Problems & Personas
After learning about problems, personas, and solutions and how to connect all of them together. We got to put it into practice and do the following exercises.
First exercise was to pick a solution and make a list of 5 people that would likely be buyers.
Solution: Healthy Meal Prep Service
Five people
Grandparent (Looking to lose weight and eat healthier.)
Neighbor (Always busy from work and always ends up eating fast food.)
Cousin Richard (Is in college, but also new to cooking and wants to remain a healthy eating lifestyle.)
Aunt Julia (Looking to eat healthy and lose weight.)
Friend Thomas (Looking to lose weight and does not have time to meal prep.)
Who are these people?
Adults
Work long hours
What characteristics stand out?
Busy
New to cooking
New to health
What are common themes?
Looking to get back into shape
Don’t have time to meal prep
New to healthy eating
New to cooking
How might you find or reach these people?
Social media
Phone
In-person
Ads
How much is the problem likely worth to them?
I think the problem plays a huge factor in how they feel mentally and physically in their day to day life. If fixed with a solution then would take a huge weight off their shoulders.
Why is solving the problem important to them?
Everyone wants to be healthy and live a long and happy life. You can not do that if you are eating junk and feeling sluggish day to day. If they had a solution, then they would be able to tackle their day with energy and not waste time meal prepping.
How well does your solution tackle their problem?
I believe the solution is perfect. It helps the people that are busy and who can’t prepare their healthy food everyday. With the solution I picked, they get to be able to pick healthy meals that taste good and take only a couple minutes to make.
For the second exercise, we had to come up with problems in the world and solutions that can fix those problems.
5 problems in the world
A. Looking for healthy soda alternatives
B. Looking for harmful chemical free shampoo
C. Microplastic water
D. Getting sick often
E. Overweight
Solutions to problems
A. Olipop
A. Flavored Sparkling water
B. Dr. Squatch shampoo
B. Zuma organic shampoo
C. Glass bottled water
C. Berkey water filter
D. Vitamins
D. Cleaner diet plan
E. Gym membership
E. Personal trainer service
The Buyer’s Journey
What product or service did you choose?
The product I bought was an adjustable standing desk.
When did you purchase this?
I purchased the product on September 18th, 2023.
Did you purchase this in-person or online?
I purchased it in-person.
How much did you spend?
I spent $500 on the desk.
How long had you been planning to make a purchase?
I had been planning to make the purchase for a couple weeks now.
When did you first start thinking about the purchase?
Around the same time I was planning to make the purchase.
Was there a particular problem you were hoping to solve?
I was hoping to find a solution to my neck and back hurting while working at my desk.
How did you become aware of your problem?
When I started working more and more on my Praxis work I found that my neck and back were hurting more often.
How urgent and important was the problem you were hoping to solve? How much pain was the problem causing you prior to your purchase?
It was not urgent but it was very uncomfortable working at my desk and working in general. It eventually got to a point where it felt unbearable to work at my desk.
Once you knew you had a problem you wanted to solve, what was your first step? Did you ask other people? Did you hit Google? How and where did you turn to information about your problem and potential solutions?
First step was to look and do research that could solve the problem and ask family members of ideas to solve my problem.
Did you uncover multiple different potential solutions to your problem? If yes, why did you choose one over the other?
I only came up with one solution. Which was the standing desk and then I looked into the benefits and reviews of how a standing desk has helped other people.
What were you hoping the solution you purchased could help you accomplish? How did you feel about your purchase prior to making it?
I was hoping that with the standing desk it would help with my neck, back, and posture. I felt good about it and excited to buy it.
Did you have a budget in mind before you discovered solutions?
No, I knew my max would be $500 and I wanted a good one with a lot of space.
Did you budget change after you identified potential solutions?
No, my budget stayed the same.
How much time elapsed between identifying the solution you purchase and you completing your purchase?
It was about 2 weeks I think.
Did you consult anyone else before making a purchase? If so, who?
I consulted with my family to see if it was a good idea and if they knew anyone that enjoyed it.
Did you read customer reviews prior to purchasing?
Yes, not on the specific desk but on standing desks and what people thought about the standing desk.
What finally convinced you to complete your purchase? Was there any specific piece of information, customer review, conversation, or event that helped you to make up your mind?
No, I think my problem just became too uncomfortable that I wanted to make the purchase as soon as possible.
Did you stay within your budget?
Yes, I found a desk within my exact budget.
How did the purchase make you feel?
I felt happy and great about my purchase.
Did the solution work? Did the purchase solve the problem you set out to solve?
Yes, the solution helped with neck and back pain. But also I did not feel sore or a bad feeling when working for longer period of times.
How did the solution make you feel?
It made me feel happy that I was able to find a solution for my problem.
Would you recommend the product/solution to other people? Why or why not?
Yes, I think it is a great product and I think it helped me with all the issues that I had.
Are you better off, worse off, or the same since your purchase?
I felt a lot better that I bought the product.
Was the purchase worth it?
Yes, it was worth it.
Buyer's journey:
This purchase decision started in the very beginning of Praxis. As I was doing more and more with Praxis, I would notice my back and neck would start feeling sore when I would sit at my desk. I also felt my posture getting worse. It eventually started getting worse and worse which made working on my work uncomfortable.
This eventually became unbearable and I started looking at solutions to this. I start my search by asking family members and researching on Google. I immediately found a solution that caught my eye: an adjustable standing desk. After I found this solution I started doing research on the benefits and reviews to see how people liked it. I also asked the opinions of my family, to see what they thought about the solution and they agreed that this was a good option. So after all that, I was seriously considering purchasing the standing desk.
After a week's process, I decided to go to the store and look at different desks. I looked at all the different options and I made up my mind of which standing desk I wanted to buy. That same day I bought the standing desk and I was happy about the decision and excited to get it set up!
Expectation vs. Reality
Describe a time when you purchased a product or service and it exceeded your expectations.
Almost a year ago, I was getting new hockey skates for my birthday because mine were very old. I went to this hockey shop called Pure Hockey. As soon as I asked an employee for help they immediately were happy to help. They had great enthusiasm and had me start the process of getting fitted for new skates. The employee asked what size I usually wear and then had me step into this futuristic scanner that scans your feet to find the best skate for you. This is when I found out that I was wearing two sizes too big for my feet. Then the employee asked me if I would get lace spike when I would play and I said yes, but all this time I thought it was normal. Throughout the whole time the employee was asking me questions like how long have you been playing? and it was just a very friendly conversation. The employee was also patient with me and gave me a lot of options to try on to see which one felt the best. The whole process was not rushed. After I bought my skates, I tried them out on the ice a few days later and wow did it make a difference. The skate felt snug against my foot and I felt more control when I was gaining speed. Overall, the service there was amazing and the product exceeded my expectations by a lot.
Describe a time when you purchased a product or service and your expectations were not met.
About a couple months ago, I was looking for some new Apple wired earbuds because I lost mine and could not find them anywhere. So I decided to look on Amazon and I found some that looked exactly like Apple earbuds. It said Apple wired earbuds so immediately bought it thinking that it was the actual Apple earbuds. When it arrived a couple days later. The product looked exactly like them but when I plugged them in they made this weird loud sound whenever I plugged it in. When I played music also it seemed muffled. After purchasing it I thought my problem was solved, but after testing them out I realized it was not.