19A Idea Napkin No. 2

1) You. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are. Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life?

My name is Rachel McCarthy and I am a sophomore studying Business Information Systems. My talents are dancing and cheering. I have danced since I was 6 years old and cheered since I was in 5th grade. My skills and experiences are having great customer service and communication skills, as well as, being able to adapt thanks to my previous job, Chick-Fil-A. From others' perspectives, I am organized, ambitious, open-minded, honest, and focused. This business that I created would play a huge role in my life because it is something I deeply care about. I’ve always liked helping others feel good about themselves and this business will be a great way for me to do that.

2) What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs). 

I am offering individuals a product that helps styling be easier. For individuals, I am helping with their unmet need of needing guidance when getting ready. With this product, they will be able to style their selves with ease and be confident in the outfits that they wear. When first purchasing the product, consumers will upload pictures of their clothes and an image of their body into the SC app. Then daily, consumers will answer some questions to get outfits suggested to them on virtual images, so they’ll able to choose an outfit and wear it. Within the app, I was also thinking about including a section that will have daily fashion trends that are going on, so they can use that to find inspiration to guide their answers for their daily suggestions. 

3) Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. 

The demographics of my customers are individuals who are 17-25. This will include high school students, college students, and young adults. This group includes people who know they have trouble styling their selves and want a more organized approach. They are usually creative individuals with a good fashion sense and are very social people who go out a lot. My product will have a low-price range, so it will be more affordable for this group.

4) Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe its valuable to them. 

People will buy this product because people around these ages care more about their appearance. Businesses in this market don’t really advertise their products, so individuals will be ready to take advantage of my product once it’s out there. I think they will buy this product because they want to dress to impress, build their confidence, and be able to decrease the amount of time it takes to get ready.

5) What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has? 

There is only one competitor: Rabbit Tech Inc that also has the same app. There are also some styling websites like Dailylook and Stitch Fix. All these alternatives make people pay monthly subscriptions, which can be costly for the demographic I am targeting. Besides, I haven’t seen much advertising for these products. My product will be heavily marketed on social platforms, will be affordable, and will be personalized towards the consumer.

Also, as I mentioned before my product will be affordable for this target audience. The quality of the product will match the price and should not have consumers second-guessing their purchase. In the app, users will get instant feedback and suggestions based on their preferences. Users will also be able to have a free trial of the product before actually purchasing.   

After evaluating all these elements, I believe that they can all work together. However, my concept is weak compared to others. I haven’t started on the app yet or thought about the technical details of how the closet and app will interlink. I will have to look into some technology companies that deal with animations and ask for their input on how I could incorporate it into my app and make it user-friendly. I will eventually get it done, but my competitors have already established themselves. Also, I know the need is going to appeal to my demographic, however, I don’t know if they will actually buy it. I learned from previous interviews that this was a need, but some people from this demographic simply didn't care to buy a closet app to help them get ready. However, I’ll continue with this opportunity and help people be at ease when getting ready. I will make sure that SC includes aspects that attract my audience such as, affordability, quality, and specificity to the individual.

Feedback:

1. From the feedback, I received it was suggested that I incorporate high-level animation. I did plan to include this in my product through the virtual image that will be on the SC app. I will do my research to see how this animation will work in the app and find a tech company that can do it for me. Also, they mentioned that I should find a way for it to be user-friendly for individuals who are not so good at using technology.

2. Another point that came up was that if people didn’t need my product, should they buy it? I don’t think they should buy my product, because they are not in the target group I am looking for. However, they can be a good form of advertising because they can recommend my products to people who they know have this need. 

3. Lastly, I incorporated the feedback that I have received from other assignments, such as Buyer Behavior and My Secret Sauce. From buyer behavior, I incorporated the feedback I received from the interviews I conducted. I added instant feedback, suggestions based on your preferences, a free trial of the product, and an additional section featuring daily fashion trends. Also, I talked about some of my unique human capital in describing who I am. This feedback was very helpful from these assignments and allowed me to tweak some things in some sections of this assignment.