Assignment 4A - Forming an Opportunity Belief

1. I have a belief that many opportunities exists.

2. The need that I would like to talk about relates to companies that provide many different services have an app for each different service. More specifically, companies that I have worked for, Comcast and Cox Communications, have an app for all of their different services. Comcast has 9 different apps for their services. One provides Xfinity streaming, another for wifi management, another for home security and many more. I have always thought, why doesn't the company have one app with a centralized interface to manage the desired service and maybe even create awareness for the other services. I currently work at Cox and I have confused customers on which app to download to manage their services. These type of companies provide services to nearly all customer segments, which some are more technology advanced than others and they should provide a more direct app to their customers. This need hasn't always existed but was born with the advancements in smartphone technology. These customers weren't aware of this need until it was time to download an app to manage their services.

3. Found a prototypical customer.

4.  Customer Interviews

Iteration No. 1.

A. The nature of the need is more about convenience than anything. Customers are often very confused about which app to download and if the app will meet their needs as opposed to knowing that one app has all of the criteria needed. I found that many customers are unaware of the apps until they ask a specific question such as, "how do i change my wifi password?" then I direct them to the Cox Panoramic Wifi App. This customer had never actually addressed their need because as long as the internet and cable service was working, they did not need to manage any of the benefits provided within the app. Once this customer knew about the app, they began to value their services much more.

B. The nature of this customer's need was security. This customer had a home automation and security system and needed the app to be easily accessible to view his cameras at home. He likes having the separate security app because he knows it will only do that one function and his cameras are the first things he sees when he opens the security app. I understand this customer's needs opposed to other customers who would like to see an app that has full integration of a variety of services.

C. This customer has never realized the hassle of downloading other apps to manage her other services. She mainly uses her Cox app to view and pay her bills. Because this app is the only app she uses, she was unaware of the benefits the other apps had. She thought it would make alot more sense if all of the benefits were in a centralized app so she could learn more about the services and gain value on the services she was already paying for.

5. Reflection

I have found the not many consumers were aware of this need. This is something I believe these companies have been working toward because they realize the important of making the customer's needs very convenient for them and addressing their technological status. One thing I learned about my opportunity is that not everyone believes one centralized app is the most convenient way to manage their services and this was surprising to me.

6. Steps repeated in A, B and C.

7. All of my opportunity stills most definitely exists. I believe the overwhelming majority of customers would enjoy not having to download multiple apps to do different functions, but have a place where they can do all of their desired functions. I do believe my opportunity is more accurate than before. Entrepreneurs should always adapt their opportunities based on customer feedback, depending on the frequency of the feedback. If there is an issue many customers are facing, the feedback should be taken into consideration. If there is one person with an issue, chances are not many other people are experiencing the same issue.