1) The segment I will be discussing is environmental laboratory chemists who are married and have a family.
2) The three people I have chosen to interview are married environmental lab chemists who are currently working as this position. This segment of people has the unmet need I have identified in earlier exercises. They sometimes have a hard time providing for their families when the certifications come into question and seeing them their families, as well.
3) Their unmet need is salient in the laboratories, since this is where the certifications under the federal government usually take place and their need awareness is heightened to the fullest potential. Their normal productive working schedule is impeded by being required to take these expensive and time-consuming certifications in order to keep their licenses. Typically, they experience this unmet need when they are asked to stop working on their laboratory duties and take these certifications. All of my interviewees found it very frustrating when the certifications take precedent over their lab responsibilities. In terms of the interviewees’ personal actions, the first thing they do to find a solution is talk to someone higher in charge and power. They each said that they try to talk to the CEO or president of the company to minimize the stress that the unmet need causes and address it directly. Thus, it intrudes on their work life, as well as their personal life outside of work.
4) If not successful, they take it to online information searching to see if they can find a solution there. Some of the search terms they use are “federal certifications,” “stress of environmental lab chemists”, “do without license certifications” etc. They look for sources that describe in detail the effects of the federal certification exams and how they are frivolous and cost the company and employees big bucks to take. Each of the interviewees mentioned that they do talk to friends and family about their unmet need. They complain to their family, on a daily basis, about the stresses that the government imposes on them when they are required to take these certifications.
5) I have learned that this unmet need is an issue that these chemists have to deal with constantly. The unmet need is also very frustrating when so much time and money are put into these exams. The chemists are extremely annoyed with the certifications that they are required to take. They all wish these exams did not exist in their field of work and all other fields of work. Sometimes, it is hard to balance work and family together.
6) This segment is succinct in terms of need awareness and information research. The segment is apparent in both of these parts. It is evident that the need awareness and information are representative of the unmet that this segment has. Their awareness is highly prevalent in the workforce. Also, they are active information searchers in terms of finding a solution to their unmet need to reduce the number of federal certifications.
Hey Brent,
ReplyDeleteVery thorough interviews. I'm curious why you chose married workers for your segment? Was it to emphasize the effect these certifications are having on the workers' ability to provide for their families? Not to say it was a bad choice, I'm sure it's indicative of the troubles all lab workers are experiencing with these regulations. Also, the fact that they go to the CEO may say something. Do you market your idea to the workers, or to the CEO? Obviously the CEO would have to approve, but would they know the problem exists if the workers didn't complain to them?
Hi Brent, thanks for sharing the post. Was there a variance in the need between chemists with families vs. a potentially single individual at the start of their career? I am assuming it may be because of the time commitment but don't know enough about the industry so was interested in that. I can certainly share that working in a highly regulated industry makes this need apparent and can understand why you have the solution proposed.
ReplyDeleteWhat's up Brend, great work listing your segment, conducting your 3 segmented interviews, and listing the results. I am curious as to how you found your interviewees. Was it through family friends? That might explain their marital status. I am also curious as to why you decided to create your segment based on said marital status. Great work on the assignment!
ReplyDeleteHello Brent,
ReplyDeleteNice work on this assignment, as I really enjoyed reading it. I does look like you were able to understand your interview results as you were able to analyze the data correctly and use it to your advantage to improve your opportunity. My question would be, what questions were asked in the interview to yield good answers? Again, keep up the good work!
Hey Brent,
ReplyDeleteGreat job on your assignment. I will be honest, at first I did not understand your opportunity very well, but this blog post has certainly fleshed it out and made it very digestible. I think your strongest point was explaining the need awareness and focusing on their personal actions. Unfortunately, speaking to higher-ups at large companies doesn't always work or isn't always achievable, so I think that may introduce some difficulty for your customer base. Because this is an unmet need chemists deal with "constantly", I think it means it may be a large opportunity. The fact that they are searching for solutions (even using Google as you mentioned) shows there is an interested segment in the market. Great job!