Step 1: Talk about what you think is what's next.
- I think the next phase of the Gator Book Exchange is an APP to assist with book exchanges on campus through out the semester.
Step 3: Based on your own expectations and the feedback you received from customers, set a path for the future. In two to three paragraphs, describe what makes the most sense for your venture in terms of growing in your existing market.
- I think I really need to focus on marketing because this concept relies on people interaction. Without people dropping off books we wont have enough of a supply of books to exchange. To be a competitive company I want to hire volunteers that can build the companies network and expand the creative flow of ideas. Marketing on social media will be an integral part of the campaign as it is free and instant.
- Looking past the initial stages, I want to develop an App for campus students that can exchange books on their own and on their own time. I would also need to hire a team to tackle this and help me design the App and ideas on ensuring its success. Creating the app may take away from the event that occurs semesterly. But if we are not innovative and change with the times we may not be able sustain and will go into decline and not continuous growth.
Step 1: Identify a radically different market from what you're currently planning to target.
- A different market for me could be students at other campuses around the country.
- This would expand my market because it would allow the students to have a greater appreciation for the exchange as it becomes global and not just a campus outreach. Another reason is it expands networks and reaches a whole new set of students.
Step 4:
Hey, Domenica. Great concept you have here. As I watched the videos and thought about the concept, I had several ideas in my head of how you could improve your concept. To my pleasant surprise, you identified almost all of the things I was thinking of in your reflections, such as a possible virtual exchange, an app, social media marketing, incentives, etc. Great work
ReplyDeleteI really like your blog- so cute! Plus your concept here is really clear cut. Marketing is a huge tool for any type of business, and I think it would be easy to do on a school campus- flyering in Turlington, social media, etc. There are so many ways to get the word out to students and once you did, I think your business would be booming. School is stressful and we all need help from time-to-time. I would be interested in seeing this take off, good job!
ReplyDeleteHey Domenica!
ReplyDeletePretty unique idea you have here. I could definitely see myself using something like this. I love that you want to expand to an app because that would make things a lot easier. One thing that I thought of while reviewing your post was how are you going to ensure that when I drop off my books, that the ones I need will be there for me to pickup? If you don't have the participation, then sometimes students might be left out and dropped off their books with nothing in return. I think the app will help with that but it is still a problem to look at. Otherwise awesome job!
Domenica,
ReplyDeleteI have seen your post in the past and think that the development of a book exchange program would be super beneficial to students. I have one concern that it would be hard to differentiate your company from Amazons book exchange and how would you make it cheaper and easier for customers. I think developing an app would make your product much more marketable though. Keep pushing forward with your idea. Check out my blog post at: http://usingmediaforgodsglory.blogspot.com/
Hey Domenica,
ReplyDeleteGreat idea I've seen 3 different versions of this idea so it going to be an extremely competitive market so yes advertising with be what makes or kills your venture, it great you already understand his though. Creating a online app community for something such as books is difficult for the same reason Craigslist is because a few people will abuse it and piss off the whole community weather by not showing up to exchanges or by trying to overprice books. Setting up a system from the start to combat these issues will put you over the edge and make you more competitive. Check out my blog at http://mrdreaces.blogspot.com/2016/04/whats-next.html
Careful on the leading and dead end questions, but I think your idea has merit overall. As your potential customers said, it’s going to require a lot of initial input to build up the catalog of books available for exchange. I think, however, once you have a sufficient catalog of books available, the system will just work by default because people can request the books as they’re needed. I think elaboration on certain points of how a student will get paid for their book (whether by proprietary points or by actual cash), as well as what they can expect when they request a book will help get word out even more about your program.
ReplyDeleteI was not able to complete this assignment, but you can check out my blog at http://ufentclassblog.blogspot.com/.
I think your idea is really great!! Your interviews seemed to go really well. Ive seen similar posts so it may be a little competitive but these kinds of businesses are pretty successful! Great job!
ReplyDeleteGreat job with the interviews. It seemed like for this assignment, that was more than half the battle. I enjoyed watching them and seeing the feedback that you had gotten. Great work!
ReplyDelete