ad/pr 340 d . p f 2011 · pet foods must be processed in conformance with the low acid canned food...
TRANSCRIPT
MEGAN CUSICK
CURETON GANNON
SUSAN GRAHAM
CAROLINE HURD
CHANDLER LENNON
JULIA TRAVIS
AD/PR 340
DR. PARK
FALL 2011
Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ………………... 1
INDUSTRY OVERVIEW ………… 2
CLIENT PROFILE ……………… 7
COMPETITOR PROFILES
PETCO ……………………10
WAL-MART AND COSTCO …13
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ……... 14
CONSUMER ANALYSIS ………... 16
SURVEY RESULTS …………….. 18
CONSUMER INSIGHTS …………. 23
CONSUMER INSIGHT RESULTS…. 25
CLIENT RECOMMENDATIONS …... 27
Introduction PetSmart was introduced in the year of 1986 and today PetSmart is the largest specialty retailer of services and
solutions for the lifetime needs of pets. In this in depth situation analysis of PetSmart we will examine this pet store with its
competitors and how they influence the pet market today. Promotional and communication strategies with cause-related
marketing for the “pet parent” will be defined. In the past 8 years, the number of people having dogs and cats for pets has
increased 5%. There was also a 5% increase in the number of two member households with no children, obtaining dogs and cats
as well. By further examining the “pet parents” in this industry we can gain more knowledge about the increase in pets. The first
section of this analysis is the industry overview. In this section we will provide a brief history of the pet industry, seasonality,
product life cycle, industry size, legal issues, growth and more. The next section is the client profile, where we will discuss the
history of PetSmart, sales data, advertising expenses, media mix and allocation, positioning, creative strategies and the target
audiences. Next, in our Competitor Profile section we will give the same information about PetSmart’s primary competitor,
PETCO, and its secondary competitors Wal-Mart and Costco. And finally, the consumer analysis will identify the target markets
and give an in-depth understanding of these consumers, called the “pet parents.”
We conducted primary research to further investigate the targeted “pet parent” and their shopping habits. For the
primary research, we conducted a 42-question survey. This survey gave us insight to the shopping attitudes, habits, beliefs and
demographics of PetSmart’s target market. We also included questions to see if the respondents preferred a primary or secondary
competitor to PetSmart. We found more information about which areas of pet products and services consumers spend the most
money on. Pet health, affection and charities were also sections asked about that are important to the study and understanding of
the pet market. The information that we gained was useful to understanding the way that the pet market values their pets. The
main objective was to gain further insight into the consumer’s beliefs and preferences. This research helped us to understand how
we can better our product and image in the target consumer’s mind.
Next, we conducted a focus group and personal interviews to get even more insight about the pet parents. This allowed
us to dig deeper and get a better understanding of the consumers than the 42- question survey did. Open-ended questions allowed
for respondents to give their feedback so we could make five recommendations to present to our client.
1
Industry Overview HISTORY OF THE PET INDUSTRY
The use of animals has been an important practice that dates
back to the ancient civilizations. Dogs were used for tracking,
hunting, guarding and more.1 Keith Thomas first identified three
characteristics of pets in England between 1400-1800 which were: the
animal was allowed in the house, it was given an individual name and
it was never eaten.2 The pet industry can be dated back to 1860, when
the first pet commercial was made3. In the 1930’s canned cat food and
dry-meat dog food were introduced by Gaines Food Co.4The industry
really began to thrive in the 60’s when Pet Food Institute began
actively proclaiming the scientific benefit of feeding pets processed
food over left over human food.3 Soon after this, the introduction of
pet stores started booming. PETCO was the first pet store started in
1965 and then its competitor PetSmart came in 1986. Because of these
two top retailers today, pet superstores have influenced the major pet
trends in the industry. Trends that are recently blooming in the
industry include mobile veterinary services, mobile pet grooming,
organic food products and more. These trends will keep the industry
thriving and secure the success of pet supermarkets in the future.
$0.00
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2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
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Total Pet Industry Revenue 2009-2014
Sal…
SIZE OF INDUSTRY Just like humans, pets have a constant need of
supplies and services. In contrast to most industries in
this economic recession, the pet market has not seen
much of an impact, as shown in Figure 1. This proves
the pet market is “recession resistant.” Figure 1 shows
the projected revenues have continued to increase the
past three years and is predicted to follow this trend due
to better services and supplies for the “pet parents”.
PETCO is PetSmart’s largest competitor, as
shown in Figure 2. Each company offers many ways to
serve its customer with: grooming, DNA breeds testing,
adoption, dog training, vaccines, and pet insurance.5. 2
Figure #1 Source: AmericanPetProducts.com
Industry Overview
Wal-Mart is considered a secondary competitor to
PetSmart in sales. While PetSmart is a superstore with the
main concern for pets, Wal-Mart has many “pet parents”
turn to them. Packaged Facts estimated, as of early 2010,
Wal-Mart’s share of U.S. pet product sales were an
upward of 27%. This share is slightly ahead of PetSmart
and PETCO’s combined 26%.6
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60.00%
PetSmart& PetCo
Wal-Mart Other
Perc
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ale
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Pet Sales 2005 vs. 2009
2005
2009
Figure #2 Source: Packaged Facts
The pet industry spent $502 million on national
consumer advertising in 2008, which was a 4% decrease from
2007. Television accounts for about three-fifths of the 2008.
Print rose to 36.8% in 2008 from 30.1%. With media cutbacks
the Internet and radio advertisement has dropped.
With the concern of the economy, pet markets have
many advantages that will help them ride out the recession with
ease. The emotional bond between animals and human is on
top. Pet owners view their pets as one of the family members.
Therefore they would not withhold spending, just as they would
for their own kids.
3
Figure #3 Source: Packaged Facts’
0.00%
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2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Perc
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Years
Television
Other
Industry Overview STAGES IN PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE
The pet industry is in the maturity stage of the
product life cycle. According to Figure 4, this shows
the annual sales for the U.S. Pet Industry from 2008-
2011 there has been a slow average growth rate of 6%.
7 The increase of competition between PetSmart and
PETCO is growing steadily while Wal-Mart will be a
constant competitor. Half the market share belongs to
well established discount and pet superstores which
generally offer the lowest prices. All of these are
characteristics of an industry in the maturity stage.
SEASONALITY
Advertising expenditures for the years of 2005-2009 show no
trends that would directly imply seasonality. As shown in Figure 5, there
was consistently higher spending in the 2nd quarter compared to the others.
When referring to figures 10 and 12 you will recognize a few changes
when looking into the over al theme of the pet. PetSmart, one of the
leading retailers in the industry, had little change by quarter in sales over
the past five years. PetSmart’s 2009 Annual report shows that its quarterly
sales, which are broken up into sales and services, are almost completely
even throughout the year. 7
4
Figure #4 Source: Packaged Facts’
Figure #5
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2008 2009 2010 2011
Sale
s (
in b
illi
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Years
U.S. Pet Industry
Sales
Industry Overview GROWTH POTENTIAL/FORECAST
Based on past facts and detailed outlines, in the
Packaged Facts’ the predicted growth rate for 2010 and 2011
will have a 6% increase as compared to in 2009 with a 5%
raise. With the economy improving the two categories that
expects to have a great improvement will be non-food pet
supplies and pet services other than veterinary. The fact that
there are more than 400 million pets in the U.S. and pet owners
are spending more and more money every year contributes to
this claim.12
THE ECONOMY Despite the economic recession, the U.S. pet industry remains on
solid ground.8 The Pet Market added $2.5 billion with total sales rising 5.0%
in 2009 to reach $53 billion. Figure 7 represents the U.S. pet industry sales by
category, with veterinary services leading in market share. This share led
because it is the most directly health-related category.
LEGAL REGULATORY ISSUES The FDA regulates the cans of cat food, bags of dog food, or boxes of dog treats or snacks in people’s pantries16. The basic principles of food
safety pertain to pet food products as well. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) requires that pet foods, like human foods, be
safe to eat, produced under sanitary conditions, contain no harmful substances, and be truthfully labeled. In addition, canned
pet foods must be processed in conformance with the low acid canned food regulations to ensure the pet food is free of viable microorganisms
(see Title 21 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 113)16. The FDA does not require pet food products to have pre-market approval.
5
Figure #6 Source: Packaged Facts Figure #7 Source: Packaged Facts
Industry Overview
6
SOCIETAL/CULTURAL CONSIDERATIONS The roles society play within the pet industry
has trended towards similar cultural mentalities such as
health and wellness. “Pet parents” want their animals to
be healthy and spoiled with new products that will help
their well-being. The American culture prides itself on
being able to spoil ourselves and loved ones, including
pets. Celebrities have shown to have a major impact on
pet ownership in the general public. This is creating a
“coolness” factor in the pet industry that companies are
beginning to utilize. The use of celebrity endorsements
are a strategy that are widely used to attract consumers.
Partnering with organizations and charities are
strategies used to appeal to emotions of consumers. Our
society takes philanthropy very seriously and people
tend to view companies more positively if they are
involved in an organization they can relate to. Cause-
related marketing in the pet industry include adoption
events, shelter efforts and animal rescues that are
formed in tandem with charitable organizations.
Today’s society has become more
environmentally conscientious and concerned with
sustainability. Companies are becoming aware of this
and are adapting policies to become a more sustainable
industry. Forming these policies can enhance a brand
image in the eyes of a target audience. These are all
tools that can be used to create a successful business
strategy.
SALES From Figure 8 you can see that PetSmart’s sales have
gradually increased throughout the past five years. This steady
increase leads me to believe that pet sales will continue to increase
even with the current recession. Although sales have increased
steadily, according to data recorded on the LexisNexis database,
net income has not had a steady pattern. It increased, but then had a
significant drop in 2008 which most likely was the effect of paying
expenses for operating their new distributing center that they
opened in that year.10 The strength of the “pet parents” is
representative of PetSmart’s continual increase in sales and it will
most likely continue to increase in sales as more people catch on to
the “pet parent” trend.
ADVERTISING EXPENDITURES As seen in Figure 9, PetSmart’s ad spending has steadily increased
over the past 5 years, with the exception of 2008. In 2008, there was a
significant increase in ad expenditures. The overall conclusion about
PetSmart’s ad spending drawn from Figure 9 is that PetSmart is spending
more money on advertising each year.
HISTORY FOR PETSMART In 1986, Jim and Janice Dougherty came up with the idea for a pet
superstore. It was not until 1987, however that the first two stores were
opened in Arizona with the name PetFood Warehouse. The initial slogan was
“Where high prices have been housebroken” in 1991. In 1993, PetSmart went
public for $125 million and issued 7.5 million shares of common stock. It
also sold 5.7 million shares on the NASDAQ stock exchange. A year later, in
1994, PetSmart Charities, Inc. was formed to be “a nonprofit organization
that’s dedicated to ending euthanasia and finding homes for homeless pets.5 In
this same year, PetSmart opened its 100th store and changed its slogan to
“Where pets are family,” recognizing that its target audience was “pet
parents”, or people who view their pets as part of their family. The year 1995
was a big year for PetSmart, as its sales reached $1 billion for the first time
during a fiscal year. However, shortly after this, the store hit its first bump in
the road with inventory problems and unsuccessful marketing strategies. This
caused a drop in PetSmart’s stock price from $23 to $6.
In spite of this problem, PetSmart remained the largest pet supplier
retailer in North America and the United Kingdom. It also made a come back
in 1998 with an increase in sales and gross profit and a decrease in store
operating expenses. By 1999, PetSmart was financially stable again and for
the first time, it bought back their own stock. PetSmart remained focused on
the “pet parent,” but broadened its focus to lifetime needs of pets and their
parents. In 2000, their stock plummeted to an all-time low, yet the business
continued to grow faster than ever with a more efficient supply chain. This
change only served to better solidify the company’s main goal of customer
service and satisfaction. 2003 saw a major victory for PetSmart Charities,
which raised more than $30 million for many of its various causes. In 2007,
PetSmart Charities again made great strides, helping to find a home for its 3
millionth pet. PetSmart also opened its 1000th store that year and in 2008 they
opened a new distribution center. PetSmart continues to thrive today as one of
the pet industry’s largest companies, operating under the current slogan,
“Happiness in store.” 5 7
Client Profile
Figure #8 Source: LexisNexis
Client Profile
The quarterly advertising expenditures for PetSmart throughout
the past five years have not been very consistent. As seen in Figure 10,
the fourth quarter is the only one that shows any consistency. This is
probably due to the seasonality in the fourth quarter. The holidays that
occur during this quarter generate a lot of revenue from “pet parents.”
They buy Halloween costumes and Christmas gifts for their pets during
this time, on top of their everyday pet needs.
In the third quarter of 2010, PetSmart spent the most on its
advertising expenditures with a total of $19,436,700. In the first quarter
of 2006, PetSmart spent the least on advertising expenditures with a total
of $9,615,800. The conclusion drawn from Figure 10 is that PetSmart
spends different amounts on advertising according to what initiatives it
has planned for the current quarter.
Media Mix/Allocation According to their media mix, shown in Figure 11, PetSmart uses
syndication (21%), network television (27%) and cable television (33%) as its
primary media outlets.
PetSmart has also recently tapped into the world of social media. The
company has a Facebook page with 409,667 “likes” and counting. Also, over
35,000 people have mentioned it on Facebook. 11 PetSmart also has a Twitter as
well with 27,700 followers and counting. 12
8
Figure #9 Source: Ad$pender
Figure #10 Source: Ad$pender
Figure #11 Source: Ad$pender
POSITIONING With the company’s slogan, “Happiness in store,” PetSmart’s
positioning is instantly clear. Its’ vision is “to provide Total Lifetime
Care℠ to every pet, every parent, every time.” 13 PetSmart cares about the
happiness of pets and their owners. To show the company cares,
PetSmart has made “pet parents’” lives a lot easier by making its stores a
one-stop-shop. 14 PetSmart puts emphasis on its services. It offers in-
store grooming, training, boarding, and veterinary services. PetSmart
focuses on portraying a caring and happy image.
PetSmart also uses public relations as a marketing strategy. The
announcement of PetSmart’s adoption weekend, in Image 2, is just one
example of an event they sponsor. The company also has events, such as
5k fundraiser runs and partnerships with animal shelters in the area. This
improves its brand positioning and targets potential and current “pet
parents.” Cause related marketing is another strategy that PetSmart
utilizes. PetSmart Charities is a great example of this strategy. This
nonprofit organization helps homeless pets find homes among other things
and it associates their brand with an image of care and compassion. By
using the PetSmart brand, any cause the company supports lends an
advantage to the charity and improves brand equity. 5
NEW DEVELOPMENTS A new development is the use of PetSmart’s database of email
addresses to target emails with coupons and editorial content. For
example, the company recently sent an email to all reptile owners in its
database. In these emails PetSmart encouraged those who usually buy
crickets to feed their pets to consider feeding them worms. It included
a coupon for $2 off of any live worm purchase. 16 Promotions like this
are a great way for PetSmart to change its customers’ thinking and get
them to buy less consumed products.
CREATIVE STRATEGY The creative strategy of PetSmart is informing its shoppers of specials
the stores are having by using brightly colored coupons and promotions in its
marketing and advertising as shown in the advertisement above. PetSmart does
a lot of this throughout its website. The company has their logo and slogan
very visibly located at the top of the home page with many in-store promotions
that are constantly being updated with seasonal events and specials.
A recent promotion PetSmart has been advertising is a photo contest
event for Halloween called Monster Cute beginning September 19. Image 1 is
the advertisement for this event. This is a good opportunity for PetSmart to
feature photos of pets dressed in its products for the holiday. The submissions
are taken from the general public. Anyone who visits the PetSmart website can
vote on the winner along with a panel of PetSmart executives. The ten most
popular submissions will be judged between October 24 and October 31 to
decide the grand prize winner. The winner will be featured in a PetSmart
advertisement. This promotion is a creative way to draw attention to the
seasonal items PetSmart offers. 11 9
Client Profile
Image 1 Image 2
10
HISTORY PETCO was born in 1965, founded by Walter Evans,
selling veterinary supplies as United Pharmaceutical Company
(UPCO). However, it wasn’t until 1976 in La Mesa, California that
the first retail store was opened. The name was officially changed
to PETCO in 1979 and the first PETCO store was opened in 1980.
This store was opened in Tigard, Oregon, near the home state of
California. PETCO become a public company, after totaling sales
of more than $189 million and opening 218 stores in 13 different
states, in 1994. It was in this year that PETCO became the largest
pet specialty retail chain in the pet industry. PETCO was forced to
private ownership in 2000 as a result of a downturn in the market.
The company still flourished and had its 40th anniversary in 2005.
Now boasting over 1,000 stores in all 50 states, including the
District of Columbia, PETCO is still privately owned and is the
second-largest US retailer of specialty pet supplies. 17
SALES Since PETCO is a privatized company, it does not
publicize its annual sales figures. In order to assess the sales for
PETCO we have to look at the sales PetSmart and PETCO both
contribute to the pet industry. Refer to Figure 6, which shows the
annual sales from 2006-2010 in order to assess that about a quarter
of these industry sales are due to PetSmart and PETCO sales. 18
ADVERTISING EXPENDITURES Over the past five year PETCO has seemed to have been
spending less on its advertising expenditures, as it shows in Figure
12. Overall PETCO spent the most money, in advertising, in 2006.
This is broken down further into equal shares in the first three
quarters (approximately $5 million) of the year and doubling
expenditures in the fourth quarter with $9.3 million. This trend, of
spending the most in the fourth quarter, has continued through out
the following years. However, the spending began to equal out
through 2007 to 2009 regarding quarterly spending. In the years of
2008 and 2009, there was almost an equal spread of allocation
through out the quarters. The only year that PETCO allocated the
most expenditure to a quarter other than the fourth quarter was in
2009. PETCO returned to focusing advertising strategies in the
fourth quarter ($4.65 million) of 2010 by doubling the spending
from the first quarter ($2.2 million).
Competitor Profile
Figure #12 Source: Ad$pender
11
PETCO began to decrease its spending on advertising in 2007
and continually decreased its spending over the next three years.
There was a major drop from 2006 and 2007 in fourth quarter
spending. PETCO reduced spending in all quarters during 2007 but
impacted the fourth quarter the most with a reduction of $2.9 million.
This trend persisted through 2009 with a reduction in spending in the
second half of 2009 and 2010. PETCO began to increase its spending
in advertising again in 2010 focusing most of the spending in the
fourth quarter, mirroring the trends of the previous years.
POSITIONING “Where the pets go,” is the slogan that PETCO has advertised
for the past years positioning it as a friendly, welcoming pet store. But
in the recent years, PETCO has been taking advantage of the trend of
healthy and organic pet foods and supplies. The company has realized
that On the PETCO Facebook, the information states that PETCO is
“where the healthy pets go” emphasizing the importance PETCO
places on healthy pet products. This position also targets the “pet
parent” audience and treating your pets with care and promoting
health. 20
MEDIA MIX / ALLOCATION As shown in Figure 13, PETCO allocated most of its
expenditures to newspaper (36.58%) and cable television (21.86%)
media outlets. These media outlets consume 58.44% of the total
advertising expenditures of $78.4 million in the past five years. In the
last year, PETCO spent a total of $13.5 million allocating 45.26% to
newspaper and 0.67% to cable television. This shows that PETCO is
moving most of their spending to the newspaper and traditional media
outlets. Even though, most of PETCO’s expenditures are allocated to
traditional media outlets, the company is tapping into social media
and networking. It has developed a page on Facebook, which has
accumulated 440,839 “likes” and shows PETCO has “been talked
about” 25,308 times. 19
Figure
Figure #13 Source: Ad$pender
Competitor Profile
12
CREATIVE STRATEGY Within the 2011 year, Draftfcb Orange County
became the brand and product advertising AOR in order to
form a new creative and promotion strategy. The new direction
of PETCO plans to create a campaign that attacks newspaper
inserts, television and digital outlets. This is in an attempt to
make consumers aware of nutrition vital to the health of pets.
This campaign plans to target the growing trend of “pet
parents,” as shown previously in the consumer analysis.
Promotional effects will also be included in this campaign in
the form through digital, print and television mediums. 21
PETCO is involved in cause-related marketing by
creating an in-house foundation, PETCO Foundation. Founded
in 1999, the PETCO Foundation strives to “promote
educational and charitable activities nationwide by partnering
with local organizations.”22 PETCO has also partnered with
“Paws Across America” for National Pet Wellness Month .In
addition PETCO sponsors events such as the Tree of Hope
Fundraiser and “community dog walks.” 22
NEW DEVELOPMENTS PETCO has made new developments in promoting and
contributing to healthier pet food options and supplies. The main push
has been towards healthy options for consumers. New developments in
cause-related marketing have also begun in the recent years. 23 The
PETCO Foundation supplied “Pets of the Homeless” with a grant to aid
in providing growing number of pets of the homeless with food.
PETCO also partnered with Muttsavers Rescue, Inc. to hold a pet
adoption event for rescued dogs. 24
Competitor Profile
13
SECONDARY COMPETITORS:
Wal-Mart is a large secondary competitor to PetSmart. Wal-Mart
offers consumers extremely low prices, which is what keeps them coming
back and shopping there versus other pet product retailers. The company
takes pride in its current slogan of “Save Money, Live Better.” When
starting the company, found Sam Walton said, “If we work together, we’ll
lower the cost of living for everyone and we’ll give the world and
opportunity to see what it’s like to save and have a better life.”25 This is
how Wal-Mart includes its creative strategy into the pet market. Wal-Mart
is not a primary competitor because it is a discount retailer that sells other
products besides pet supplies. Pet products and supplies are only a section
of the store, so it cannot be considered a primary competitor.
The other top secondary competitor to PetSmart is Costco. Costco
is a wholesale retailer that operates out of warehouses. The warehouses
present one of the largest and most exclusive product category selections to
be found under a single roof. Costco carries quality, brand name and lower
priced merchandise compared to other retailers. The company focuses its
strategies around offering products in large bulk for a cheaper price. For
example, Costco can offer a 40 lb. bag of Triumph dog food for $49.99.
Because of the quality of this dog food, consumers can purchase it at Costco
and save a large amount of money instead of buying it somewhere else.
Like Wal-Mart, Costco has many other focuses in their store. The pet
product and supplies section is just a portion of the sales that they do. This
is why we can’t consider Costco a primary competitor for PetSmart.
Competitor Profile
COMPETITIVE MATRIX
Sales Positioning Ad Spending and
Media Mix
Cause Related
Marketing
•2010 sales
were $5,693,797,000
•“Happiness in Store”
•Service: PetsHotels, Bone
Booth, etc
•Affordability
•$67,848,500 spent in
2011
•PetSmart Charities
•Rescue Waggin’
•Pet Walk
Unknown,
Privately Owned
•“Where the Pets go”
•Natural, Organic
•Health
•$55,743,500 spent in
2011
•Petco Foundation
•Paws Across America
•“Everyday Low Prices”
•Affordability
•Affordability
•Sells in bulk
Figure #14
UNIT SALES
Through the recession, PetSmart persevered and gradually increased their sales. This
steady increase implies that pet sales will continue to increase even with the current
recession. In 2010 sales were $5,693,797,000 and net income was $239,867,000.
PETCO is a privately owned company so its sales are not available. However, the
company has continuously come in second to PetSmart.
Because Wal-Mart and Costco don’t exclusively sell pet products, it’s difficult to
compare them in regards to some of the following topics. However, it is worth mentioning
that Costco is a warehouse outlet, which means it can sell items in bulk for a cheaper cost.
Similarly, Wal-Mart is known for its low prices. Although we don’t know the sales for
specifically pet products, we know that both companies do attract a lot of customers. This is
why Costco and Wal-Mart compete as secondary competitors to PetSmart.
POSITIONING PetSmart chooses to position itself in
a much different way than its primary competitor,
PETCO. PetSmart caters to “Pet Parents”, or the
kind of pet owners that treat their pets like a
member of the family. By creating this specific
target audience, PetSmart has increased its’ sales and
obtained a large audience catching on to the “Pet Parent” trend.
Being a “one stop” location also sets PetSmart apart. Not only can you buy products,
but you can buy services as well. PetSmart has full service veterinary clinics at its’ Pet
Hospital. It also has grooming, boarding, and training services. One of its most famous
services is the PetsHotel, where animals can stay overnight. Pets can even receive phone
calls from their owners at the “Bone Booth.” Clearly, this wide array of services makes
PetSmart unique and sought-after.
PETCO, on the other hand, is more focused on its natural and organic products. This
healthy positioning has set it apart from PetSmart and has gained an audience
14
of more health conscious pet owners. In addition, the
“Where the Pets go” slogan implies that PETCO is more
preferred by the pets themselves, compared to PetSmart’s
“Happiness in Store,” which clearly targets the owners.
PETCO also focuses on charities more than your average
pet store. This is talked about more in the following
section, cause related marketing.
As shown, PetSmart has focused more on the
benefits of the pet owners and making them feel
comfortable and at ease with the convenience of its
services. PETCO tries to show concern in the health of the
pets themselves with its nutrition and money funding for
animal charities. PetSmart and Petco have two very
different strategies for building customer loyalty and store
traffic. PetSmart plays up its services. Petco focuses on
charitable causes. In order to keep up with PETCO’s
tactics, PetSmart can spend more advertising money on
healthy and organic products. PetSmart also should
consider organizing more charitable functions.
AD SPENDING AND MEDIA MIX In 2010, PetSmart spent a total of $67,848,500 on
advertising. The company has been prone to use modern
media outlets in advertising such as syndication, Cable TV,
and Network TV. This accounts for 81% of PetSmart’s
advertising. The other 19% comes from cheaper and more
classic outlets, such as magazines, newspapers, and radio.
PetSmart also puts considerable effort into its social media
sites like Twitter and Face book. With 27,700 ‘followers’
on Twitter, PetSmart is able to get up to date news out to a
wide array of people constantly.
Comparative Analysis
15
Although PetSmart is not far behind, PETCO is more
involved in helping out the community and homeless animals.
PetSmart should continue to fundraise with PetSmart Charities and
brainstorm on new functions to cause awareness.
Network Radio
PetSmart
PETCO
Magazines
PetSmart
PETCO
Cable TV
PetSmart
PETCO
Newspaper
PetSmart
PETCO
In conclusion, PetSmart has successfully managed to stay up to date
with its advertising methods. By spending more money than
PETCO, PetSmart seems to have reached more people, especially in
social media, resulting in higher sales.
CAUSE RELATED MARKETING PetSmart has a successful nonprofit organization called
PetSmart Charities. Its mission is “To improve the quality of life
for all companion animals, PetSmart Charities creates and supports
programs that save the lives of homeless pets and promote healthy
relationships between people and pets.” PetSmart also used cause
related marketing with The Pet Walk. This is a festival sponsored
by Purina to fundraise and to celebrate animals. It is for entire
families and their pets.
As mentioned, PETCO is well known for its presence with
charities and cause related marketing. Through adoption efforts
with the PETCO Foundation, the company has found new homes
for more than 200,000 homeless pets every year. Most of PETCO's
promotions trigger donations to its PETCO Foundation. Last year,
PETCO honored National Pet Wellness Month with “Paws Across
America,” sponsored by Hill's Science Diet pet food brand. Dogs
were able to participate in a 20-minute “community dog walk”
hosted by PETCO stores.
Comparative Analysis
Figures #15-18 Source: Ad$pender
Shares of Voice Figures 15 to 18 show the different shares of voice for each medium.
This displays the previous claim that PetSmart uses more modern advertising
methods such as cable TV and magazines. Although they use some more
traditional forms as well, such as network radio, they stay away from
newspaper advertising. The unit sales, showing PetSmart ahead of its’
competitors, make it clear that this method is effective for the company.
In conclusion, PetSmart has earned its’ place as the number one pet
retailer. The company has high sales, exceptional services, strategic media
placement, and present cause related marketing. It has a couple weaknesses as
well. If PetSmart wants to exceed even further, it should consider focusing on
health and nutrition some more. The company should also create more cause
related marketing so that people don’t instantly associate these charity events
with PETCO instead.
Derived from the Simmons data, it was uncovered that the target age
demographic of 25-34 are 11% and 35-44 are 14% more likely to shop at
a pet specialty stores, such as PetSmart, making this demographic
essential to the target audience.
Through the secondary data, it was discovered that a large portion
of the purchases for pets were done by adults with a significant other.
Family construction appears to have a role influencing pet ownership. It
implies that dual households with no children has appeared as the largest
direct contributor to the pet industry with a steady increase from 49% in
2003 to 54% in 2009. However, non-traditional family structures are
becoming a force to consider as well. 28
16
Consumer Analysis DEMOGRAPHICS
Utilizing the data from Simmons Media Research Bureau and
other secondary sources, an evident target audience becomes
apparent. The target demographic consists of :
Pet Owners, specifically “pet parents”
Adults ages 25-44
An income level of $70,000+
Including dual households with no children
Many factors comprise the purchasing decisions for “pet
parents”. Many pet owners make purchases based upon individual
preferences which stem from specific demographics such as age,
ethnicity, and income level. Even with the economic recession a
demographic group has taken precedence in the pet market pushing
the
industry to cater to new targets that are entering the realm of pet
ownership. People with an age level of 30-44 remains the key target
age group with the top percentage of overall pet ownership in the U.S.
reaching 59.8%. However, data shows significant age groups that are
becoming major contributors to the number of pet owners. Generation
Y, an emergent target group, with 54.9% of all 18-25 year olds
owning pets. 26 Also another notable group is developing and steadily
increasing each year. Data shows that the generation of Baby
Boomers, present largely the population of pet owners as they become
‘Empty Nesters”. 27 As an increasing number of children leave the
households, the Boomers fill their emotional void with a pet
companion, within the age group of 45-64, 57.6% own a pet.
17
Consumer Analysis
PSYCHOGRAPHICS The typical “pet parent” is more than just a pet owner. The
trend towards treating the pet as a part of the family, especially in
households with no children, has become a fundamental part of the
mentality of the target audience of “pet parents”. 30
“Pet parents” view shopping for their pet as if shopping for
their own child. In a pet marketing outlook report, pet owners rated
that quality trumped the price of the item 92% to 87% in a poll
measuring most important factors in product selection. As parents
would pay premium prices for their child, “pet parent” take extra
initiative to find the product that is most healthy and beneficial for
their pets. Pet owners consistently consult veterinarians as a parent
would consult with pediatricians. Furthermore, the preference among
pet owners for “organic” products has caused a movement among the
pet industry.
Also, household incomes play a key role/are an essential factor in
selecting the target audience. As mentioned earlier, the dual household
construct commonly is the most customary because they have two
people in the household bring in income . According to Simmons,
households with an income level of $50,000+ are approximately 4%
more likely to shop at PetSmart stores over super marts or other pet
stores. There is a direct positive correlation with household income and
the amount of preference to shop at a PetSmart and other specialty pet
stores. They represent a majority of sales revenue; therefore, the
marketing strategy message should be directed towards middle and
upper class households. Household incomes of $75,000-$99,999 are
18% more likely to shop at pet retailers. Households ranging from an
income of $100,000+ are 40% more likely to purchase products at
PetSmart as compared with lower income households. 29
Another insight into the target audience included that
females were 18% more likely to shop at PetSmart stores
over men. Also pet owners had a preference of shopping with
their significant other when purchasing pet products. It is almost seen as
a family activity. They truly enjoy the overall experience that they receive
when they shop for or with their pets. Furthermore, the
normal “pet parent” feels strongly about supporting organizations that
are or are connected with bring awareness to animals and pet cruelty.
Finally, it is important to note that “pet parents” are an ever
increasing group and the diversity among these individual is becoming
more apparent each year. Also the age group of 18-25 is ahead of the
trend when looking at the pet industry. A celebrity movement toward pet
ownership and awareness has influenced this age group immensely.31
Their mentality holds a strong correlation between owning a pet and
having a “coolness factor” . Creating an environment that focuses on the
connection between the pet owner and their furry companions would
continue the favorable perspective of the company. Also, with the
increasing groups in pet owners of younger pet owners as well as
minority owners, one would suggest catering to the needs and desires as
well.
18
Group
Member
Distribution
Methods
Megan Cusick Sent the link to all of my residents in my hall and updated my Facebook status with a link to the survey.
Cureton Gannon Sent the link to members of my multiple organizations and my fellow employees at Quarry Trail. .
Susan Graham Sent emails to all the members of PRSSA and made a Facebook status containing the survey’s link.
Caroline Hurd Sent emails to all of my former co-workers at a car dealership and to my extended family and friends.
Chandler Lennon Sent out emails to Campus Program Council and put a link on my Twitter.
Julia Travis Used social media in two ways: Tweeted the link to all of my 106 followers and updated my Facebook Status with a link that all of my Facebook friends could access.
Research Objectives • To measure the target market’s pet-shopping frequency
• To measure the target market’s monthly spending on pet-related products
and services
• To measure the target market’s awareness of brands within the pet products
and services industry
•To assess the target market’s attitudes/beliefs about differentiating
characteristics of brands within the pet products and services industry
• To assess the target market’s attitudes/beliefs about PetSmart
• To assess the target market’s attitudes/beliefs about PETCO
• To assess the target market’s awareness/attitudes/beliefs about current
PetSmart promotional cause-related marketing campaigns
• To identify strategies to inform and promote cause-related marketing efforts
for PetSmart
• To identify if there are gender and income differences for the above
measures
Sample Profile In order to reach an accurate verdict from our survey, we
need a large sample size. With 6 people in our group, we are
intending on having a sample size of 120 participants. The only
qualification for filling out our survey is the ownership of a pet.
Data Collection Method To gather survey data, we will administer our surveys via a
range of online outlets. These outlets include emails and social
media sites, such as Twitter and Facebook.
Survey Results
Survey Results
19
Research Objective Survey Question
Number To measure the target market’s pet-shopping frequency
8,15,19,20,21,22,24
To measure the target market’s monthly spending on pet-related products and service
23,24
To measure the target market’s awareness of brands within the pet products and services industry
14,18,25,28,30
To assess the target market’s attitudes/beliefs about differentiating characteristics of brands within the pet products and services industry
14,16,17,18,20,22
To assess the target market’s attitudes/beliefs about PetSmart
16,17,21,26,27,28,29,31,32
To assess the target market’s attitudes/beliefs about PETCO
16,17,21
To assess the target market’s awareness/attitudes/beliefs about current PetSmart promotional and cause-related marketing campaign
35,36,37
To identify strategies to inform and promote cause-related marketing efforts for PetSmart
33,34,38,39
To identify if there are gender and income differences for the above measure
1, 42
Survey Design
We conducted a web-based survey using S-
Creator, a free survey creating website. We
distributed the link via e-mail and social media.
Each member was responsible to reach at least
20 participants to assure that we would have a
sample of 120 participants.
The survey consisted of 42 questions, one
of which was a screening questions. If the
participant answered “no” to “Do you own a
pet?,” he or she was not permitted to continue
the survey.
By choosing a web-based method, we
were able to avoid many potential problems
associated with conducting a survey. We
avoided mistakes and biases that exist when
having an interviewer present. With an online
survey, the interviewer did not record the data,
thus effectively negating interviewer error. By
the interviewer not being present, the participant
did not feel pressured, therefore removing any
interviewer bias.. We also incorporated several
different types of scales to further obtain more
accurate information. We attempted to enhance
our response rate by asking all demographic
questions at the end of the survey that may have
otherwise made people hesitant and/or
uncomfortable.
Survey Results
20
Participant Profile We had 139 respondents complete our survey (n=139) with 42 being
male and 97 being female. 97.8% of our respondents listed White as their
ethnicity. There was not much diversity in ethnicity among our respondents.
There were 79.9% of our respondents who were between the ages of 18-25.
We had no respondents above the age of 55. A variety of income levels were
listed by our respondents, but the majority, 29.5%, had a household income of
“Under $19,999”. However, with a percentage of 19.4%, the second most
represented income level was “$100,000 or more”. The majority of
respondents reported an education level of “some college”. 64.7% of the
respondents fell in this category. After running a t-test, we found that there is
a significant relationship between age, education level, and household income.
Age was positively correlated with level of education (r=.388, sig=.000) as
well as reported household income (r=.288, sig=.000).
According the survey results, 108 respondents listed that they had a
dog, 52 listed a cat, 25 listed a fish, 1 listed a bird, 3 listed a reptile, and 14
respondents listed “Other”. Based on the results, most respondents indicated
that they had either a dog or a cat.
40%
12%
37%
11%
Seasonality: Product purchase patterns
Winter
Spring
Summer
Fall
Seasonality Respondents seem to shop more for their pets in the Winter and
Summer. As shown in Figure #19, of the respondents, 40.3% listed that they
spent more on their pet in the winter, and 36.7% listed summer. Winter is
probably the highest because of the holidays that fall within this season. “Pet
parents” tend to buy presents/ clothes for their pets during the holidays.
Figure #19 also suggests that the high spending in the summer is probably due
to the weather. In the summer, pet owners spend more time outdoors with
their pets and do more activities.
Figure #19
Survey Results
21
33%
4% 2%
60%
1%
Media Use Frequency
TV
Radio
Newspaper
Internet
Other
Media Outlets According to Figure #20, of all of our survey respondents, internet
was the most used media outlet by far. However, the media outlet through
which respondents view the most pet advertisements was television.
From this, it is clear that pet stores should utilize the internet more for
advertisements.
PetSmart Charities
When asked to order the importance of the different PetSmart
Charities from 1 being most important and 5 being least important,
respondents viewed Animal Cruelty as the most important with a
mean of 2.37 while Pet Education was listed as the least important
with a mean of 4.42.
Cause 1 2 3 4 5 Mean*
Animal
Adoption
16.5 13.7 42.4 21.6 5.8 2.86
Spay/Neuter 18 14.4 20.1 33.1 14.4 3.12
Animal Rescue 22.3 41 16.5 12.9 7.2 2.42
Pet Education 4.3 5.8 3.6 16.5 69.8 4.42
Animal Cruelty 37.4 23 15.8 12.2 11.5 2.37
Importance of PetSmart Charities
Percents and Means
*On a scale from 1 to 5, 1 being Most Important to 5 being Least Important
Figure #20
Survey Results
22
Pet Spending After running tests, we discovered that there is not
a significant relationship between the differences in men
and women and pet spending. They also have a very weak
negative correlation. This shows that we should target
men and women equally with advertising and our allotted
expenditures.
Pet Products The means show that the main focus in pet
products is price for both men and women. According to
the data, this relationship is not significant and shows a
very weak negative correlation.
Main Concern in Pet Products
Significance between Men and Women
n=139
Means
Measure Men Women Sig. Level
(2-tailed)
Pearson
Correlation
What is your
main concern
when shopping
for pet
products?
2.3333
2.2887
.762
-.026
(Mean values based on choices: 1-Health, 2-Price, 3-Quality, 4-
Other)
Pet Spending
Significance between Men and Women
n=139
Means
Measure Men Women Sig. Level
(2-tailed)
Pearson
Correlation
About how much
do you spend a
month on your
pet?
3.023
8
2.9278
.647
-.039
(Mean values based on choices: 1-$10 or less, 2-$11-$25, 3-$26-
$40, 4-$41-$59, 5-$60 or more)
Consumer Insights
23
In addition to our quantitative research, we carried out qualitative
research to improve our client’s as well as our comprehension of pet owners,
especially “pet parents” and learn how to enhance our techniques to target
them. To achieve this information, we conducted a focus group as well as
several personal interviews.
Our focus group warranted many benefits, such as more engaged and
interactive participation from the group setting. Also, it helped the answers of
the respondents to be more impromptu and genuine. Finally, the information
we received from the focus group was faster and more easily analyzed that the
personal interviews.
Focus Group Objectives •Further develop insight into consumer target audience (needs,
motivations, etc.)
•Basic image (brand image) to consumers and others
•To determine people’s knowledge of PetSmart’s sponsored charities
and effectiveness of their cause-related marketing (in-depth
information)
•To answer why “pet parents” are affected by certain advertising
techniques and not by others and what each are ( which ones are most
effective)
Focus Group
The focus group that we conducted assisted our research group to achieve our
objectives by giving us further insight into why consumers make the
purchasing decisions they do and to assess what factors contributed most. This
focus group provided the opportunity to gain understanding of attitudes and
motivations behind the decisions. Furthermore, it provided an opening to
further probe several different types of pet owners, especially “pet parents”,
and derive from their answers interpretations and insights for our client. We
accomplished this through a series of open-ended questions in order for the
participants to provide answers that allowed them to give detailed answers and
greater comprehension.
In order to recruit the participants we required, we offered
fresh baked desserts and beverages to create incentive for
participation. To acquire a relevant sample, we asked pet owners
around campus. Even more, we performed screenings of the group to
assure that the sample would be truly significant representation of pet
owners. Our focus group was administered on November 16, 2010 at
8:00 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room of Humes Hall on the University
of Tennessee campus. We used two moderator guide to direct and
focus the discussion in order to retrieve the responses of the questions
we were trying to research.
Each member was responsible for a specific task throughout
the focus group. Cureton Gannon and Megan Cusick were moderators
for the duration of the discussion. They were in charge of guiding the
topics and keeping the group on task throughout the conversation.
Caroline Hurd was the note taker of the group. She copied down all
relevant information mentioned in order to refer back to for further
analyzing. Susan Graham was responsible for the audio recording of
the focus group session in order to gather thorough and accurate
record of the conversation. Julia Travis and Chandler Lennon
managed miscellaneous tasks and was in charge of hospitality, such as
setting up the room, distributing the refreshments, and various others.
For the sake of running a smooth focus group, Megan and
Cureton directed the discussion so that each participant was allowed a
chance to respond to each question and give their input. Being
cognizant of the possibility of moderator and dominant responder bias,
we hoped to overcome this possibility. We also made sure that body
language and word delivery was kept neutral. Each respondent’s
answer was affirmed to encourage a comfortable setting. Also an
objective of the focus group was to obtain individual instead of group
consensus answers. Furthermore, we prevented interviewer bias as
well by keeping the conversation impartial while maintaining a
comfortable environment.
Consumer Insights
24
We lead personal interviews as well which assisted us in obtaining
more extensive, detailed responses that explored attitudes, motivations, needs
and wants. The personal interviews provided the opportunity to talk with “pet
parents” without the potential for a bias or pressure from other participant’s
answers.
In order to figure out the best appeal to our target audience, we
recruited “pet parents”. These are people who represent people who not only
own pets, but also consider them to be supremely important to them and part
of their family. Our focus for these personal interviews was to explore and
capture attitudes and motivations for the participants.
Personal Interview Objectives •Further develop insight into consumer target audience (needs, motivations,
etc.)
•Basic image (brand image) to consumers and others
•To determine people’s knowledge of PetSmart’s sponsored charities and
effectiveness of their cause-related marketing (in-depth information)
•To answer why “pet parents” are affected by certain advertising techniques
and not by others and what each are (which ones are most effective)
Personal Interview We arranged for our personal interviews to be held in a more intimate
environment with friends and family who had no knowledge of our research
project, so as to not hinder or skew answers and maintaining an atmosphere of
for more honest feedback. Each member was responsible for conducting at
least one personal interview. Afterwards, we gathered our responses and
analyzed them to find any common themes.
Personal interviews provided participants the chance to give their
opinions without the improvisation of the focus group. For this reason, we
were able to attain more detailed accounts of specific behaviors and attitudes.
We utilized the structured interview in order to achieve information focused
directly on the areas that we were researching. Also we were able to indicate
multiple commonalities between the participants.
We analyzed our results by looking through the lenses of
our objectives. We for common themes among factors dictated most
important to distinguish motivations for “pet parents” during
shopping. We also observed many types of consensus among the
respondents, as well as when there was discord. This provided the
research team a chance to achieve better understanding of common
links and why these themes were relevant and significant.
We used the following steps in order to effectively analyze
our date for both the personal interviews and focus group:
familiarize self with data set, analyze, form categories of
importance, make connections between the categories, determine
importance of the connections. Each group member became
familiar with the data by reading the data repeatedly. Also we
reviewed the audiotape and the notes taken to be certain that all the
quotes and further connection we correct. Then we focused on
examining each question to gain further insight separately. This step
allowed us to uncover the similarities to form the connections. After
analyzing the similarities, we determined the relevance of the
connections drawn. This was necessary because the amount and
diversity of the information we gathered. When we determined the
importance of the connections and common themes that emerged,
we were able to bring the information together. Finally, these steps
allowed us to formulate recommendations for our client.
Consumer Insights
Results
25
Pet Industry During the qualitative research, two specific questions were
asked which demonstrated the unique bond between “pet parents” and
their pets. The questions, as seen in Appendix #, were “ What is your
favorite thing about being a pet owner?” and “Some people claim it
ridiculous to dress a pet up… throw Birthday parties, give them
Christmas gifts, etc. What is your response to this?” For the first
question, a respondent replied, “ I love it because my dog is my
constant companion and she is also constant love. I don’t know what I
would do without her. (Female, 20 years old)” Furthermore, when the
second question was asked, the general consensus was that dressing
the pet up with clothes was not necessary, but almost every pet owner
provided a stocking or present for the holidays. These two responses
combine to exemplify the extraordinary connection pet owners have
with their pet, especially the target audience of the client. Overall, the
group expressed the most prevalent reason for owning a pet was
“safety and companionship”.
Each participant expressed preferences when shopping for
pet supplies. When asked the question, “ What stores do you normally
shop for pet supplies and why?” the majority of respondents said that
PetSmart was the store they shopped most frequently for specialty
items or high quality products. However, if the purpose of shopping
was “everyday items” such as food, the factors of convenience and
price took precedence, allotting Wal-Mart and Costco the more
attractive choices.
Finally, respondents were asked the question to “Describe
your ideal pet store in three words.” The frequently repeated terms
tended to be inexpensive, clean, organic ingredients, wide variety,
and a friendly and knowledgeable staff. Through these responses, the
group indicated a strong preference to high quality products with a
highly skilled staff along with a price that matched those of
superstores.
Media/ Advertisements
Respondents unanimously said that TV was the most frequent and
effective place to have the pet store advertisements. As well, it is the most
influential medium to obtain information about pet stores. However, from our
interviews and focus group, it was discovered that the Internet was the most
used medium. Both mediums have ample influence in people’s lives. Many
people during the focus group were able to recall a specific pet ad from the
television while they we not able to remember a print ad. One respondent
stated that TV ads “ have the cute talking puppies and a more engaging ad”
than a print ad does (Male, 22 years old). However, our research uncovered that
there is an emerging medium that is more influential than any medium before.
When asked, “What qualities are most important for pet store
advertisements?” the three most prevalent responses received were “ cute
dogs”, “no annoying jingles”, and “not overbearing” (Appendix 3).
Furthermore, a participant’s response for her attraction to both television and
Internet ads we the ability they have to “engage” the audience (Female, 21
years old).
Consumer Insight
Results
26
Conclusions
Through the focus group as well as the six personal
interviews, participants were allowed the opportunity to express
preferences, reveal attitudes and motivations, report needs and wants,
and allocate further insights about who, when, where, why, and how
they tend for their pet. Participants agreed overall that organic, quality
products are very important and PetSmart was chosen as a pet store
with these types of products. Also, respondents agreed collectively
that pet adoption and charitable giving is seen as a positive aspect of a
socially conscious retailer. Participants expressed that cause-related
marketing did not always influence purchasing decisions, but was help
as an agreeable aspect. As expressed throughout, PetSmart is a top
retailer because of its consumer perceptions of quality products and
extra services offered, such as grooming and obedience classes.
Finally, during the focus group participants were asked to match pet
stores with certain attributes. The three words chosen for PetSmart
were “organic”, “customer service”, and “enjoyable”. This indicates
that PetSmart promotes and overall image
of quality and service in the pet industry.
Client
Recommendations
27
Experience/customer service Our research has proven that customers find the overall experience of
a pet superstore to be extremely important. A large part of the experience is in
customer service. Out of 5 different qualities, numerous interview participants
chose quality customer service as the most important factor for a quality pet
store experience. This includes a 20-year-old female, a 78-year-old female,
and a 20-year-old male. Our focus group also revealed similar information,
and those participants all said that they noted customer service when entering
a pet store. Therefore, we find it important to train employees in order to be
both knowledgeable and friendly. Greeters at the door can be beneficial or a
“ten foot rule” or “two minute rule” could be put in place. This requires
employees to at least acknowledge any customer within ten feet of them
and/or make sure to approach any customer within their first two minutes in
the store. Employees should be able to answer any question a customer may
have, this will require intensive training and preparation.
Cleanliness As found in our focus group, respondents chose “cleanliness” as a
quality they would expect to see in their ideal pet store. We believe that
this is something PetSmart could apply more to their promotions and
marketing. People enjoy shopping in a clean environment and if PetSmart
were to include this people would consider shopping here more than the
competitor retailers. We think that implementing how clean the PetSmart
stores are into their advertising and marketing campaigns would increase
awareness and loyal consumers to the store.
Convenient Charitable Efforts
From our research, we determined that people are more likely to
participate in charitable events if they are convenient for them. A
recommendation from our focus group participants was to offer customers the
opportunity to donate to a charitable cause when checking out. Our focus
group participants also expressed that they did not feel that PetSmart promotes
their charities enough. Promoting upcoming charitable events in their
advertisements could be a possible solution for this.
Internet Recommendation One communication effort that should be utilized is the
Internet, including social networking sites. We discovered many
participants felt that PetSmart did not use the Internet to its complete
potential. We asked participants where they saw the most
advertisements and a very low percentage reported seeing them on
the Internet. This shows an area of improvement and opportunity.
PetSmart should allot a larger portion of advertising expenditures to
be used in efforts to utilize the Internet. In addition to advertising,
participants also reported an interest in PetSmart social networking
sites. The survey results showed a large portion of participants are on
social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, and would be
willing to “follow” PetSmart. Being proactive on Facebook and
Twitter can increase promotion and awareness among a younger
demographic and target audience.
Promotion of services Promotion of services provided was another aspect we
discovered in our focus group as a quality that they would like to see
in their pet store. Services such as grooming, obedience, and boarding
are high on the pet parents list of needs from their pet store.
Promoting in the social media is something that could be put into
detail and share links to the pet store and also comments from past
customers. Newspapers and magazines are always a great source as
well. Television commercials that would promote the services would
not be the typical pet store commercial but promoting the service is
something we have found would attract more customers.
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28 “U.S. Pet Market Outlook 2010-2011: Tapping into Post-Recession Pet Parent Spending.”Packaged Facts 2 October 2011. Page 126, 131
29. “U.S. Pet Market Outlook 2010-2011: Tapping into Post-Recession Pet Parent Spending.”Packaged Facts 2 October 2011. Page 118-124
30. “U.S. Pet Market Outlook 2010-2011: Tapping into Post-Recession Pet Parent Spending.”Packaged Facts 2 October 2011. Page 12
31.“U.S. Pet Market Outlook 2010-2011: Tapping into Post-Recession Pet Parent Spending.”Packaged Facts 2 October 2011. Page 62
28
References