C1 - Internal use

Challenge & Selection

I own a small business with my fianceé. We sell different kinds of desserts like  brownies, alfajores, chocolates for Easter and panettones for Christmas. The  profits were good, but the problem was that we were a seasonal company, so we  had low incomes along the year. The challenge was to convert a seasonal  business into a profitable one during the whole year. The tool I chose to overcome  this challenge was Visualization, because it was important to materialize the  ideas and understand how they work. The main purpose was to retain those  seasonal costumers that buy my products in Easter and Christmas. To achieve  the goal, we needed to understand who our consumers were and what they like.  Without Design Thinkig, we would probably just ask them what they want.  However, we understood that the answer could be the same any other competitor  would have. So, to make it work, we used the Visualization tool with a group of  costumers in order to overcome the main problem.

Application

I started the process by looking for what our main competitors sell and what  consumers think about their products. The collection of data gave me an overview  of the market. However, the main core of any business are the consumers, not  the data. The question was “What if we call consumers to a focus group and  understand their point of view of our company and their desires about the  market?”. It seemed a good strategy to evolve costumers in the creative process  of our portfolio. To develop this idea, we chose a mixed group of twenty  costumers. The first half were compounded by our loyal consumers and the  second half were not our consumers yet. The main point here was to understand  the people who were not our costumer and listen what our costumer had to tell  us.

The activity was designed to leave the individuals as free as possible. They could  talk freely, and we asked some key questions to help us with the problem. They  had some time to draw or make collages of the answers. After that, they could  explain what each of picture means. Some of the questions used in the study are  presented below:

 What Alquimia (In English Alchemy) means to you?

 What is a good food for you?   What is a bad food for you?   What is your favorite dessert?

They were divided in four groups mixing the two types of consumers. We lead the  dynamics, but we did not interfere in the discussion in order to give the proper  space to conversations flow properly. Although they were in group, the opinions  were individual as the images generated. The main purpose of the format was to  foment the discussions. The images produced were collected and used in a board  divided.

C1 - Internal use

Insight & Approach

What I have learned from this exercise were that our consumers had a pretty  interesting point of view of our company. Most of the draws/collages about the  first question were related to creativity and quality. It was a good feedback from  our costumers. However, in the conversations, they also related Alquimia with  Easter or Christmas. This answer was interesting because they think we offer a  good quality product, but they do not buy it during the year. This image is related  to how I manage the posts and the propagandas of our products. The  advertisements at our main media (Instagram) are only boosted in these two  seasons. If the propaganda was more often and diverse they would see the posts  with frequency and ask for the products not only in April or December. The idea  of Alquimia in their minds were built buy us.

The second important learning from this exercise is related to the other three  questions. Looking for the images they produced I could see that their favorite  sweets were not the one offered by other competitors. Most of the images were  related to affective memories with their families. We understand that we cannot  offer the same products, but the question is: How to transform our products in  affective memories? How can we take advantage of the previews affective  memories and be successful in the market? The answer of this question can put  us ahead of other competitors and make our incomes grow. The first idea that  came is to adapt some of the flavors we offer today to others closer to those  memories. The way to validate this idea will be using another Design Thinking  tool, the Learning Launch. The point is to have some prototypes of new products  and test with the same group.

From this exercise, I could understand the costumers of my business beyond the  answers they could give to me. People are valuable for small business, so they  should be in the center of innovation. Using the Visualization tool, I could create  a persona that I want to transform into my costumer. It will help me in future  developments of other products.


C1 - Internal use Challenge & Selection I own a small business with my fianceé . We sell different kinds of desserts like brownies , alfajores , chocolates for Easter and panettones for Christmas . The profits were good , but the problem was that we were a seasonal company , so we had low incomes along the year . The challenge was to convert a seasonal business into a profitable one during the whole year . The tool I chose to overcome this challenge was Visualization , because it was important to materialize the ideas and understand how they work . The main purpose was to retain those seasonal costumers that buy my products in Easter and Christmas . To achieve the goal , we needed to understand who our consumers were and what they like . Without Design Thinkig , we would probably just ask them what they want . However , we understood that the answer could be the same any other competitor would have . So , to make it work , we used the Visualization tool with a group of costumers in order to overcome the main problem . Application I started the process by looking for what our main competitors sell and what consumers think about their products . The collection of data gave me an overview of the market . However , the main core of any business are the consumers , not the data . The question was “ What if we call consumers to a focus group and understand their point of view of our company and their desires about the market ? ” . It seemed a good strategy to evolve costumers in the creative process of our portfolio . To develop this idea , we chose a mixed group of twenty costumers . The first half were compounded by our loyal consumers and the second half were not our consumers yet . The main point here was to understand the people who were not our costumer and listen what our costumer had to tell us . The activity was designed to leave the individuals as free as possible . They could talk freely , and we asked some key questions to help us with the problem . They had some time to draw or make collages of the answers . After that , they could explain what each of picture means . Some of the questions used in the study are presented below :  What Alquimia ( In English Alchemy ) means to you ?  What is a good food for you ?  What is a bad food for you ?  What is your favorite dessert ? They were divided in four groups mixing the two types of consumers . We lead the dynamics , but we did not interfere in the discussion in order to give the proper space to conversations flow properly . Although they were in group , the opinions were individual as the images generated . The main purpose of the format was to foment the discussions . The images produced were collected and used in a board divided . C1 - Internal use Insight & Approach What I have learned from this exercise were that our consumers had a pretty interesting point of view of our company . Most of the draws / collages about the first question were related to creativity and quality . It was a good feedback from our costumers . However , in the conversations , they also related Alquimia with Easter or Christmas . This answer was interesting because they think we offer a good quality product , but they do not buy it during the year . This image is related to how I manage the posts and the propagandas of our products . The advertisements at our main media ( Instagram ) are only boosted in these two seasons . If the propaganda was more often and diverse they would see the posts with frequency and ask for the products not only in April or December . The idea of Alquimia in their minds were built buy us . The second important learning from this exercise is related to the other three questions . Looking for the images they produced I could see that their favorite sweets were not the one offered by other competitors . Most of the images were related to affective memories with their families . We understand that we can not offer the same products , but the question is : How to transform our products in affective memories ? How can we take advantage of the previews affective memories and be successful in the market ? The answer of this question can put us ahead of other competitors and make our incomes grow . The first idea that came is to adapt some of the flavors we offer today to others closer to those memories . The way to validate this idea will be using another Design Thinking tool , the Learning Launch . The point is to have some prototypes of new products and test with the same group . From this exercise , I could understand the costumers of my business beyond the answers they could give to me . People are valuable for small business , so they should be in the center of innovation . Using the Visualization tool , I could create a persona that I want to transform into my costumer . It will help me in future developments of other products .