Logan Russell’s Forming an Opportunity Belief

1.    Beginning Point- I often find that when I am walking my dogs, I struggle to hold onto all of my stuff. Between holding the leashes of two dogs, the bags I have to carry for their business, my phone, wallet, keys and so on, there is a lot to be responsible for. I think attaching a bag to a leash for some of those miscellaneous items would alleviate the burden of having to look after so much at once.

2.    Belief Description- The unmet need is that some people need more storage space for stuff while they are walking their dogs and they do not have it. People who would have this need includes men and women who are walking their dogs in clothing without any pockets, or just anyone who feels burdened by having to look after their things and their dogs. This need I would say is fairly new, as we now live in an age where practically no one is ever without their cell phone, so that’s something people always have to look after. Combine that with the wallet and keys and you’ve got a real problem on your hands, or not on your hands (pun fully intended). People are meeting this need by trying their best to keep track of their belongings whilst walking their dogs through normal means, like shoving stuff into their pockets or waistbands, or trying to keep it all in the clutch of their grasp without dropping everything. As someone with two dogs who has personally struggled keeping all of their stuff together while being dragged around, I can attest to how greatly this opportunity exists. 

3.    Customer Identification- I was lucky enough to have visited home fairly recently, and to test the plausibility of this belief, I stood in front of a Petco and discussed their interest in the advent of such a product. 

4.    Iteration No. 1- The first woman I spoke to, an older woman who was picking up her Pomeranian from a grooming, was very adamant about using such a product should it ever exist. She told me how when she walks her dog in dresses how she always had to leave her belongings at home because there was never anywhere to put them. She told me how she would miss calls and how frustrated it made her. Me bringing up this opportunity to her made her realize how long she had been dealing with the issue; honestly, I was kind of shocked about how passionate she got when explaining her frustration. She first encountered the problem when she first started bringing the aforementioned items with her on her walks, and eventually came to the conclusion that she had to leave everything at home if she was walking without any pockets. She solves the problem by just leaving all of her stuff at home, but she wasn’t happy with the solution as she was concerned about missing important phone calls and the like.

Iteration No. 2- I next spoke to a younger gentleman who was leaving the store with food for his dog back home. When I spoke to him about the leash idea, he believed that the idea was strong and had its merits, but he also thought it wouldn’t directly benefit him. He, like most guys, wears pants with a sufficient number of pockets that could accommodate anything he might possibly bring on a walk with his dog. He admitted that while he personally never had or would have the need for a leash with a bag, the idea itself could be especially beneficial to women, as they sometimes wear clothing without pockets, making carrying the items a hassle. This corroborated the feedback I received from the first interaction I had. Even though I couldn’t go through the line of questioning the assignment requested for these interviews because of this gentleman’s lack of wanting such an item, I found his insight intriguing and significant nevertheless, and so I felt it was necessary to include it. 

Iteration No. 3- The final person I spoke to was a woman who was leaving the store with her Labrador retriever. When I discussed the leash idea with her, she responded with similar enthusiasm compared to my first interviewee. She talked specifically about how she often runs with her dog, and prefers to wear yoga pants during these excursions. She told me while some of her yoga pants have pockets, they never have enough space for all of her belongings she would like to bring because the pants are skintight. She had had the problem ever since she started running with her dog, which was only recently. This is a problem she experienced consistently due to her workout routine with her dog. Like the first woman, she is forced to leave important things like her phone behind or tuck it in her waistband, which gets uncomfortable because of the running. She is not satisfied with this, and hopes to find something similar to what we discussed together. 

5.    Reflect- The major takeaway from the three interviews I conducted was that the problem I am looking to solve exists outside of my personal beliefs and a beneficial solution has not yet been attained. Also, definitely worth noting is that these interviews taught me that this product should be geared specifically toward women. Like I mentioned earlier when it came up in the interviews, sometimes women walk their dogs in clothing without pockets, so where does all the stuff go? They are the target audience for an idea like mine. I guess you could say that was also the most surprising thing, because even though the one guy I spoke to thought the idea was strong, I was taken aback by his certainty that he would never need such a product. 

6.    Summary- The interviews I conducted didn’t really change the overall structure of my idea; I still believe that what it is currently solves a problem endured by many. I didn’t receive any feedback so incredibly earthshattering that I needed to rethink my entire idea. The interviews definitely helped me make the opportunity more accurate by making me realize whom it would best benefit. I personally believe that a product should be responsive to customer feedback, but at the same time also remain what it is at its core. An example of this I am quite fond of is “New Coke.” When Coke and Pepsi were neck and neck in competing for supremacy in the soft drink industry, Coke revealed “New Coke,” a Coke product that tasted like Pepsi, to try to get a leg up. It is notorious for being one of the biggest campaign blunders in food history, and proves that being responsive to feedback only works if what makes the product what it is essentially still remains unchanged.