15A Figuring everyone out
The
information I gathered in the interviews gave me a great deal of different things
to consider when thinking about how the customer chooses which gas station or restaurant
to go to. The number one consideration is overwhelmingly price, but also some
circumstances that will change some people’s minds are size and visibility at
night of gas pumps. Security was the second big issue it seemed for travelers
at night. Also, a third consideration is the cleanliness of the gas station.
That is the least of the top 3 concerns. Most customers will buy with card whether
that is debit or credit. One interviewee suggested credit due to her increased
points she will earn purchasing gas.
The two
items people seemed to evaluate post purchase is cleanliness and service of a
gas station and/or restaurant. Everyone interviewed were very confident in
their expectations in service stations and fast food restaurants. When the
station or restaurant is dirty they will think that their food is unhygienic in
some way.
The
customer segment I am looking at judges first on price then security depending
on time of day, and cleanliness. Everyone interviewed looked at gas stations
more like a commodity, they really expected the same out of all of them.
Everyone interviewed judged gas stations and fast food restaurants on cleanliness
and service.
ReplyDeleteHi Bradley.
You are correct in that some people will choose gas stations depending on the points they will get on their credit card. Going back to previous discussions about truckers and gas stations, truckers will sometimes choose to refuel at certain brand stations due to the perks they can get on their cards.
Let me explain further. My husband the truck driver has a fleet card that requires him to refuel at Pilot or Love’s truck stops. He usually chooses Pilot, because he has a personal rewards card with Pilot that he can use with the fleet card that allows him personal perks. For example, he gets so many coffee refills with each refuel, and so many shower points, along with points that can be used to purchase merchandise. So he can drink coffee and take showers for free at Pilot truck stops, and get dollars off other purchases such as food. These reward programs can be a major consideration for truckers when they are deciding where to purchase fuel.
I agree with you that the overall cleanliness of such places is linked in the minds of customers with the cleanliness and healthfulness of food items offered there.
I think you could focus your customer segments down- they seem very general in this post. You said “the customer segment I am looking at” but you didn’t give us any specifics of which customer segment it is, or what properties make these people part of the same segment, in this post. The customer segment you described last week was specifically truck drivers, but this week’s interviewees don’t seem to be truck drivers. Or are they? You didn’t tell us.