Usually, Monday morning is all about rushing to work and clocking in on time. But sometimes, a ride to your workplace becomes unforgettable just because of a conversation with the bike/cab rider. Varun Raj had one such incident. Sharing his experience on LinkedIn, Varun wrote that he booked a Rapido bike to commute to work. As the journey began, the rider, identified as Dinesh, started to ask questions about the consumer habits related to dairy products apart from milk.
Questioning his intent, Varun learnt that the rider left his IT job to start his own dairy business in his hometown, Odisha. The conversations between him and the rider are a marketing strategy to get insights into the core demographic of dairy products.
"Paisa Bhi Milega Aur Feedback Bhi"
Explaining his unusual approach, Dinesh said that rather than returning home and doing market research on what customers truly want regarding dairy products, he chose to drive Rapido and spend a year in Bengaluru. "He's given himself one year to get the model right. Then it's back to Odisha to build the business," Raj wrote.
For Dinesh, these rides are beneficial in two ways. Alongside earning a decent amount of money to sustain his living, he is gathering feedback about what potential customers would want from his future dairy products business. With the target market being the IT sector, Dinesh is learning something new that can prove beneficial while establishing his business in Odisha.
Earlier Worked At NPCI
Dinesh has a dairy farm back home in Odisha and intends to expand it into a dairy business. He quit his job at NPCI, came to Bengaluru, and started riding Rapido. Although his family wasn't happy with his decision to quit his job, Dinesh continues to explore his target segment and get the insights needed before investing heavily in the dairy venture.
"Every morning he rides, and whenever he gets a passenger from his target segment, esp IT folks, he strikes up a conversation. Customer discovery from the back of a bike," Raj wrote.
No MBA Jargon Needed
Fascinated by Dinesh's market research strategy, Varun wrote, "It wasn't just the idea. It was the clarity. No MBA jargon, no pitch deck, no market research report. Just a guy asking his customers what they want."
Hailing Dinesh's authentic research, one user commented, "This is such a beautiful example of customer discovery in its most authentic form. Sometimes the best market research is simply having real conversations with the people you’re trying to serve." Knowing what customers want exactly and in what form is the real marketscaping and product building.
Sometimes a simple conversation can be so insightful that it leaves us thinking, "Do we actually need high-tech research tools or just a clear intent to start a business. The rest falls into place."