12A Figuring Out Buyer Behavior

1. If I were going to go and do an environmental packaging company (looking for a alternative to plastic), then I would try to focus on demographic segments in order to increase sales. I would have to tailor to a younger demographic (20-35) because more younger people are environmentally conscious. Furthermore, I would tailor, at least in the beginning, towards women, as they constitute 80% of the market. Finally, I think I would look for college students for my interviews, because they're in higher education and more likely to be up-to-date on how the Earth is doing.

2a. I interviewed a friend of mine who goes to UF- she's 21 and very aware about the environment. She told me a packaging company looking for green alternatives would be fantastic and compliment what she wants to achieve. She told me the trends for eco-concious living is increasing steadily right now, with more climate strikes and focus on our environmental crises happening everyday. She also told me that packaging is the hardest thing to control when looking towards our future, as it makes up almost half of plastic pollution, and if there was a solution, she would immediately sign up.

2b. I also interviewed an older TA at UF- she's about 24, going for her graduate degree. She told me she hasn't always looked for ecofriendly alternatives, but with more focus on the environment recently, she said she'd definitely be open to it. She said that social media has had a big impact on how she looks at the environment, and it truly has made her more worried for our future. She also stated that if I actually thought about doing a project like an environmentally friendly packaging, the social media route might be the best and most successful marketing plan I could take, due to how much focus for the environment is on there right now.

2c. Finally, I interviewed a girl from my hometown who attends USC- she's about 20. She told me that she liked my idea, but wasn't sure she'd go out of her way in order to purchase from me. More specifically, if she could buy on Amazon, and get the packaging for an extra price, she said she would easily do it. But she said she was not open to giving up such an important shopping site to use my products. Possibly pairing up with a bigger brand to offer my product might be a better way to get it done. She said when looking for environmentally conservation products, she talks to friends and family that know about what she's looking for.

Analysis:
Overall, the three interviews were very helpful. All 3 girls were in the same demographic- young, women college students who cared about our environment. And we could see that they needed an environmentally friendly packaging alternative. And even though they may have had three different perspectives on branching out, they all agreed there was a big need for this alternative.

Conclusions:
What I learned about in my interviews is that there is a need for environmentally friendly packaging. It's mostly in a young, women demographic (at the moment) that will hopefully branch out. The best way, right now, to kickstart this project would be marketing heavily on social media, and teaming up with brands to slowly incorporate our brand's packaging into their brand. Then, we could move up to bigger brands. The interviews were helpful in clearing up where to put our need-based focus.