Interviewing Customers No. 2

After my first round of interviews, I found that my idea for a textbook exchange app has gotten some pretty positive responses. People don't like buying textbooks and are frustrated with the process. An app that could make everything simpler and cheaper could be really effective. I think the app should allow students to create a profile, connect to their school, and then let them make a list of what textbooks they're selling and which they need. I didn't really have to change the "who" in my interviews for round two. My target audience is pretty straightforward and I didn't have any problems last time. I did get a wider variety of students this time as I got some freshmen and some graduate students so that was helpful. I started off each interview just asking everybody to tell me about themselves. I didn't do this last time and I think it made both me and the people I was interviewing more comfortable this time which was nice. This round of interviews, I asked for problems encountered when buying textbooks, their thoughts on the app, and then what they would look for specifically in the app to make it worthwhile. The first student I interviewed turned out to be the first of two ENT3003 students I found. He had a really similar idea to mine which helped me come up with a fourth question. His idea was for a physical location for students to meet up at rather than an app. People would go to the store and trade, sell, and buy textbooks for a reduced cost rather than going online or to the UF bookstore which is often expensive. So my fourth question after interviewing him was whether it would be a good idea to combine TextSwap with a physical location (his interview with me can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wuVdMT8jL0). I got a lot of good feedback this time to really develop the idea. People complained a lot about costs obviously but also told me how textbooks take forever to come in and often times they're damaged and difficult to use. People still had an interest in the app because it would be so much easier than buying textbooks. I learned the most about my question when I asked them what they would look for specifically in the app. I got some great responses about having a bar scanner in order to upload the textbook rather than typing out the ISBM. People also mentioned some safety issues about how it could be weird to meet up with a stranger to trade textbooks. This makes it clear that there would have to be designated locations and times for people to trade. There could even be an employee that holds the textbooks and makes the exchanges when people come which would make it easier on everybody. People also emphasized how the app would have to be very simple. It just needs to have very basic profiles and be very easy to navigate and find textbooks. When I asked about combining the app with a physical location, people did think that would work out because it would solve some of the safety issues. Students would also be able to browse other textbooks in the store that they might need. This time interviewing customers was a lot easier. I only got turned down once and it was nice to run into some other students who were also interviewing customers. My first tip to future students would be to interview people who are sitting down rather than walking around. They are much more likely to agree to be interviewed. Another thing would be starting off each interview by asking the person to say a little bit about themselves. It makes everything a lot easier and comfortable. The last tip I have to offer would be to have confidence. I can almost assure you that somebody is going to say no but don't take it personally. Just keep going and you'll be much happier with your final product.