9A - Hypothesis 2

In this exercise we look at individuals that fall outside our target market even though they fit the original criteria.

Who: I interviewed three individuals from each of the original criteria:

·         Business Professionals: There was a lot of excitement in this group. Every person agreed that the way they share contact information with potential clients today is worthless. They do it because it’s “just how it’s done”. Knowing that 88% of the cards distributed today are thrown away did not surprise them. When asked why they did it I received an overwhelming response that very few other options exist outside of cards, email, and social media trolling. This gave me an option to probe further into what they thought would be better. One answered – don’t accept my card unless you really find it useful. The other two interviewees had more constructive suggestions:

o   Interviewee 2 - In business today, there’s a lot of skepticism that feels like ‘stranger danger’. You must build trust. It is a relationship – not a one-night stand if you are offering something of value.

o   Interviewee 3 – There’s a sense of instant gratification out there. It depends on the client though. The time to value is less with younger clients vs. older clients. This individual almost never gives his business card to younger clients as his services typically requires 8-12mths to start seeing a return on investment.

·         Small Business Owners: I learned quite a bit about this segment. All of them had less than 5 employees working for them and “time” is their most valued asset. They have a tight budget and scrutinize everything when it comes to spending money. When I talked to them about the waste they raised an eyebrow but didn’t seem to be too concerned. The reason for this is because they can get a 500 stack of business cards for approximately $20. None of them could trace back a return on investment and seemed to believe that it “gets their name out there”. I didn’t push back and tell them that it likely doesn’t, but I learned a lot.

·         Non-Business Owners: This group is just a non-starter. I thought I would investigate this group at different age levels under 50. The older group related the idea as a dating app and the other two age groups thought another hook up app would be awesome.

What: I have come to realize that the purpose of distributing these business cards have different purposes between the groups. Corporate professionals are very interested in solving the waste and low value proposition whereas the small business and non-professionals don’t seem to be as enthusiastic.

Why: For corporate professionals they have performance metrics to meet regardless of how many business cards they distribute. If they can’t find the right target market to invest in their product or service, they are likely out of a job. The current day business card doesn’t do that for them today, so they don’t even rely on it. Small businesses don’t recognize the waste due to the cost being so low. Individuals that are not in a business profession recognize economic benefits of not having traditional business cards but don’t see much additional value outside the tools they have today to connect with others.

Who	Inside the boundary	Outside the boundary
	Corporate Employed Business Professionals	Small Business Owners Non-Business Professionals
What	To alleviate the waste and provide a product that produces real results for professionals and gives back to the environment we live in.	Worrying about people sharing every contact detail they have on the internet
Why	There is a real need here to produce results	There is no indication to me that this group is driven by solving the overarching problem