25A - What's Next?
25A – What’s Next?
What I Think Is Next:
After successfully launching my service oriented business, my next step is to begin developing my product innovation. I will use the service business to pay for the product innovation. The product will be a CPAP cleaning device that customers can put in their washing machine or dishwasher. It will sanitize and also remove dirt, oils and makeup.
Existing Market Interviews:
1) Mr. White – CPAP User
2) Mrs. Ostrander – Wife of CPAP User
3) Mr. Lopez – CPAP User
Reflection:
My interviewees were very intrigued about my current service idea, and were very curious about my product that I am going to be tinkering with. They all had a different thought about moving forward with my product after having a service business in place.
Mr. White thinks that the CPAP cleaning service is a unique idea. When I brought up working on a product that customers would be able to purchase and use themselves, he smiled. He thought that was a great idea. He had not heard of my competitor, so it made it even more of a good idea to him. He thinks that something we can do that I haven’t thought of, would be to incorporate some sort of “swap out” method for the customers.
Mrs. Ostrander is the wife of a CPAP User. She loves both my ideas of a service oriented business or a product oriented business. She just wants to benefit from not having to clean her husband’s masks and hoses. She went on to say how inconvenient it is. She really likes the mail subscription option. She didn’t have any ideas to add. She likes all my ideas.
Mr. Lopez really likes the idea of purchasing a device that is easy enough to through in a washing machine or dishwasher. He thinks that more people would be interested in that than the service oriented business. He said that one thing I should think about is how I would compete with my competitor because he has heard of them and has even seen advertisements on television.
In terms of growing my existing market, I think it’s important to talk to more people. I think I need to find out if they would prefer a mobile service vs. the subscription service. I do not want to spread us to thin at the beginning.
As far as the product development, after talking to my existing market, I still feel moving forward with the product invention is a good idea. They felt that as long as my device was less expensive, it would sell. One person mentioned how military is an ever growing family and word of mouth spreads quickly. It slipped my mind that my service and product could quickly end up being requested from all over the United States, as military are stationed in different areas and are moved every 3 years. I will need to have a response to people that are requesting services outside my area.
New Market:
Since I have focused on retired military men aged 45+, I think a radically different market than the B2C market would be a B2B market. My B2B targets, to begin with, would be Nursing homes and extended care facilities.
I think my venture concept might be able to create value for those markets because it will help relieve pressure off their Nurses who most likely already clean their patient’s CPAP masks and hoses. It would also add value to the homes, because they can promote that they offer a service to the elderly which would look favorable to both the future Nurses of the facility and potential customers.
New Market Interviews:
1) Ms. Black – Nurse at Nursing home
2) Mr. Bray – Extended Care facility patient CPAP User
Reflection:
After interviewing people in this new market, I have realized that there really is a potential with working B2B. I didn’t realize how many elderly people actually depended on CPAP vs. military retirees using it for an increase in disability rates. These interviews really got my mind spinning and makes me wonder if I should start with targeting B2B before B2C. Ugh… it’s difficult knowing which route to pursue!
Ms. Black, a Nurse at a Nursing home, explained that it’s unfortunate, but a lot of Nursing home Nurses are not familiar with Sleep Apnea. They depend on the elder patient to know what to do or family members coming in and tending to their CPAP needs. She thought it was a great idea to have a service come to the facility and clean all their patients’ masks. She even said that the patient’s wouldn’t mind paying for the service. She thought it might be good to even incorporate a training class for the Nurses just so they are aware of what Sleep Apnea is, the importance of the CPAP machine and why masks need to stay clean.
Mr. Bray is an extended care facility patient who physically depends on his CPAP machine. He has CPOD which has a major impact on Sleep Apnea. He spoke of how nice it would be to have someone clean his mask and hose. He is 83 and he said that when his daughter visits she tries to remember to clean it. He really enjoyed talking to me. He wished there was a service like mine out there.
What surprised me the most about this new market was that it opened another revenue driver. Offering a class that teaches the basics of Sleep Apnea while providing information on CPAP machines and the supplies would be an easy additional driver to what we would already offer. The Nursing home and or Extended Care facility would benefit because their staff would become more knowledgeable on the therapy their patients have, the patient’s would benefit from clean masks and I would benefit from the business.
I almost think this new market is more attractive than my original market because all my business would be a one stop shop for a day. Word of mouth would travel to other nursing homes and business would spread rapidly. Also, there is a sense of helping my elders that makes me feel good inside.
What I Think Is Next:
After successfully launching my service oriented business, my next step is to begin developing my product innovation. I will use the service business to pay for the product innovation. The product will be a CPAP cleaning device that customers can put in their washing machine or dishwasher. It will sanitize and also remove dirt, oils and makeup.
Existing Market Interviews:
1) Mr. White – CPAP User
2) Mrs. Ostrander – Wife of CPAP User
3) Mr. Lopez – CPAP User
Reflection:
My interviewees were very intrigued about my current service idea, and were very curious about my product that I am going to be tinkering with. They all had a different thought about moving forward with my product after having a service business in place.
Mr. White thinks that the CPAP cleaning service is a unique idea. When I brought up working on a product that customers would be able to purchase and use themselves, he smiled. He thought that was a great idea. He had not heard of my competitor, so it made it even more of a good idea to him. He thinks that something we can do that I haven’t thought of, would be to incorporate some sort of “swap out” method for the customers.
Mrs. Ostrander is the wife of a CPAP User. She loves both my ideas of a service oriented business or a product oriented business. She just wants to benefit from not having to clean her husband’s masks and hoses. She went on to say how inconvenient it is. She really likes the mail subscription option. She didn’t have any ideas to add. She likes all my ideas.
Mr. Lopez really likes the idea of purchasing a device that is easy enough to through in a washing machine or dishwasher. He thinks that more people would be interested in that than the service oriented business. He said that one thing I should think about is how I would compete with my competitor because he has heard of them and has even seen advertisements on television.
In terms of growing my existing market, I think it’s important to talk to more people. I think I need to find out if they would prefer a mobile service vs. the subscription service. I do not want to spread us to thin at the beginning.
As far as the product development, after talking to my existing market, I still feel moving forward with the product invention is a good idea. They felt that as long as my device was less expensive, it would sell. One person mentioned how military is an ever growing family and word of mouth spreads quickly. It slipped my mind that my service and product could quickly end up being requested from all over the United States, as military are stationed in different areas and are moved every 3 years. I will need to have a response to people that are requesting services outside my area.
New Market:
Since I have focused on retired military men aged 45+, I think a radically different market than the B2C market would be a B2B market. My B2B targets, to begin with, would be Nursing homes and extended care facilities.
I think my venture concept might be able to create value for those markets because it will help relieve pressure off their Nurses who most likely already clean their patient’s CPAP masks and hoses. It would also add value to the homes, because they can promote that they offer a service to the elderly which would look favorable to both the future Nurses of the facility and potential customers.
New Market Interviews:
1) Ms. Black – Nurse at Nursing home
2) Mr. Bray – Extended Care facility patient CPAP User
Reflection:
After interviewing people in this new market, I have realized that there really is a potential with working B2B. I didn’t realize how many elderly people actually depended on CPAP vs. military retirees using it for an increase in disability rates. These interviews really got my mind spinning and makes me wonder if I should start with targeting B2B before B2C. Ugh… it’s difficult knowing which route to pursue!
Ms. Black, a Nurse at a Nursing home, explained that it’s unfortunate, but a lot of Nursing home Nurses are not familiar with Sleep Apnea. They depend on the elder patient to know what to do or family members coming in and tending to their CPAP needs. She thought it was a great idea to have a service come to the facility and clean all their patients’ masks. She even said that the patient’s wouldn’t mind paying for the service. She thought it might be good to even incorporate a training class for the Nurses just so they are aware of what Sleep Apnea is, the importance of the CPAP machine and why masks need to stay clean.
Mr. Bray is an extended care facility patient who physically depends on his CPAP machine. He has CPOD which has a major impact on Sleep Apnea. He spoke of how nice it would be to have someone clean his mask and hose. He is 83 and he said that when his daughter visits she tries to remember to clean it. He really enjoyed talking to me. He wished there was a service like mine out there.
What surprised me the most about this new market was that it opened another revenue driver. Offering a class that teaches the basics of Sleep Apnea while providing information on CPAP machines and the supplies would be an easy additional driver to what we would already offer. The Nursing home and or Extended Care facility would benefit because their staff would become more knowledgeable on the therapy their patients have, the patient’s would benefit from clean masks and I would benefit from the business.
I almost think this new market is more attractive than my original market because all my business would be a one stop shop for a day. Word of mouth would travel to other nursing homes and business would spread rapidly. Also, there is a sense of helping my elders that makes me feel good inside.
Hi Elizabeth!
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of allowing the customer to clean their own mask at home and definitely think that is a good direction to take after you gain money from the service you will provide. furthermore , I could see nursing homes adopting your product as long as it would be cheaper than hiring more nurses or assistants. Great post!
Hey Liz,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your venture concept, I was very excited to see what you had planned for your next step with this product! It's interesting that you feel such a strong opportunity in B2B vs B2C, primarily because I felt you had such a strong opportunity with B2C. Every person you interviewed showed genuine interest in wanting to buy your product, so it definitely seems odd to me that you would instead target B2B. However, I think your idea about a new revenue driver in terms of offering a class on how to clean the masks is a wonderful idea and is definitely something you should consider!