UniqueGift conducted customer interviews to understand needs for an online service that helps travelers choose unique gifts from different countries. Interview responses showed that travelers want information on must-visit places, local vendors, gift ratings and reviews to feel confident in their selections. Local vendors could benefit from increased sales by reaching more potential international customers. The interviews revealed features to improve like detailed product information, statistics for vendors, and ensuring selections are truly unique to each country.

2. What are good places to visit in each other
country?
What is really worth to visit?
Where to stay and where not?
And what are the products which are
really unique for each other
country? What is it what you can not
buy anywhere else?
Is there any nice local pizzeria Italy?
What about great wine store in Spain or
Portugal?
Do they have something special in
Denmark?
UniqueGift
uniqueGift: What are the questions

3. UniqueGift is a web-based service that
allows travelers to read stories from
countries with a focus on unique places
or at least good places to visit
with travelers advices for particular country
UniqueGift is also
e-commerce place where users can
buy unique products from different
countries with uniqueness for each
other country.
UniqueGift connects local vendors
from different countries with some kind of
uniqueness and promote them
on our web-based service.
UniqueGift
uniqueGift: What is it?

4. Advice platform:
Stories and advices from all around the world
E-commerce platform:
One stop place for shopping unique
products which you can not buy
anywhere else.
Connect platform:
Will connect local vendors from each other
country. The only rule here should be they
must be somehow unique.
UniqueGift
uniqueGift: What we want to build?

5. Early stage prototype: http://www.fermio.sk/uniquegift
uniqueGift: What is the prototype?

6. Early stage prototype: http://www.fermio.sk/uniquegift
uniqueGift: What is the prototype?

7. We have interviewed the customers from not just
different countries but also from different continents. We
did not consider any limitation such as age or gender. Our
only limitation was at least one traveling experience.
During the limited time we decided to have questions very
short and open.
We would say this is a must have to go to
future customers and simple ask if they like
product/service/app or not.
We want to lunch step-by-step and country-by-
country , but we believe we reach a global aspect
of UniqueGift. Since there is some limitation on
time / timezone we have been able to complete
around 12 customer interview. We are still waiting
for several more 10-12 interview back. Also we had
made face-to-face interviews.
UniqueGift
uniqueGift: Customer interviews

8. We have divided our questions into two major
sections
We did face-to-face meeting.
We did placed also online interview ,
email, call, skype, chat
A. Question without showing prototype
B. Question with showing prototype
UniqueGift
uniqueGift: How we did the interviews

9. 1. What kind of info do you look for when traveling to a
country for the first time?
2. How do you choose a present to take home from
abroad?
5. What kind of info would you like to find
included in such an online service/app?
3. Have you ever bought a present just because you
have to return with something, have you regretted
such a choice?
4. How would you evaluate an online service that
UniqueGift
uniqueGift: Question without showing prototype

10. 6. Why this service/app would be useful for the users?
7. Why this service/app would be useful for local vendors?
If yes can do name it? Was it useful?
10. What else you would be expecting from this
service/app?
11. What you think is not clear in this service/app on the
first sight?
8. In case you will be local vendor without e-
commerce solution what you will expect from
E-commerce solution?
9. Have you ever heard about something
similar service/app?
UniqueGift
uniqueGift: Question with showing prototype

11. Lesson learned
Customers have higher expectations then we even
thought.
They highlight what is important for them when traveling.
Having Stories , Vendors , Gifts it’s not enough for them
New features to do/ New ideas to consider
Adding basic information for each country
Select the must have info
Keep it simple and in one place
UniqueGift
uniqueGift: 1. What kind of info do you look for
when traveling to a country for the first time?
What else they would expect from us?
Basic geography, country transport system, currency,
culture, local food, interesting places to visit, best
reviewed markets, restaurants , museums, parks,
buildings, museums, parks, buildings, safe travelling ,
emergency numbers, embassy,

12. Lesson learned
We need to meet their expectation and go over all
the limitations they have a select most valuable
gift for them which they can take back home 
New features to do / New ideas to consider
Travelers have different preferences we need
to also consider traveling limitation such as
space in the bag and safety and many more.
UniqueGift
uniqueGift: 2. How do you choose a present to take home form abroad?
How they do it?
Sometimes based on feelings. Sometimes much
space they have. Some spontaneously. Many times
they look for specific gift which typical for the
country.

13. Lesson learned
Nobody likes that feeling and we need make sure
that we as uniqueGift did the maximum for them
to avoid this problem.
New features to do
Our Gift rating feature should be extended
with eg. Twitter/Facebook functionality
UniqueGift
uniqueGift: 3. Have you ever bought a present just because you have to
return with something, have you regretted s such a choice?
Simple question right?
Two basic answers YES and NO.

14. Lesson learned
Most likely our future customers will be happy to
get sincere evaluation, suggestion and guidance.
New features to do/ New ideas to consider
Work on detail criteria of choosing presentsUniqueGift
uniqueGift: 4. How would you evaluate an online service that
assists you in choosing a present?
Majority of the of travelers would expect to at
least for guidance and they o lot of different
criteria.

15. Lesson learned
They want to be sure that a suggestion is not a
sponsored and it’s not overpriced. And they would
not be missing any information above
New features to do / New ideas to consider
Detail pricing, Detail rating , Detail
parameters.
Twitter / Facebook is becoming for them also
source rating if anyone else already bought it.
SEO
UniqueGift
uniqueGift: 5. What kind of info would you like to find included in
such an online service/app?
Some answers are kind of very simple here. For
example price, rating , size, quality, parameters,
etc

16. Lesson learned
Customers mentioned they need ideas in time
stress, reviews so they know if the thing is worth
the money.
New features to do / New ideas to consider
Easy/Quick gift overview
Best price outlook
UniqueGift
uniqueGift: 6. Why this service/app would be useful for the users?
Cutting down time on necessary moving and
searching for gifts could be better overview on
what is on the market available and prices

17. Lesson learned
We need become trustable partner for reaching
new customers. And attracting also those
customers that would not visit them in person
New features to do / New ideas to consider
Go into detail plan with local vendor and all
the use cases how we can help them to
become for them another distribution channel
UniqueGift
uniqueGift: 7. Why this service/app would be useful for local
vendors?
Local vendors might have trouble reaching all the
potential customers

18. Lesson learned
Many new features even mentioned above plus
some more like advanced statistics, e-shop
solution/seamless integration. We need to select
top 10 mandatory features.
New features to do / New ideas to consider
Easy to use system
Easy to set up
Help for
Everything from marketing to delivery,
payment handling
UniqueGift
uniqueGift: 8. In case you will be local vendor without e-commerce
solution what you will expect from E-commerce solution?

19. Lesson learned
Do more detail research. Do a detail plan and find
some similar solutions
New features to do / New ideas to consider
N/AUniqueGift
uniqueGift: 9. Have you ever heard about something
similar service/app? If yes can do name it? Was it useful?
We basically get NO or never heard.

20. Lesson learned
We have also other inputs. We need to decide if
we are matching all their expectations good
enough.
New features to do
statistics about customersUniqueGift
uniqueGift: 10. What else you would be expecting from this
service/app?
Most likely more information about place I am
visiting.

21. Lesson learned
We need to consider that they will be also
customers who can dislike the design or how the
information is presented. There will be constant
race to have cutting edge design. All the
information must be very well presented
New features to do / New ideas to consider
Work also on different kind of front-end
designs
UniqueGift
uniqueGift: 11. What you think is not clear in this service/app on the
first sight?
Even our prototype is not perfect. We did received
overall positive feedback

22. sharing wish-lists
facebook community
budget selection of presents
detailed instructions how to find a certain shop
route using google maps
products from 10 USD, from 20 USD, and so on)
UniqueGift
uniqueGift:
Some more ideas 
-Bargain on deals
-Cooperate with the Ministries of Tourism
-Focus on how exactly the local vendors will be
reached/selected
-Partnership with Expedia, Orbitz
-Partnership Trip Advisor
franchise or local office or partnership with
already established locally companies
Who decides which products are considered
unique?

23. I asked also what kind of presents ppl usually buy – here there were 2 groups
– presents for close friends and family, which are more expensive and
“special” – according to friends/family members’ taste; the other group was
cheap souvenirs, which they could give to a big number of ppl, that are “not
that close” – here the idea about choosing a present according to a
budget. I asked also what kind of presents ppl usually buy – here there were
2 groups – presents for close friends and family, which are more expensive
and “special” – according to friends/family members’ taste; the other group
was cheap souvenirs, which they could give to a big number of ppl, that are
“not that close” – here the idea about choosing a present according to a
budget. I asked also what kind of presents ppl usually buy – here there were
2 groups – presents for close friends and family, which are more expensive
and “special” – according to friends/family members’ taste; the other group
was cheap souvenirs, which they could give to a big number of ppl, that are
“not that close” – here the idea about choosing a present according to a
budget.
UniqueGift
uniqueGift:
And how interviews goes ?
I’m sharing Antonina whole story:
I have discussed the project with 6 people and they all were very positive
about the idea and mean that such an online info would be of a great help
when you are in a foreign country and look for something specific. They also
hope that such a site would make the shopping more transparent (tourists
got on many places overprized products) and such a site could guarantee
that they will get a product of good quality and typical for the country.
Perhaps it would be also possible to make deliveries to hotels, where they
could pick up their products at the reception in order to save time (could be
useful for business travelers). Some of the suggestions were the same as
those our Venture Lab reviewers gave – Facebook community or forum where
the travelers could share experience, registering profiles for travelers, rating
of the products and vendors (all the info that stays about a certain
product/vendor should be a subject for such a review), feedback regarding
delivery – tracing.

24. UniqueGift
uniqueGift:
And how the funniest part of the interviews
goes ?
“Sorry I’m not your target customer and hang up.”
And another one :
“What computer or software will select the gift?
NO WAY !”
Thanks for going thought this presentation 