Whats Next?

Existing Market:
I think the next step is to first and foremost, get the app developed. I need to make sure the technology can work and it can be used in the way I picture it. I think there could potentially be more features to the app that I haven't thought of so I would like to expose the idea to more people, particularly more people who are either in the industry or who are experienced in app development.

From the three interviews I conducted, I got some useful and positive information. I had interviewed all three of these people before from a previous assignment, so they were familiar with the app idea already. One of them had an idea I really liked: she said it might be a good idea to set up a program where I can collaborate with restaurants so I can get my app out there and they can easily advertise. Also, someone suggested that I could set up a reservation component, where people could easily make reservations at restaurants right from my app. I thought this was a particularly good idea that I had not thought of.

Based on my interviews, I think it would be very valuable for me to get more opinions on new features that my app could possibly have as well as improving my current idea. The most helpful thing to me would be hearing from potential customers because they are the ones who would be using it and therefore they know best what would work best.

Also, I think I need to begin exploring the process of developing, creating, and ultimately advertising an app and everything that goes into it. In the interviewing process, I was asked many questions about the logistics of how, when, and with whom I will be creating this app and I didn't know the answers to a lot of these questions. The first step to making this happen will definitely be finding those answers.

New Market:
The new market I think I could successfully target is middle-aged adults who may or may not be experienced with Instagram. I think the app could be successful with this group because this segment has more money to spend than teenagers and young adults and therefore are interested in going out to eat more often, so they would be interested in a new way to find new restaurants. Also, most of them are more tech-savvy than the age group older than them and therefore would probably at least know what Instagram is and could figure out their way around an unfamiliar app.

The two interviews I conducted from this segment were very interesting. They both liked the idea and seemed to understand the purpose of the app much quicker than I expected them to. They were both familiar with the Instagram food blog culture which also surprised me. One of the things they really liked about my idea was the notifications aspect. They liked that it would just inform them of a nearby restaurant without them having to look. One of them suggested that instead of searching all of Instagram for food pictures, I instead create an algorithm that searches through food blogs and restaurants and sorts them by location. This is a very interesting idea which would probably make the app much easier and more realistic to create, so I will definitely take this into account.

Interviewing this new market really opened my eyes because I was not expecting them to be so receptive of my idea. I was most surprised by the fact that they understood what I was talking about so quickly. Even more than that, they understood the purpose and even had suggestions for me. My expectations were that they would understand it, but think it was a possibly silly idea because they wouldn't see the point.

I learned that I should definitely interview this segment in addition to my original target market. The middle-aged adults probably would see this from an entirely different perspective and have interesting insights and ideas for me. They probably have different experiences and would have suggestions that would make my app better.