19A

19A-Idea Napkin 2

·        My name is Jordan Jacobs. After reflecting on what my closest friends and family have said about me I have come to the conclusion that I am a hardworking, organized individual who never settles for anything less than perfection. I am also passionate about things I am involved in and feel things very deeply. This leads me to spend massive amounts of time trying to ensure the best possible outcome for all parties involved. I aspire to be a leader in an organization, and one that cares personally for each and every employee and client. If I were to start this business I would be fully committed to its success and building its popularity. I would very likely invest all personal time to make contacts with customers and use my passion to connect with employees in a way that makes them feel valued.

·        The product I am offering has not changed. I still plan to produce bamboo straws at large scale level that allows the cost to remain competitive with other single use, environmentally friendly options and also provide a more satisfactory drinking experience because the solution does not deteriorate like its competitors. I am meeting the need of business by helping to improve their customer satisfaction. I am meeting the needs of their customers by replacing the bad paper straw that is currently in place.

o   Based on my feedback I realized that my product success will almost entirely rely on cost. A higher cost is not going to lead individual drink consumers to switch from the free option to mine. A substantially higher cost will prevent the businesses from switching to my solution. Because of this I must make production large scale enough that the per unit cost is comparable to the currently used products.

·        I am offering the product in two avenues. First to the everyday consumer, just as paper and plastic straws are purchased in the store in packs. The target group will be individuals who care about their impact on the environment yet are unsatisfied with the reusable and paper options currently available.

o   Based on feedback however, I am changing my main focus of sales to businesses. These will be businesses located in cities where the use of plastic straws is banned. Because of the mandates, businesses are at risk of a fine if they were to continue to use plastic. However the current single use option, paper, has received awful feedback from customers and has driven customer satisfaction down.

·        Businesses care about my product because it has the possibility of solving their issue of customer satisfaction without a substantial cost increase or the risk of facing a hefty fine. From the business perspective, the only reason they would purchase my product is to improve customer satisfaction.

o   Based on my feedback I realized that the only reason that an individual consumer would care about my product is if they are environmentally conscious and unhappy with current substitutes, both of which I found rare.

·        Currently the main competitor for the marketing to restaurants and other similar businesses is the paper straw. What differentiates my product from theirs is the simple fact that mine is better. It is more durable and provides for a better drinking experience. What I will have that no one else has is the ability to improve businesses customer satisfaction without increasing their cost.

o   Based on my feedback I realize that I am a hardworking individual, so this characteristic is something that will help me sell my product to businesses and convince them it will help improve their customer’s experience.

·        I believe that my elements work great together. The weakest part of my business currently is that my core competencies do not include social capital. I do not know owners of any businesses in a city that has banned plastic straws. This would cause a roadblock for me that requires hard work to overcome. I could form those relationships through business, but that would just be something that I need developed.

·        Feedback Memo:

o   I took away that the customer base for individual consumers was very small and that marketing to business would be more successful. I included this in my changes in production and my change relating to the marketing focus.

o   I also took away that the entire success of my business would rely on the price point of the product and how it compares to the current product being used. I used this to build in the notion that my bamboo straws would need to be produced on a large scale so that the price would be competitive with the currently used paper straw.