Marketing Plan Final.docx

Marketing Plan: Tails & Scales

Group 1: Matthew Cummings, Connor Doak, Andrew Duncan, Cole Huling, Kellie McGee, Austin Nichols

Running Head: CUMMINGS, DOAK, DUNCAN, HULING, MCGEE, NICHOLS

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Introduction Tails and Scales is a small veterinary office in Queens, New York that specializes in the care of exotic animals and small household pets such as dogs and cats. Our services mainly consist of diagnosis and treatment, regular check-ups, basic surgery, and emergency visits. All of this is overseen by our small but effective group of employees, who all have exceptional experience in the veterinary field, making us ready for any challenge that comes our way. Our small size is not a negative, but rather a positive, as it brings us together in the workplace with a tight, family-like atmosphere that ultimately makes us better at what we do. It also makes it easy for us to build real and long-lasting relationships with our customers and their pets, so we can ensure all their needs are met and make sure they keep coming back. Our mission is to provide high-quality personalized service to our customers and their pets, treat all of our patients with the best care that we can provide, and grow lasting relationships with our customers and their furry (or scaly) friends to become their long-term choice for pet treatment. Here at Tails and Scales we aspire to continue to grow as a company and eventually be able to expand and branch out to additional locations. In order to do this, we have made it our goal this year to increase our customer visits and sales by 33%, while also still keeping our main focus on exotic animals. We plan to accomplish this through various promotional campaigns to get our name out to the public and to potential customers. A secondary goal of ours is to be able to offer certain products to our customers to buy in the vet’s office, such as grooming, hygiene. And medicinal products for exotic animals, which tend to be very hard to find in common pet stores and larger vet practices. By striving to accomplish our goals and continuing to grow, the sky is the only limit for Tails and Scales.

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Situational Analysis The amount of pride we put into our work here at Tails and Scales comes from the belief that a pet is not just another thing in a person’s house, it is a part of the family and deserves the same love, respect, and medical care as anyone else in the family. The connection between a person and their pet is like no other; as a small business we understand this connection and achieve great fulfillment in knowing that pet owners trust us with their furry, feathered, or scaled loved one. This sense of family can be shown by how much Americans spent on their pets last year: according to the American Pet Products Association (APPA), Americans spent $69.51 billion on their pets in 2017. Vet care made up for $17.07 billion of that $69.51 billion. If people are willing to pay that type of money for their pets, then it proves that there is a deeper bond between a person and their lovable companion. Our veterinarian’s long-time experience in veterinary care is a major strength for Tails and Scales because he is the most knowledgeable source for information about exotic animals in the office. The size of our organization could be perceived as our main weakness to some. But where some people see a problem, we see possibilities. Another way we could expand our company is to start selling more products like shampoos and medicines in the office. A way for us to get our name out to more customers is to develop a relationship with local pet stores including chains such as PetSmart and Petco. We plan on setting up a deal that involves a 1020% off discount for products sold at a pet store with every vet visit and a discount for vet services with purchases at pet stores. What sets Tails and Scales apart from the larger veterinarian offices in the area is the sense of family at work. Tails and Scales may not be a large company, but it is a very close-knit company. This allows us to give every animal the attention and care it deserves. Even though

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Tails and Scales is small, it is growing swiftly, reporting $237,500 in sales and $42,500 in net income last year. The veterinary industry is in a growth period because of increased ownership of pets (IBISWorld, 2018). If the company continues to grow at this rate, we will eventually be able to expand and take on more customers. Another aspect of Tails and Scales that sets us apart is our focus on exotic animals (fish, reptiles, birds) as well as small animals (dogs and cats). The competition around Queens, New York is other veterinarian offices. It is our goal to set the bar for animal care in the surrounding area. According to IBISWorld’s Veterinary Services Industry Report, there is a rise in private vet practices being bought by corporate chains (2018). This could be a threat because corporations have more funding and access to research and development, which is extremely important because technological growth is skyrocketing in almost every industry. While our competitors do market in a way that is similar to ours, most of them focus solely on small animals such as cats and dogs. Even though Tails and Scales might not be as large as our competitors, we have the ability to care for a greater variety of animals. This ability to treat a wider variety of patients gives us a competitive advantage against other area vets. Marketing Objectives, Target Markets, and Positioning At Tails and Scales, we want to perform more treatments on exotic animals. The overall objectives for the marketing department at Tails and Scales are to increase sales, profit and the number of animals, exotic and otherwise, by 33% across the board. As of last year, we had sales of $237,500. $200,000 of that came from the treatment of exotic animals, and the remaining $37,500 came from the treatment of small animals. For our practice to reach the goal of 33% growth in profits, we need to treat 250 more exotic animals and another 250 more small animals over the course of the upcoming year. Treating 500 more exotic and small animals would also

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increase the number of patients by 33%. Our prices generally range from $20-100 for exotic animals and $10-50 for small pets (cats and dogs). Routine checkups would be the least expensive at the base visit rate, and depending on the treatment required, the price increases from there. The prices for special patients that require surgery or euthanization are determined on a case-by-case basis; payment plans can be worked out with customers to cover the cost of care. Tails and Scales has four specific target markets we want to reach: zoos, aquariums, pet stores, and local pet owners (specifically exotic pet owners). These target markets have many different types of animals. For instance, a zoo could house a variety of animals from various climates such as, but not limited to, elephants, zebras, polar bears, and many different types of snakes, lizards, and other various reptiles. Like a zoo, an aquarium carries many exotic animals, ranging from penguins, sharks, many different fish, reptiles, amphibians, to possibly even whales or dolphins. Those are just some examples of species that could be found zoos and aquariums, and we want to focus our efforts on the Bronx Zoo and the New York Aquarium in Brooklyn. Pet stores frequently carry animals such as fish, birds, and various rodent, weasel, reptile, and amphibian species. Going after these target markets could help reach the marketing department’s objectives by bringing in more animals, exotic or not, therefore bringing in a lot more customers for the veterinary practice. Tails and Scales is located is in Queens, New York. Tails and Scales chose to locate in this area because it is centrally located between the Bronx Zoo and the Brooklyn Aquarium. Although we are a small veterinary practice, the treatment of exotic animals is our specialty. Queens provides us with the best opportunity to retain customers from both the zoo and the aquarium. Being within reasonable driving distance of the aquarium, zoo, and greater New York

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City area ensures that our customer base can visit our vet practice as frequently as they need to care for their animals. Tails and Scales aims to provide high-quality, specialized care at a reasonable price for customers. Our owner has the veterinary expertise in the treatment of exotic animals to fulfill a niche market in the veterinary services industry. We want to position our business as the go-to vet practice in the Queens area for the treatment of exotic animals. Other veterinary practices in the area do not carry the same quality of personalized care that Tails and Scales can provide from being a small practice, and this expert care builds trust between us and our customer base. Product Strategy Tails and Scales offers the highest quality care to all animals. We specialize in exotic animals such as birds, reptiles, fish, and other unusual animals, but we also treat small animals like dogs & cats. Our low-price consultations and fees to make sure our customers pets are back to being their healthy selves as quickly as possible set us apart from the competition. In order to meet our expectations, we rely heavily on the excellent service that we provide to our clients to make sure that when they leave our store they are satisfied and tell their friends about us. Due to being such a small vet practice, we rely heavily on word of mouth to gain more customers. Pricing Strategy Our pricing strategy for the next year is to push the brand to be even more focused on exotic animals, while also making our prices competitive. While we treat roughly 38% more exotic animals than small animals, we want to shorten that gap a bit by increasing our customer base to increase our overall profits. We are more focused on increasing profits rather than eliminating expenses because we logged a profit of $42,500 last year. We will be implementing a VIP express service promotion where if a customer wants to pay 150% of the standard visit

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price, we will see them first. We hope that with our already low prices, we will attract more customers and widen our customer base through this promotion. Another thing that we will be implementing is a new partnership with Petsmart, Petco and other local pet stores to give our customers discounts on every day pet products: per each vet visit we will give customers a coupon flyer that will allow them to receive a 10-20% discount at their nearest pet supply store. Promotional Strategy In order to increase the number of customers that visit our veterinary office, we plan to put up fliers at pet stores, purchase several billboards, and redesign our website for search engine optimization. We want to be sure that our location result on Google searches provides adequate and abundant information about our address, hours, website, and contact information. We plan to request that our satisfied customers leave us reviews to boost our ratings on Google and Yelp. We also intend to get involved with local events and charities that work with animals to spread the word and generate buzz about the vet practice. Here at Tails and Scales we want to focus on relationship marketing because usually we will have repeat patients, sometimes for years, so we want to get to know our customers, their pets, and their needs. Affinity marketing is also a good strategy for us to use because exotic pet owners are somewhat of a niche community and we can appeal to their interests. Frequency marketing would not be a good option as a strategy because a customer wants to only visit the vet for routine checkups or if something is wrong with their pet, which ideally would happen as infrequently as possible. We could also provide text message reminders for appointments, promotions, and general reminders. We intend to use direct marketing and contact customers through fliers and email to encourage them to make appointments and include promotions such

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as bringing that flier or email to their visit can earn a customer 10% off the price of their vet visit with an additional purchase of pet supplies while at the vet office. It could be advantageous to send our receptionist to training for marketing skills, or hire a freelance content manager or web developer. We should focus our efforts on getting into social media because there is such a large community and so much information there. We can budget $5,000 to hire someone to redesign our website, help us get social media up and running, and provide training to our receptionist so that the receptionist can learn skills to continue on with social media marketing. Our Vet & Vet Techs could possibly create a few educational and hands-on YouTube videos about some exotic animals with consent from owners or pet stores to generate buzz about the practice. Supply Chain Strategy Since we are a service business, there is not as much need for a physical supply chain process. Our supply chain involves communication, care, and customer service. We use our electronic patient management system to keep track of appointments, patient history and notes, medications, and procedures. It is important for every employee at the vet office to be proficient in using that system to ensure that the most up-to-date information is available at all times in order to provide the best care to patients. We also plan to reevaluate our patient care and cleanup procedures to streamline our service process in order to see more customers. Along with partnering with PetSmart, PetCo, and some other local pet stores to provide discounts to customers, we can supply some specialty products in our vet’s office so customers can get their pet supplies during their appointment.

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Implement & Control the Marketing Plan We plan to implement our marketing strategies systematically and strategically to gain the most customers. Generating buzz through social media and word of mouth is very important to us: we want our customers to share our content with their friends about the great service that they are receiving for their pets. Getting involved with local organizations and charities that benefit animals will help to spread the word about our business. Every employee here at Tails and Scales will be responsible for executing their part of the marketing plan. The receptionist will work closely with the Web Developer that we hire to revamp our online presence. It will be the responsibility of the two vet technicians to keep inventory for the products we sell up to date and full for our customers. Companies like ourselves are very lucky to be alive this day in age where we have social media at our fingertips. We need to launch a bright and friendly website that has information about all of our services on it, as well as a “who are we” page with a picture and description of every staff member. We will track our customer’s foot traffic and profits monthly and compare those figures against the marketing strategies we are implementing and the other veterinary practices that are our competitors. We believe that our goals are achievable within a year, especially if we utilize technological communication as much as possible to grow our business as well as utilize the $15,000 we have set aside for this plan. We plan to spend $5,000 on hiring a web developer and content manager, and then use the remaining $10,000 for advertising throughout the year. We intend to get our website and social media pages up and running within the first month of the marketing plan, and we aim to have established contracts with local pet stores for discounts by the end of the fourth month of the plan. We can measure the growth we get from our marketing plan by the rate of revenue

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increase over the year. Our goal is to increase sales numbers by 33% within the year. With 1,500 total customers last year (1,000 exotic pets, 500 small animals) we would hope to add 250 customers on each side to achieve our goals.

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Citations

Pet Industry Market Size & Ownership Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2018, from https://americanpetproducts.org/press_industrytrends.asp

Veterinary Services Industry Report. (2018). Retrieved November 8, 2018, from https://clients1.ibisworld.com/reports/us/industry/industryoutlook.aspx?entid=1447

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