Alternative & Post-Purchase Evaluation

In this segment I will look into the back half of the buying process of fitness supplements and accessories used to transport and use these supplements in order to "evaluate the content structure of opportunities to accurate determine their relative attractiveness" (Morris et al., 2012, p. 358). Please copy and paste the provided links for each interview into your browser to listen to the interviews conducted. Following are the questions I asked in the interviews:

Do you use pre-workout or fitness supplements?

Have you ever spilled supplement powder?

Have you ever had difficulty getting supplement powder into a container?

Have you ever used supplement capsules, specifically pre-workout capsules?
If not - why? Do you know someone who has used them? What was their experience?
If so, what was your experience? Do you prefer capsules or powder?


What are the pros of using supplement powder over capsules? Cons?

Would you say that the rate at which your body absorbs the supplement is an important factor in your purchase?

Would you be more likely to buy a pre-workout supplement that absorbed more quickly in your system?

In minutes, about how long on average do you think preparing, mixing, and consuming your pre-workout and post-workout supplements cumulatively takes? '

How do you transport your supplements?

When you mix your supplements in water, have you used any of the following:
a funnel
a scoop
a shaker bottle with an integrated compartment or funnel for supplements

Where do you usually purchase your supplements and supplement accessories (such as a funnel or compartmentalized shaker bottle)?
Do you usually purchase online or in store?
What factors are important when purchasing supplement accessories? Cost? quality? style?
What makes you try new products when it comes to quality?
Would you be more likely to buy a pre-workout supplement that didn't necessitate the use of a funnel, scoop, or extra products to transport it?
What helps determine if your purchase was a good idea? A bad idea? Could you provide an example?

Summary of the interviews:

Interview 1:
Mark specified that he has not taken other forms of pre-workout aside from powder, such as capsules, but did extrapolate on factors that he looked into when buying fitness supplements. Primarily, Mark is concerned with the quality of the product, and secondly cost. He is an in person shopper but will utilize online comparisons of products and vendors to validate his purchases. Mark identified that he spent about 15 minutes total preparing containers with supplements and consuming supplement solutions on days that he works out. The most important components of a supplement for Mark is how quickly he feels the effect of the pre workout he consumes, and admits that he would be more likely to buy or sample a supplement that took less time to produce an affect and reduced his preparation time for the gym. He has consistently enough spilled pre workout when preparing it, and has purchased accessories to reduce these errors, such as funnels. If he does not feel the affect from the pre workout that he desires, he does not feel like it was a worthwhile purchase. Also, the volume of product is a notable factor. He is more likely to purchase preworkout that comes in a larger volume rather than a smaller volume. In evaluating purchases, Mark is concerned with the functionality of his product: that it delivers what it promises to deliver or exceeds his expectations, which ultimately results in his devotion to that product as a consumer.

Interview 2:
Ken has not explored alternative pre workout supplement forms, such as capsules, and has stuck with the purchase of buying powder. Ken has also admitted to several occasions where he has spilled pre workout powder when preparing it. While he has had difficulty getting the preworkout into the container, he has not purchased additional accessories such as a funnel to solve his problem, and primarily uses the scoop and faith to ensure his preworkout transfers from the container to his shaker bottle for mixing. He is not aware of anyone that has used preworkout capsules. Ken finds that the rate at which the body absorbs the supplement is an important factor, and is disappointed in products that do not elicit a physical affect after consumption. He was very interested to pursue pre workout supplements that are absorbed more quickly in the system and reduce the time he spends preparing and consuming his supplement solutions, which is about 15 minutes. Ken does not transport his supplements and doesn’t have a need for additional containers to transport them to the gym since he works out at home. When he needs to make purchases for supplements he typically makes an in store purchase. Ken’s purchases are cost driven and he is more likely to buy something that’s going to give him a bigger bang for his buck. The motivation to try new products is found in conversation with friends and family members that have tried a product before and highly recommend it. Similarly to Mark, Ken finds success in a purchase when it performs at his expectations. If he does not see results from the product then he is disappointed in it and will not purchase it again. A bad idea to Ken is to continue to purchase something when you are not yielding results.

Interview 3:
I did not interview Paul with the same questions I had interviewed the others but we did talk extensively on his use of pre workout and I had unearthed some curious behavior. Paul owns several different brands of pre workouts, all of which affect him differently, one providing him with more energy than another. He admits that due to his work schedule at a food service warehouse, which is very physically demanding, he will typically mix several kinds of pre workouts in order to produce a desired affect based on the level he is expected to perform that night. For nights with heavy demand of orders to gather in the warehouse, Paul will mix a more potent pre workout powder with his usual pre workout powder in order to have more energy than usual. On other days, with the same volume and concentration, he will use a less potent pre workout powder to ensure his energy but without a strong affect. Paul makes a point to buy products of various degrees of energy deliverables so that he can customize the effect of the products. Paul did go on to say that he doesn’t know anyone that utilizes various products at once to produce the same affect, and that most other individuals that he knows that buy supplements will only invest in one brand, and it is in powdered form. He does use a funnel and specific container to transport these supplements to work sometimes, but tries to avoid using them due to the humidity in Florida that often causes the transported supplements to clump.

Conclusions:
On Alternative Evaluation:
In regards to alternatives, none of my candidates have ever used pre workout or other supplements in forms that were not powder. Off the record though, when I confided my idea to these individuals regarding a premeasured pod of pre workout that dissolved fully in water as a powder would, they were highly interested in trying that alternative to solve their issues of powder clean up and transportation. They were mostly concerned that the deliverable would produce the same affect in conjunction to reducing the time spent on preparing all of their pre and post workout materials for the gym.
On Purchase Decision:
Cost and quality were the selling factors for all of the individuals interviewed. All of my interviewees also purchased in store, rather than online. Furthermore, they were reliant on word of mouth and personal experience with the product when it came to trying something new. Mark specifically stated that he would not buy a product at full volume until he first tried a sample volume first.
On Post-Purchase Evaluation:
Seemingly, across the board, cost could be more easily compromised for quality so long as the product performed to the individual’s standards or better. Products that did not work for the consumer were not purchased again. Although, products that were disappointing did not typically go to waste, and were used until emptied, or combined with a more powerful pre workout to produce the desired effect. All individuals were interested in others’ post purchase evaluations in order to guide their decisions on their purchases. Ken specifically ensures to review online reviews from others and inquire about products that friends and family are using. Mark and Paul are sure to make side by side comparisons of products online before purchasing them in store. All base the success of the purchase off of functionality and the production of a desired effect from the supplement.