Forming An Opportunity, Assignment 4A
I have a belief that there is a problem with the Apple iPhone charging cables. I myself have experienced dozens of broken charging cables due to the wear and tear they receive on the end that plugs into the phone. Not only do I have this problem, but it is something that I noted other students in my Entrepreneurship class have too.
What happens is that the end of the cable that gets plugged into our phone often receives excessive bending. This excessive bending causes the outer rubbery layer of the cable to break, revealing the internal wires of the cable.
The unmet need is a solution that will prevent this problem. Everyone with an iPhone, over 1.6 billion people, has experienced this problem and is looking for that solution. The need for the solution hasn't always been needed, it started with the release and expansion of iPhones. People all over the world are creating their own "at home" solutions to fix this problem - putting tape around the section prone to breaking is the most popular one.
However, I believe that if a popular, functional, economical, and within-easy-reach solution is provided to the public, people will buy it.
Reflection after speaking with a prototypical customer:
Customer 1 stated that the need will only require a solution if the split in the cable is severe enough to affect the functionality of the cable. Customer stated that sometimes the split is very small and only a cosmetic issue that doesn't need a solution. However, that if the split was large enough and the inner cables were exposed, they would look for a solution.
Customer 2 stated that his charging cables breaking were a real problem he had to deal with. That often the cable would be spilt and the charging functionality would decrease. He would have to "angle" the cable at a specific position to get it to charge his iPhone. However, after he started treating his cables with more care and caution, "not pulling them from the cable but instead from the base", that the problem diminished and his cables lasted longer. Customer 2 also stated that cables were so inexpensive his solution was just to buy a new one.
Customer 3 stated that this issue happened to him often. Just like the other he really only cared to do something about it until it started affecting functionality, not just cosmetics. He tried a technique that was new to me, which was putting the spring from the inside of a pen around the area of the cable prone to breaking. He said it only delayed the problem from happening. However, what he did next complete fixed his issue - He bought a stronger, 3rd party iPhone charging cable.
Reflection:
Based on the feedback of my prototypical customer interviews, I have concluded that people seem to dismiss this issue more than I originally thought. Although still an issue, I believe the original opportunity I had is a bit smaller. I was surprised that people rather just buy a new cable instead of attempting to prevent the issue from even happening. I think it's crucial for entrepreneurs to soak in feedback and pivot their direction if they need to. The tradeoff that comes from pivoting or "adapting" to feedback is incredible since you are building a product/service that is even more catered to a real problem.
What happens is that the end of the cable that gets plugged into our phone often receives excessive bending. This excessive bending causes the outer rubbery layer of the cable to break, revealing the internal wires of the cable.
The unmet need is a solution that will prevent this problem. Everyone with an iPhone, over 1.6 billion people, has experienced this problem and is looking for that solution. The need for the solution hasn't always been needed, it started with the release and expansion of iPhones. People all over the world are creating their own "at home" solutions to fix this problem - putting tape around the section prone to breaking is the most popular one.
However, I believe that if a popular, functional, economical, and within-easy-reach solution is provided to the public, people will buy it.
Reflection after speaking with a prototypical customer:
Customer 1 stated that the need will only require a solution if the split in the cable is severe enough to affect the functionality of the cable. Customer stated that sometimes the split is very small and only a cosmetic issue that doesn't need a solution. However, that if the split was large enough and the inner cables were exposed, they would look for a solution.
Customer 2 stated that his charging cables breaking were a real problem he had to deal with. That often the cable would be spilt and the charging functionality would decrease. He would have to "angle" the cable at a specific position to get it to charge his iPhone. However, after he started treating his cables with more care and caution, "not pulling them from the cable but instead from the base", that the problem diminished and his cables lasted longer. Customer 2 also stated that cables were so inexpensive his solution was just to buy a new one.
Customer 3 stated that this issue happened to him often. Just like the other he really only cared to do something about it until it started affecting functionality, not just cosmetics. He tried a technique that was new to me, which was putting the spring from the inside of a pen around the area of the cable prone to breaking. He said it only delayed the problem from happening. However, what he did next complete fixed his issue - He bought a stronger, 3rd party iPhone charging cable.
Reflection:
Based on the feedback of my prototypical customer interviews, I have concluded that people seem to dismiss this issue more than I originally thought. Although still an issue, I believe the original opportunity I had is a bit smaller. I was surprised that people rather just buy a new cable instead of attempting to prevent the issue from even happening. I think it's crucial for entrepreneurs to soak in feedback and pivot their direction if they need to. The tradeoff that comes from pivoting or "adapting" to feedback is incredible since you are building a product/service that is even more catered to a real problem.
I can definitely relate to the broken iphone charging cords, right now my charger is broken at the end. Although it is annoying, my charger still works. Therefore, I can relate to your prototypical customers’ feedback, as I would only replace it if it stopped working or became too frayed. After reading your example and doing this assignment myself, I also believe that you must soak in feedback. However, my feedback also provided me with more ideas as other issues were brought up that I had not thought of.
ReplyDeleteHi Cristian,
ReplyDeleteI also find the iPhone chargers annoying especially if the factory ones break because in my experience, they seem to last the longest. I just find this interesting because I've never met anyone with a Samsung charger complain about a broken charger and it seems to solely affect Apple users. That seems suspicious to me and I wonder what makes the two styles different other than the charging piece itself. After all, we use the chargers the same amount of time.
Thanks for sharing,
Tess
Hey Cristian,
ReplyDeleteiPhone Charging Cables are so infuriating. I hate how they break so easily towards the ends as well. We already have to plan for our phones to go out of commission within 2 years and they also make flimsy chargers that break super easily. Apple is making so much money on their products being ineffective and it sucks because there's really not many other options to avoid this.
Hello Christian!
ReplyDeleteAlthough I do not have an iPhone, I can sympathize in general with the frailty of phone chargers. It gets very frustrating having to try and wiggle a phone charger to get it to go in a position to charge your phone, not to mention the increased time it will take for your phone to charge. Apple in particular seems to try to make extra money off of their customers wherever they have the chance, and I don't think the frailty of the chargers is any different.