25 A

Step 1: I believe that the next step for my company is to expand more into the dog toy industry. I will use the special rubber I have access to in order to create better versions of dog toys that are currently popular. I will also try to make the application I have for the toy to be easier to access. There are still some bugs that need to be fixed that I currently cannot afford to correct.  I will also attempt to make all future products inexpensive.

Step 3: After talking to customers, I found that they like the fact that I will attempt to keep my products cheap. One mother said that one of the reasons she likes my product over other random dog toys and cameras is the price difference. She said it would cost her double to buy the dog toy for her dog and a camera for home security if she was looking at the low end of both items. She enjoyed the high quality that she got from my product for the low price of 19.99. I will listen to what she said and continue to provide the same quality for an affordable price. She was happy to hear that one of my goals was to continue making affordable products.

            Another individual I interviewed brought up the idea of increasing my marketing efforts. If I am selling a product that does not have the highest margins, then I should try my best to sell the item to as many people as possible. He brought up the idea that if people have never heard of my product before, then they will likely not leave their home or go on their computer to purchase it. This suggestion makes total sense. Everyone I have talked to previously has not heard of my invention before. Most of them stated they like the product and would most likely purchase it. I just need to either hire someone to be part of my marketing team or I could outsource the work to another company.

New Group:

I want to target a wealthier group of consumers. I believe that I will be able to change the current design of the product to allow more customization. Also, I could always call the same product “premium” in an effort to market to wealthy people. Lastly, I could add more features to the existing dog toy.

Reflection:

Reflect: I talked to an older businessman who also liked my product. He pitched a helpful idea. He said I should try to continuously innovate on the existing product I have. He said I should add more features while increasing the price in order to appeal to more affluent families. This strategy would save my research costs because I would only be improving an existing product instead of starting all over. I already have some ideas on how the make this product better. I could add wheels to it, I could make it light up, and much more. These add-ons would cost very little for me and I would be able to mark up the price, which would make my margins a lot

            In the end, I like the idea of branching out to a different group of consumers. If I am able to add these features to my existing product, I will be able to make more money per item sold. Additionally, since my business model for this new item will be focused on selling to a smaller portion of the population, then advertising costs will not be much higher than I already pay to promote to poor and middle-class individuals. Also, I like being able to shift my risk from only one product to two. As an entrepreneur, I want to run a successful business and take as little risk as needed. For example, if I only had one item selling and it was not making sales expectations one year, then I would need to rethink my entire business model. On the other hand, if I have two items targeting two entirely different groups of consumers, then the chances of my business failing decreases. If one item has fewer sales for one year, the other item can help reduce the impact on the business. Consequentially, I am confident that expanding my business to appeal to more distinct groups will allow my business to thrive and survive.