12A - Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

Choosing a segment:

            For this assignment, I chose a segment of female college students here at the University of Florida. I chose this segment because of the increasing emphasis on the growing sexual assault rates in the country and because of the whole protesting going on surrounding the lack of blue lights on Fraternity Row. I think this segment will give me valuable insight as to when their need is most common and why it exists. When focusing on this particular segment, I still wanted to make sure I was able to interview students in different situations. The first female UF student that I decided to interview is a 3^rd year student involved in a sorority on campus and enjoys going out often. The second interviewee is a 2^nd year student who is not involved in any “greek life” on campus, however she also enjoys going out often. Finally, the last individual that I chose to interview is another female UF student who is a freshman and is not involved in any “greek life” and does not go out too often.

Need Awareness:

            After identifying that all of my interviewees had the same need (concerns over personal safety), I had to figure out when this need was most prevalent. From all 3 of my interviews, I was able to confirm that this need was most salient at night. When it gets dark, all three interviewees agreed that is when they feel the most unsafe, especially if they are alone or coming back from the bars by themselves. Specific situations that they all mentioned collectively included: coming back from midtown/downtown by themselves, coming back from the gym at night by themselves, being at home by themselves, and even just riding an Uber back home late at night by themselves. The common theme within all of their situations was the fact that they were alone and that it was at night. This led me to asking how they combat these situations and what they do when they are in them and the consensus answer was that they always want to stay in a group and that being in a group makes them feel less vulnerable.

Information Search:

            When asked about what each interviewee does when they become aware of the need, there were some differing answers. Both the first and second interviewee who go out often agreed that they would try and walk in well-lit areas and try to stay around other groups of people that are also living the bars around the same time. Another solution they attempt to find for the problem is just having their phone in-hand and making sure they can call someone if something does not feel right. The problem with this solution, however, is that the phone batteries often end up dead by the time they leave the bars so if something were to happen, the phone is not always the best solution. The third interviewee who does not go out often stated that if she feels unsafe, she will usually call someone she knows that lives nearby. If an incident were to escalate, she stated that she would not hesitate to call the police and would try to shelter herself in her room. Overall, the consensus answer to the solution seemed to try and use the cell phone first, but to also make sure they aren’t putting themselves more at risk by walking in dark or sketchy areas by themselves.

Findings:

            From conducting these interviews, I was able to now identify specific instances and situations for when my need arises. I already had a belief that the need sparked from being alone and that would only be made worse during the night time when it is dark. While the specific instances and situations did not surprise me, I was a bit surprised and intrigued about my findings from the information search. I hadn’t really thought too hard about what individuals do when faced with the problem and the responses about the individual’s cell phone battery was a bit interesting. As the need primarily arises during the nighttime, it can be easy to forget about the battery of cell phones and why that could make them an ineffective solution when placed into one of these dangerous situations. If victims are placed into a dangerous or uncomfortable situation and cannot rely on their cell phone to call for help, this can place them in an even more dangerous predicament. I think that the concept I have created could actually become more effective than originally anticipated just because there aren’t many other solutions to the problem being offered and none as reliable as my concept could be.

Conclusion:

            Based on what I know and have learned now about this particular segment, I can describe this group as being aware of the problem and actively looking for a solution. With increasing media coverage on cases of sexual assault and abductions, specifically on college campuses, I think that this has created a growing sense of self-awareness of the issue and made this particular segment more inclined to find a solution. When faced with the issue, this segment appeared to have gone through various solutions to attempt to solve their problem and this shows that they all are concerned about the issue and are actively looking for ways to address it.