VeriFone
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An investigation of mobile payment started with a list of 300 possible market applications - the list was narrowed to eleven by assessing the usefulness of mobility to all 300 business types
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Ethnographic research was used to deeply study the eleven focused areas; researchers shadowed appliance repairmen, tow truck operators, limo drivers, and others
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Two new opportunity areas (that were not in the initial list of 300) were discovered during the process
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For here or to go?
As the leader in credit card payment terminals, VeriFone was interested in new mobile payment technology. Yet current customers saw little usefulness in un-tethering their terminals. Starting with VeriFone's list of 300 possible market applications, the program assessed the usefulness of the technology for each, zeroing in on 11 potential markets that were studied further. The study included interviews with pizza delivery staff, waiters, appliance repairmen, and others. Although the environment of use was an obvious factor in the need for mobility, subtle cultural factors affecting the merchant and the credit card user were even stronger drivers of adoption. The program's final recommendations included three good-fit segments for mobile payment devices, two of which were not in VeriFone's original list of 300. |
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