Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

Segment: The segment I chose was adults who have elderly parents that need assistance with everyday tasks.

Interview 1: My first interview was with a middle-aged woman. She and her husband have three daughters still at home. Her elderly father lives across town and is beginning to need help every day. She said she would consider hiring a service to help him, but that her family was also considering moving her father into their home. She also planned on asking the VA for resources or referrals, since her father is a veteran and they are often there. When I asked her what would factor into her decision, she said that the two most important factors of her decision would be price and quality of care. She felt that the ongoing cost of using a third-party service would be much greater than the minimal moving expenses it would take to move her father in. She also felt that her family could deal with her father’s difficult personality better than an outsider. If she chose to go with a third-party service, she felt that she would want to meet the caregiver in person before signing a contract. She would prefer if the in-person meeting involved her father, as she would want to make sure that the employee and her father were a good match. She said that she would weigh the quality of care that her father received against the price to determine if the service was worth the financial sacrifice. She also said that she would regret the purchase if the employed caregiver was not trustworthy.

Interview 2: My second interview was with 49-year-old man who has a father living out of town who just got out of inpatient rehab for issues with his ankle. After getting home, his father’s issues became too great for his mother to physically handle alone, and his father was failing to do his physical therapy exercises every day. He said that he was considering hiring a service or certified medical assistant for help. The factors that would influence his decision would be cost, insurance coverage, and reliability. When asked which factor would play the biggest role, he said overall cost to his family. He plans on paying in cash or by credit card. He currently plans on flying up over a weekend to help his parents and hire some outside help. Due to quarantine, he has been researching options online and using Zoom to interview caregivers. He said that he would feel that hiring a service was the “right” decision if they were able to lessen the burden of care on his mother shoulders, as she is frail and he is worried about her injuring herself trying to help his father. Even if the service lessened his mother’s responsibilities, he said that he may regret using a service if it put significant financial strain on his family.

Interview 3: My final interview was with a 54-year-old man who lives near his 86-year-old mom. While his mom is still independent, he is starting a new job and is considering hiring someone to keep her company and to help her with little errands. He struggled to come up with any alternative solutions but said that he was still on the fence about hiring outside assistance. He said insurance coverage was the most important factor in his decision, as he would not be able to afford such a service unless it was fully covered by his mother’s insurance. He would personally meet with the caregiver that would be helping his mom before hiring a service. If he was able to hire the service through insurance, he felt that he would value the service based on if his mom felt safe, happy, and cared for. If his mother did not like the caregiver, he felt that he might regret hiring the service.

Conclusion: Based on these interviews, my potential customers have many different alternative options for care other than my service. I was surprised to see that cost was the primary factor in all of my interviewees’ alternative evaluations. While some of my previous interviews had indicated that the cost of the service was important, I did not realize exactly how important it was to my customers until these interviews. My customer segment preferred to meet and interview potential caregivers in person (if possible) before hiring a service, and indicated that they would immediately pay the service or have the service send the bill directly to an insurance company. This showed me that I should research different insurance policies, as insurance covering my service may expand my customer base. My customers primarily judged the value of their purchase by the quality of care that the service provided. While the exact care that was provided differed from client to client (due to the personalized nature of the service), all of my customers based their valuation on how useful the care was to their parents.