12A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

The segment I chose for the type of people that I'm interviewing are business owners. The reason why I chose business owners is because they typically would have the same needs as someone who is interested in purchasing and download BeyondKash. Although BeyondKash is not made specifically for business owners, finding individuals that are in "need" of a mobile payment application would be too complex to get for an interview. 

Interview 1: The first business owner I decided to interview was over the phone with a hair stylist who works at a salon in Fort Lauderdale, FL named Jeffrey. I asked Jeffrey about, after he provides his services for the customer, what methods of payment he accepts and if he has trouble with finding a platform that all customers share. He explained to me that he uses an app and scanner on his phone for credit card transactions because he had trouble with creating so many accounts for mobile payment. I, then, asked if he would go back to mobile payment through an app, like Venmo, if he found a reliable app that all of his customers had and that allowed him with all the tools to use for his business. His reply was that he would pay top dollar to not have to worry about the hassle of a scanner and the fees it charges. I concluded our interview by asking Jeffrey if there, theoretically, was an alternative to paying the fees and having his money instantly transferred in an application, would he buy it? He also replied yes and explained that people who run businesses through payment apps want to keep track of their money and explained how hard it is when they don't know how much money is going to be transferred, and when it will get to their bank accounts.  

Interview 2: The second person I interviewed was a lawyer named Cindy from Hollywood FL. Cindy explained throughout the interview that the most common form of payments are through online banking or checks. I asked if she had ever thought about using a mobile payment app on her phone and she specifically explained to me how large transfers of money sometimes froze her account and complained about not seeing the money for days. I, then, asked if its because she refused to pay the fees for an instant transfer or unlimited sending and her answer was yes. Furthermore, I offered her a list of benefits from paying a one time fee for BeyondKash and she exclaimed that if it was available on the app store, she would definitely look into purchasing it to help make transferring money easier. Towards the end of the interview I asked Cindy about what other options she would use if her current method didn't work. Her answer was that she would have to research the cheapest way to transfer large amounts of money online and would scramble through her options. To go along, I also questioned if she talked to other lawyers and what methods they use for online banking. She replied that most lawyers are traditional and still require a check for their services, in which they go and cash it at a bank. 

Interview 3: The last interview I did was over the phone with a business owner in New York running his own online social media/advertisement company. My friend Sam has been passionate about helping small companies learn to advertise and so I questioned him about how he's paid for his services. Since most of his communication is with clients online, he requires them to have one of a numbered list of mobile payment services such as Western Union, Paypal, Zelle and Venmo. I told him to picture himself without mobile payment and asked him what the first thing he would do was. He explained to me that he would ask around to see what other people were using and that if he had to, he would find the fastest way to get his money to his bank accounts, inexpensively. I followed up those questions by asking if speed and price were the main features he cared about with mobile banking and he explained to me that  he moves money around frequently and can't afford to pay expensive expedited fees. I told him about a new app design announced called BeyondKash, an app where you can pay a one time fee where you can transfer unlimited amounts of money instantly and without a charge. After hearing about the app, he explained that he would rather pay a standard monthly or one time fee instead of deductions each transactions, as it would help with keeping tracking of spending and profits. 

The segment of business owners was definitely going to be in need of a way to transfer money efficiently and inexpensively, as no business owner wants to lose money every time they receive it. The interviews with business owners only helped prove that owners only cared about their money and when their getting it, the two main concepts behind BeyondKash. Although, the interviews with the lawyer and hair stylist helped prove that there's an opportunity for our need is the professional world and people would invest in it. Ultimately, the segment of business owners helps to show that this need is clearly visible and helped give us a great deal of information about what most owners look for in using any third party source with their assets.