make the trap discreet. People staying at the hotel should not be able to know there are bed bug monitors in their room. I may also have to make the product smaller, but equally as effective.
Hey Ashley,
ReplyDeleteI did not know that the bed bugs in New York were such a issue compared to other cities. I think it would be a good idea to try to target hotels as a new a market because there are a lot of customers in this market and I think it will benefit them too. Personally, I never saw a bed bug, but I would like the reassurance of knowing that there are none in my hotel room.
I've never encountered bed bugs myself, but I can imagine finding them, or the feeling that I might find them would be a pretty big turn-off when it comes to staying at a hotel. Even if they're protected, hotel guests would probably rather not see the bed bug traps which means your product would have to be more discreet (like you said) if it has to be placed somewhere that's not so hidden. However if this can be fixed by the hotel placing the traps in places the guests won't see them then there may not be a problem.
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