18A Create A Customer Avatar

In theory, my product is something valuable to both businesses (schools) and individuals (students). For the customer avatar, we are going to focus on the individual.

           

They are going to a university outside of the state they live in (ex. they attend the University of Florida, but they live in North Dakota). They are 18-19 years old and they are first time college freshmen. They grew up with an easy childhood where they had parents and siblings in the house to help with the chores. They always could rely on someone in the house to remind them to eat healthy, exercise, and other aspects to help them maintain a balanced healthy lifestyle. They exercised in high school but never joined any team sports. Now they just started attending the university and have begun the process of acclimating to living on their own for the first time. They are excited for this new change but quickly realize that living on their own is harder than they thought.

           

Since they are living on campus for their first year in hopes to make the transition into college life easier, they do not have a car. They prefer to travel by foot or on their bike to their classes. They are very studious and always dedicate much of their time to their studies. Sitting in the classroom with hundreds of brand-new faces, they are shy to talk to people they have never met before. They realize making friends has proven to be a difficulty, so they look into joining some clubs. However, there is so many to choose from they often find themselves overwhelmed by having to choose one or two to join. But not to worry, they always have the Office on Netflix to watch if they are feeling they need some relaxation time.

            

Living at home, they always had their family to make sure they were leading a healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, due to the stresses of living on their own for the first time is causing them to become unbalanced in some areas of a healthy life. Having unlimited access to the dining halls is causing them to lose track of maintaining a healthy diet. Having to figure out how to budget their time on their own is creating an unequal balance of study time, social time, and time for exercise. They understand the importance of living in a healthy way, but they realize now that they have fallen off track, they need a way to regain that balance. They know the university offers many resources, but they do not know where to even begin. They are only 18-19 years old, but they feel like they are 30 years old. They just need a way to hold themselves accountable of maintaining a healthy balance of these aspects.

What do I have in common with the avatar?

I grew up in a home where my family also made sure I was maintaining a healthy life. My parents always made sure I was eating right and were always encouraging me to exercise. I have always been a studious person like the avatar.  As a freshman, this is also my first time living on my own and had to learn that living on your own is harder than it seems. I had to learn how to maintain a balanced healthy life on my own and in certain aspects I struggled a little bit.

Is this a coincidence?

I do not think this is a coincidence. I came up with this idea because of the experiences I had been through and the experiences other freshmen I know had been through. I understand that maintaining a balanced healthy lifestyle on your own can be a struggle and that is why I wanted to pursue this venture and help students who are experiencing this problem.