Alternative & Post-Purchase Evaluation

Last week, I analyzed the need awareness and information search process for a "green" customer who is eco-friendly and focused on conservation. I learned that need awareness can be triggered by little day-to-day situations, like seeing trash on the side of the road. The information search can be done online and sometimes the local Waste Management supplies the appropriate information for the customer.

This week, I am analyzing how customers decide between alternatives and evaluate their experiences after making a purchase. Instead of focusing on the "green" customer again, for this assignment I am looking at the general iPhone using customer segment. This customer has an iPhone and has at least minimal knowledge as to how technology and apps work. They are capable of downloading apps and using them as they are intended. This segment doesn't have any specific demographics as there are many people of different ages, gender, background that use iPhones.

I've included my interview below. Again, I was only able to get one interview, but I found this one to be particularly insightful. I tried to ask generic user-experience based questions about app satisfaction because app experience is a major component of my concept. Recycle Rewards will be judged based on its functionality and content.

Interview

I thought it was interesting that the person I interviewed emphasized his dislike for ads and user data collection. My proposed app would feature a few small banner ads to generate some revenue, but I never had the intention to bombard users with pop-ups and spam. I know how annoyed I get using apps when ads keep popping up so I definitely would want to minimize this aspect. User experience is one of my main focuses with Recycle Rewards.

As for privacy concerns, most of my revenue generation would have to come from user content. The barcodes that consumers scan to track their recycling efforts would be compiled and sold to companies. Perhaps I can include a disclaimer that explains that this app has an opt out structure. This would mean that someone who is using this app is automatically signed up to have data collected unless they manually opt out. I know that this sounds a bit shady, but America has become a country of opting out and the importance of big data is huge nowadays. I think that younger users will be more willing to share their data in exchange for personalized experiences. Given the information I gathered from this interview, I may need to redefine my user segments.

The person I interviewed would fit into an older iPhone user segment and would likely use the app for the ecological benefits rather than for the personalized rewards. This user wants an easy-to-use application that meets their basic expectations and provides a smooth customer experience. The fact that Recycle Rewards will be free will probably appeal to this segment, especially if they are satisfied with the quality of this app.