12A-Figuring Out Buyer Behavior

I decided to choose a segment of regular health care buyers. All three of the interviews I conducted were with people who constantly buy health care products to fit their needs. These buyers were all senior citizens who do not own access ramps and use mobility devices. (Delores) My first interviewee is very health conscious and will spend money no matter what the cost to make sure her health care needs are met. When she started having issues with walking she went out and purchased a walker to assist her. (Virginia) My second interviewee currently uses a wheelchair and will buy any product to assist with her ailments. She goes to the pharmacy regularly and purchases health care products when necessary. (Horace) My third interviewee is very concerned about his health and purchases heath products constantly. As well as my first interviewee he uses a walker to help with his mobility.

When speaking with all three of my interviewees they all had very similar responses when it came to need awareness. The need for help entering their home meant a lot to them but at the moment none of them had decided to purchase one. The times that made all of them nervous and wishing they had this need was when leaving their home. For some reason they all felt more uncomfortable when exiting their homes using steps then when coming home and climbing the steps. Two out of the three really liked the luxury of having a ramp when entering a business or doctor's office. Since they all use mobility devices they felt any type of ramp to help them enter their destination made them feel more confident and safe.  They all believed that the best solution to their problem of having trouble entering and leaving their home would be to have a access ramp installed. As of right now their solution is to take the steps very slowly and to hold on to their handrails the best they can. They all have to have the help of their children or friend to carry their mobility device into the house. A road block that became a theme for all of them was the fact that none of them were good with technology. All 3 do not use Google much and have not searched for access ramps. They do consult with family and friends regarding the situation of entering and leaving the house. One of the interviewees said that they were in the process with one of their children in looking to have a ramp installed. The other two had spoken with friends and family for references but nothing more had come from it.


I learned that regular senior health care buyers are great for this product when it comes to need awareness. They all know that this product is something they need in order to help make their lives easier. I would say that the issue is that these people were not good at researching information and did not have access to finding companies to help them. It would be a task to get these type of consumers to find my website or even my business due to their lack of technology. I would have to rely on their family or friends to seek me out which would be tough. It doesn't sway my opinion that this business could be very successful it just shows me that I would need to come up with better approaches to reach certain customers. I overall learned that more tech saavy seniors who know what they need to benefit their health will bring me the most business. For ones like the people I interviewed it would take approaches such as flyers in the mail or even door to door awareness campaigns. I look forward to speaking with more people from different segments and getting their opinions on this opportunity.