9A Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

After interviewing five more people I was able to learn more and see different sides to the story. Some people and companies could benefit from the new opportunity while other companies that were very similar would not benefit. From these responses I could see that many people were facing this issue when they were thinking of purchasing a new wakeboard and bindings.

The Who: Within my opportunity there are different cases where some will fall in it and others that will not. The average person looking to get into wakeboarding would have no clue but someone that knows what they are doing will still face problems because you can’t ride it before you buy it. Companies fall in the same category because they could have workers that know what they are doing or know nothing about it.

The What: There is no real connection to another need. But, if there was one it might be to cost too much because the more expensive things will usually cost more money.

The Why: There is an underling cause that differentiates people that are inside the boundary and outside and that is knowledge. When looking at things there are different compositions of boards and boots where you might look at one and not being experiences buy the worst product. Where if you know the different information, you can make a wise decision on the board and boots you choose.  

Inside the Boundary                                                                              Outside the Boundary

Who is In: Knowledge based customers                                   Who is Not: Average customer getting started

What the Need Is: Demo boards for comfort          What the Need is Not: A lesson on boards and bindings

Why the Need Exists: Testing for riding                Alternate Explanations: Try a board before you buy it to see if you like it                     

8A Solving The Problem

The service that I found is a watersports shop. It is called Watersports West and it allows you to demo a board and bindings of your choice to see if you like it before purchasing them. This allows for experienced and non-experienced riders the chance to try out different combinations to see which one they like better. This process will save the customers money because they will not buy the wrong product. With the rental, you put down a deposit to take the supplies out of the store but if you don’t like it and give it back you get your money back. However, if you buy the product the money that you put as the deposit will just go towards your purchase. The demo day program there is great for the riders to experience their new tastes and preferences for each pair of boots and boards. They will get the combination that they want in the end.

http://shop.watersportswest.com/demo-day

7A Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

1). Belief: Wakeboarder’s don’t have the chance to find their exact board because of the different styles and combinations of boards and boots.

2). The Who: People that Wakeboard

The What: Don’t know which board and boots to get because of so many choices

The Why: Different combos and you don’t know how everything feels

3). Testing the Who: Not everyone shares this need. It is only when you a looking for a new board or bindings. Also, others will just stick with the same and never change so they don’t face this problem.

Testing the What: Whenever you go to a board shop they will carry different brands for boards and boots so all buyers face this problem. There are some exceptions though to people that are sponsored can be given boards for free.

Testing the Why: This is the need for most people that are inexperienced and looking to get into the sport. Also, one that has stayed with the same brand their whole riding experience will face this. You could get lucky and take to people who have rode the board and see how they like it.

4). After interviewing the five people I was able to see that they were facing the same problem when looking for the new setup. Three out of the five were people that have ridden a wakeboard before so they wanted to get their own board and bindings. They were overwhelmed when they walked into the store and saw all the options before them. They could not choose because they needed to go back and do some research and talk to people about the different options. The next person that I interviewed was someone that wakeboards and was looking to get a new board. He did not face too big of a problem because he was sticking with the same company. He did however say it would be nice to see how each option was when riding. The last person that I interviewed was a sponsored rider. He was talking about who he was sponsored by and that they just give him boards to ride. He did not have a problem because he constantly gets new boards to ride.

5). After these interviews I could learn that most people face this struggle when trying to pick out their setup. More people are taking part in watersports and this is becoming a bigger issue. One thing that I learned was that when you ride with a pro sometimes you can ride their setup to see how they like it so then you can have a feel for that board and boots.