As a product manager for N&M consulting company hired by Super Shop to create a proposal that will help the added value to the business, my marketing team and I have conducted the need assessment process in a grocery shop and identified specific human needs that require immediate attention. Some of the key human needs that should be resolved are the online and delivery services and product variety. These two needs are essential for the contemporary grocery shop to compete effectively. The shopping trend for customers has been primarily influenced by technology evolution, which is a factor the shop owners should consider keenly and not be left out operating in traditional ways.
Emerging Problem
The target audiences for this Super shop grocery are the professional and stay at home parents. When you look at these two categories of the target audience, one factor affecting them should be considered. The two categories of consumers don’t have enough time to go shopping as most professionals are busy at work while also staying at home parents are busy with work. Thus, they will need to take the minimum time possible to finish shopping and embark on their duties when they come shopping. The time factor is a serious issue that the grocery should deal with, especially when the primary target audiences are busy and lack ample time for shopping. If the time factor problem is solved, the consumer will be served well, and business will experience value proposition.
The Possible Consumer-Focused Solution to the Problem
Consumer-focus implies having your customers’ needs first by satisfying the needs properly and developing a robust connection. The possible solution to the identified problem is for the grocery owner to save customers time through the following ways. First, the target audience is professionals who, in most cases, do interact with computers and are aware of online shopping and delivery. If the grocery can be transformed into e-grocery, it will save customer time shopping online and goods delivered to the doorstep. Second, the grocery should consider having a variety of products that will ensure the customer has many alternatives and substitutes.
Value Proposition
The value proposition is where a marketing strategy employed by a business should convince a potential customer as to why the product and services offered will be of more value to them than from their counterparts. With the use of design thinking, a methodology that gives a solution-based approach to solving problems can direct in attaining value proposition by the business (Harvard Business School, 2020). Using the five stages of design thinking such as gaining an empathic understanding of a problem, defining the core problem, generating ideas to solve the problem, solutions implementation within prototyping where they are investigated and either accepted or improved and finally, the testing stage of the solutions formulated (Lake, 2020).
Design Thinking Supports Prototyping
The proposed solutions suggested in a consumer-based solution should be adapted because solutions were formulated after various considerations in design thinking stages. First and foremost, there was an understanding of the problem, after which analysis was done on observations and synthesize of the problem to define core problem facing the business. Brainstorming of the problem to produce helpful ideas in creating a solution to the problem and investigating the problem solutions to have a better solution through prototyping. Then rigorous testing is done to generate the best solution to be adapted (Dam, 2020).
Strategies to Test Proposed Solutions
There are two types of the proposed solution to solve the business identified problem, the migration to online and delivery services and introducing varieties of products in the grocery shop. Online and delivery services can be tested by observing the traffic on the grocery website and the rate at which products will be ordered by the customers. The data will be analyzed on a daily basis to see the progression of the solution and the success of the solution will be witnessed through heavy traffic on the website. Regarding the product variety solution, data of the varieties products introduced to the business will also be assessed on a daily to determine if customers are buying them.
