15A: Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No.2

Segment: Baby Boomers who are 70 years or older

Interview One:

I decided to go to North Florida Hospital Medical Center to find new interviews. I was able to interview an older lady who was just leaving the hospital and seemed relatively content. I asked her how she gets her prescriptions, and she told me that she lives right outside Gainesville and that there was a Walgreens close to her house. In addition, I asked her how inconvenient is for her to go to Walgreens and she told me that she doesn’t like it at all. She mentioned that sometimes the pharmacists take 25 minutes to give her the prescription she needs. As a result, I was able to figure out her alternatives evaluation.

Alternative evaluation: This older lady, who appeared to be of high class, prefers style rather than price or quality. As she stated, she detests going to Walgreens to wait for her prescription.

How/where do they buy: As stated, she goes to the store (Walgreens) to buy her prescription.

Post-Purchase evaluation: what matters most to her, other than getting the right prescription, was how fast she could get it. As she mentioned, she hates how long she has to wait for it, so I think the time is an important factor in her post-purchase evaluation.

Interview two: I decided to interview an older gentleman who was sitting down waiting to be called in by the doctors. This gentleman, who was with his wife, had a walker and could only walk slowly. I asked him how he gets his medicine and prescription. He said that most of the time, his wife has to do it for him since he’s not able to go out very often. Also, he mentioned that they live in Trenton which is a town about an hour to Gainesville and about 20 minutes to get to the closest pharmacy. In addition, he said that he wishes his wife didn’t have to go by herself.

Alternative evaluation:  This gentleman prefers style than all other alternatives. As he said, he does not like his wife going to pick up his medicine. In addition, he lives about 20 minutes away from the closest pharmacy which allowed me to conclude that he prefers style.

How/where do they buy: He buys his medicine from the closest pharmacy which is around 20 minutes away from where he lives.

Post-Purchase evaluation: What matters the most to this customer, I believe, is how far it is for him or his wife to get his medicine. Therefore, time is crucial in his evaluation purchase.

Interview 3: The last interview I conducted was with a young guy which is a nurse at the hospital. Although he is not included in my segment, he could be a potential customer. I asked him about what he did and where he went to get medicine whenever he got sick. He mentioned that although he works at a hospital, he rarely gets sick. He said that he can’t afford to get sick because he’s very short on time and has various responsibilities. In addition, he said that there was one time when he got extremely sick that he couldn’t even move. He said that it took everything out of him to get up and get his medicine at CVS.

Alternative Evaluation: In this case, style is also what matters the most to this potential customer. He stated that he doesn’t have time to get his medicine so whenever he does, he wants it as soon as possible. Quality is also important for him since he can’t afford to get sick so he needs the best medicine to recover faster.

How/where do they buy: He buys from CVS.

Post-Purchase Evaluation: What matters the most for him is how fast he can recover from being sick as he doesn’t have time. Therefore, the effectiveness or quality of the medicine is what defines the “rightness” of his purchase.

Conclusion: Based on these interviews, I learned that time is the most important factor in my segment. I believe customers are willing to spend more if they could get their medicine faster. In addition, quality is also important because customers want to recover as fast as possible from being sick. Although the price is important, it’s not crucial when it comes to health and medicine.