Assignment 12A Figuring Out Buyer Behavior Part 1

Assignment 12A Figuring Out Buyer Behavior Part 1

Selecting a Segment

For my venture, I chose to focus on the segment of women over the age of 30 with tattoo regret that is significant enough that they want to remove their tattoos.  They also have to have the means (money) to be able to have the tattoos removed. Next, they have to be patient because the process involves a number of sessions with waiting periods in between. I found is that my segment is very small and it was difficult to find people to interview with the unmet need.  I was able to speak with three women who have the unmet need 

 Interview Information 

I was able to gather some interesting information in my interviews with these women.  The first woman (Lucinda) I met through a server at our favorite restaurant.  She said she had tattoo regret  and wanted the tattoo removed for many years.  It was her ex husband's name and they had been divorced for four years, but what was interesting is that she had already gone through a number of fading creams, and had done some laser treatments to remove her tattoo.  It was on the back of her neck just below the collar line.  It was faded but the skin looked discolored. Another interesting thing she told me is that she was also considering the possibility of having another tattoo done to cover the faded tattoo so her regret was not because she did not like tattoos, she had other tattoos, but she regretted getting "branded" as she called it.  Danielle's regret is similar to Lucinda's in that she has a tattoo that she wants removed, but she wants to replace it with another tattoo.  She told me she let a friend who was learning to become a tattoo artist put a peace sign on her shoulder and it bothered her that it looked like shoddy work. Christy's regret is much different than the other two women in that she was pressured into getting her tattoo and she said if she had to assign a date to  her regret it would have been almost immediately, but she said she would never admit that to her friends while she was in college.  She said she had looked into some home remedies for fading tattoos but she was worried that it would look worse than it does now. It has already faded some.  

What I Learned

When I spoke with the individuals with tattoo regret, I inquired as to what they did when they became aware that they did not want their tattoos anymore.  One of the women said she looked for home remedies that would fade her tattoo because it was a less expensive option and less invasive than a laser treatment.  Of course, Lucinda had already experienced a laser treatment solution so she was aware of the time, costs, and results that she could expect.  Another interviewee said she searched for tattoo removal images first when she started her search in removing her tattoo. This was not something she had spent a lot of time thinking about but she wanted to see what she could expect if she was to attempt removal of her tattoo.  While in my quest for buyer behavior, I was surprised to  learn there are different types of regret which I had not previously considered.  Some individuals merely regret the type of tattoo they have rather that regretting getting the tattoo altogether.  

Describing the Segment

The segment of women over the age of 30 with tattoo regret is a smaller segment than I originally thought, but I think it would require a larger sampling of the segment to get a better understanding of buyer behavior in the segment.  I think there is a market for the solution but I think there are already some competitors who have been in the market for a few to several years and technology will need to be more advanced to offer more appealing results for the customer to feel confident in their investment in the service.  The segment includes not only individuals with tattoo regret but also individuals with regret about a specific type of tattoo.  People with tattoo regret have varying personal beliefs that drive their need or desire for this solution.