RESEARCH
Understanding Our Users
We gathered information from a survey of Seattle urbanites, conducted interviews, and researched our competitors to find out as much as we could about our target users.
We Started With A Few Assumptions:
Weekend trips would be the most popular.
Online-only reservations would be fine for most people.
That there would be more competition for “car camping”.
Online-only reservations would be fine for most people.
That there would be more competition for “car camping”.
Some Of Them Held True:
In our survey, 53% thought weekends were great!
63% wanted the option to speak to a real person if needed.
We found that most camping rentals were RVs.
63% wanted the option to speak to a real person if needed.
We found that most camping rentals were RVs.
Our Personas
Utilizing our research, we developed personas based on the general needs of the user we hope to serve
LUCY
Lucy, an urbanite, can get anyplace using transit and has found little use for a car. She loves to camp but has not been able to since she moved to the city. She would love to get away but has a couple of problems: no car or gear.
“I can do about anything with my phone and Uber… but I can’t use them to camp.”
PAUL
Paul, an urbanite, usually gets around the city on his bike or the bus. Maybe one day he will own a car but not yet. Paul and his friends want to get out into nature and try camping. But he is unsure how to start and does not trust everything on YouTube or Google.
“What do I even need to camp? Where do I go to find out?”
Brainstorming From Survey Results:
We brainstormed, focusing on different services our app might provide. Our focus became centered on a few key features.
Provide either a tent or room in the back of the car to sleep. Room in the car was most popular especially when it rains.
Provide gear packages. These would be helpful to our users and promote the REI brand.
Easy to arrange pick up and drop off options.
Provide trip packages that would include camp reservations and itineraries.
Provide advice and help from outdoor experts.
Provide gear packages. These would be helpful to our users and promote the REI brand.
Easy to arrange pick up and drop off options.
Provide trip packages that would include camp reservations and itineraries.
Provide advice and help from outdoor experts.
KEY THEMES FROM THE SURVEY
SCENARIOS EXTRAPOLATED FROM THE SURVEY
In-Person Interviews
Our in-person interviews re-emphasized the important role that trust plays in an app that offers the kind of service we are proposing. Interviewees specifically mention REI and Patagonia for gear. We confirmed that users would want solid names to be associated with the app and we know that brands like REI, Toyota, Subaru, and Ford will help foster the trust we seek for the app.
We also found that convenience and cost play an important part in their choices for camping. Partnering with established brands will help to mitigate the cost of rentals.
We also found that convenience and cost play an important part in their choices for camping. Partnering with established brands will help to mitigate the cost of rentals.
Understanding Our Users' Choices
Market research helped us know what kind of choices our users had for camping rentals. We found that almost all companies that offered camping vehicles and gear rentals focused on campervans and RVs. The more we dug, the more we realized that there could be a real market for car camping rental packages. Especially using SUV-type vehicles. Some of the companies we looked at included:
Escape Campervans
Go Explore it
Lost Campers USA
Travellers Autobarn
Go Explore it
Lost Campers USA
Travellers Autobarn