Marketing Plan for the Aussie Pooch Mobile - Case Study Example

Marketing Plan (Authors Name) (Institutional Affiliation) Environmental analysis Legal and Government regulations: The government has shown great consideration and support for the welfare of dogs and cats and other home pets through the Companions Animal Act. The act requires that the owner of a cat or dog or any other pet be responsible for looking after the animals basic needs at all times. The owner is required to provide the animal with food, which should be a balanced diet at all times. The owner is also responsible for making sure that the animal is clean at all times and is provided with a comfortable place to stay. The law also states that the animal should also be given the opportunity to socialize and exercise therefore there is a great need for the animal to be clean because most of these happen in public places. The health of the dog is also a concern to the government as it states that every animal has the right to be taken to regular visits to the veterinary for checkups, worming and tick and flea removal and treatment. Aussie Pooch Mobile already offers flea and tick treatment as part of its services thus the law supports the activities of the company. Social-cultural The Australian culture has been for the past 20 years been re-defined leading to new emerging patterns and attitudes that have greatly supported the need for an animal companion such as a cat or a dog. The change in attitudes and patterns has been caused by the rapid change in the political environment, technological changes, economical and cultural changes (Barbara 2010). Examples of the changes in the Australian way of life include the change in the institution of marriage due to the increase in divorce rates. Young people are increasingly becoming more against marriages. They have negative attitudes about the institution. The change in the size of the households is also a recent cultural change. The Australian people now prefer smaller households with a 50% of the households now having one or two people and 30% containing only a single adult lacking any children. There is also a great change in work and leisure due to the rise in unemployment rates caused by both voluntary and involuntary unemployment. The influence on class culture and the economic uncertainty and insecurity has also greatly affected the culture of the sub urban Australian community. They fear that recession will persist and the economy will not bounce back to better conditions. These changes in culture and even social values have placed more importance on pet ownership. Most Australians now value the role of pets in their lives in eliminating the conditions of stress and loneliness. Thus most Australians are adopting animals such as cats and dogs as companions in their homes. This condition is favorable for Aussie Pooch Mobile as the vast numbers of people owning pets are concerned about the cleanliness and overall welfare of their animals. Technology The Aussie Pooch Mobile has employed the latest technology in cleaning and treating its dogs. They currently use the Hydrobath technology in cleaning its dogs. The Hydrobath is an efficient technology that cleans the dog through spraying water over the animal via the use of a shower head. The technology is very cost effective because it only uses 20 liters of water and also water is collected on the same bath, filtered, heated and then pumped back to continue washing the animal. The advantages of the Hydrobath are that the water sprayed to the dog is mixed with solutions that are sprayed at pressure thus penetrating the dog’s outer coat and reaching the skin of the dog where most infections and diseases occur. The Hydrobath is therefore a convenient way of treating and cleaning the animal which also attracts more customers. The Hydrobath moreover, helps take great care of the dog as the warm water emitted from the bath helps prevent arthritis through its massaging effect. The disadvantage of Hydrobath is that it requires clean water for every dog washed. This is because use of the same water on every dog leads to a high chance of cross infection between the dogs. Climate Climate affects the Aussie Pooch Mobile in several ways. During summer the dog is exposed to more light and thus there is a considerable increase in the amount of hair that the dog has on its body. During this period it important to frequently wash your dog in order to prevent any diseases that may result from flea or tick infection as these pests are known to hide under thick layers of hair. Aussie Pooch Mobile thus makes considerable profits during this time due to the high number of clients who want their dogs washed. During winter however the dog is exposed to little amounts light and therefore this affects the dogs shedding. Most dogs thus stay indoors during this period and thus the need to constantly clean the dog by the owner reduces. Aussie Pooch Mobile thus has little business at this time of year as most dog owners do not see the need to clean their dogs since the animal spends most of its time indoors Individual Components: Executive Summary The Aussie Pooch Mobile is currently the world’s premium dog washing company and is serving thousands of dogs every month across Australia and all over the world. The company currently has 200 franchises all over the globe 150 of which are situated in Australia and 50 are situated across the globe in countries like the United States, Malaysia, New Zealand, New Caledonia and the United Kingdom. The success of the Aussie Pooch Mobile is attributed to its convenience. The clients can easily get access to the services being offered by Aussie Pooch Mobile at the comfort of their homes. Aussie Pooch Mobile should however, increase its marketing in order to be able to also reap more profits from its business. The following are recommendations that will help Aussie Pooch Mobile in successfully acquiring new customers and also maintain their current customer base. Product The most important product for Aussie is service delivery. Aussie Pooch Mobile currently offers a range of dog cleaning and grooming services such as washing using the Hydrobath to kill fleas and ticks, brushing, nail clipping, ears & eyes cleaning, Aromacare for great smelling dogs, Deodorant, blow drying, doggy treat, doggy facials, massage, treats and help care for the well being of the dogs. The recommendation is that Aussie Pooch Mobile should thus improve the service delivery to its clients all over the world. The company can achieve this through employing the following techniques: Educating the employees on the importance of animal welfare; The employees of Aussie Pooch Mobile should clearly understand that animals are sentient and thus great consideration should be put on their welfare. Animal welfare comprises of ensuring that the animal is not treated cruelly or caused any harm. It involves ensuring that the animal’s physical and mental state are good and that the animal is able to achieve its natural needs and desires (John 2008). Knowledge of animal welfare will enable the Aussie pooch employees to be able to effectively deliver their services and also to create strong relationships with the clients thus enabling. Educating employees on good dog grooming habits; In order for increased service delivery the employees should clearly understand dog grooming habits such as attaching a reward to grooming. Dogs find it unpleasant to be groomed like getting soaked in water (Kim 2007). The employee can however offer the dog with treats in order to entice it to have a bath. Eventually the dog will associate grooming with rewards and thus will cause little resistance. The employee should also take it slow and easy by paying great attention to his body language and voice. The dog should be able to feel safe around the employee. Great service delivery is the core of this business and therefore the company should invest in resources that will ensure that the employees of the company offer excellent services to their clients all over the world. This can be achieved through initiating training activities that will enable the employees to create better relationships with the customers and the dogs as well Price The company should be able to offer the best competitive price in the market that will enable them to attract new customers and also maintain their current customers. In order it to provide a competitive price the company should conduct a break even analysis. The breakeven point is important to the company as it enables them to efficiently plan and carry out its various activities. The analysis allows the company to be able to set sales standards that will ensure that they cover all the costs of the company. In the case of Aussie Pooch Mobile the break even analysis will help them indicate the number of hours and customers they need to work on in order to cover their costs. The breakeven point is calculated by the addition of the fixed costs and the variable costs (Micheal 2010). The fixed costs include the salaries of the employees, employee benefits. The variable costs on the other hand include the costs of the employee overtime charges, maintenance of the Hydrobath and supplies such as the medicine used in treatment of the dogs. Due to the fact that Aussie Pooch Mobile offers many products it is thus advisable that the company calculate its breakeven point in relation to its revenue. Place Placing your product in the right place is important to any business as it ensures that the customers conveniently get their products and the customers also get the right information about the services being offered by the company (Ferrell 2012). In the case of Aussie Pooch Mobile it should place itself around pet stores, vet clinics, and also recreational parks where people take their dogs for a walk. Placing in the pet stores will allow Aussie Pooch Mobile to be able to meet with owners of pets and thus be able to offer their products to them. Aussie Pooch Mobile should also place shops around sub urban neighborhoods and local malls in order to allow the people to be able to access their services conveniently. Promotion The Australian population currently stands at approximately 19 million, 40% which totals up to 7.4 million are households and they own at least one dog in the family. This implies that there are more than 4 million dogs in Australia. The main aim of Aussie Pooch Mobile is to attract new customers to its business and also in retaining the current customer base. The best promotional tactic for Aussie Pooch Mobile will be to use personal selling. With stiff competition from Jim’s Dogwash and Hydrodog it is necessary for Aussie Pooch Mobile to invest in promotional services that helps them create a relationship with his customers and also one that efficiently creates awareness about the products and services that are being offered by the company. Personal selling is the most effective way that Aussie Pooch Mobile can employ in its promotional services. Personal selling is the most effective promotional technique because it will enable the Aussie Pooch Mobile sales people to interact with their potential clients. Personal selling involves face-to-face meetings and telephone calls. The advantages to this method are that it will allow the company to build stronger relationships with its clients and thus help build its brand (Luda 2004). The other advantage will be that the company sales persons will be able to clearly understand the needs of the clients and portray the feedback to the company thus enable the company overcome the obstacles to running its business. The company moreover can use the sales people to send a target message to its clients or simply educate the clients on the benefits of signing up with the company. The most important advantage of personal selling that Aussie Pooch Mobile can leverage to get new clients is through referrals from other customers. Sales persons can ask satisfied customers to invite their friends or family members to use the service. Budget Revenue $25,000 Total $25,000 Net Expenses/costs Employee educational program $ 10,000 Sales personnel $ 8,000 Sales equipment $ 1,000 Sales stand in pet stores and neighborhoods $4,500 Total $23,500 N/B Sales personnel will also be offered commissions as part of their pay Sales equipment involves factors such as brochures and newsletters that sales people can distribute to customers. It also includes telephone fees References Barbara A. West, (2010) A Brief History of Australia, Infobase Publishing Ludi koekemoer, (2004) Marketing Communications, Juta and Company limited Ferrell, O.C and Micheal Hartline (2012) Marketing Strategy, Cengage Learning Kim Campbell Thorton and Debra Idredge (2007) The Everything Dog Owners Organizer. Adams Media John Webster (2008) Animal Welfare, Wiley Publishing Group. Michael Cafferky and Jon Wentworth, (2010) Definitive Guide to Cost Volume-Profit Analysis, Business Expert Express Read More