Proposal concepts and applications

Marketing Proposal

Strategic Marketing Plan for Opening a Canine Day Care Facility

Dogs are widely regarded as man's best friend, and, after years of taking advantage of their canine companions, it appears that people are finally taking the steps to be their dogs' best friends. Recent years have seen a tremendous nationwide rise in upscale services for canines. While there are some businesses in Boston, Massachusetts that target this market, the demand for upscale pet services is greater than the supply. In addition, those most likely to allocate resources to upscale pet care are those who are also likely to spend a considerable amount of time at work earning those resources. Unfortunately, as a consequence, many of these people are unable to spend the type of time and energy on their dogs that they would like to spend. The combination of these two phenomena has led to the creation of a new area in pet services: doggie day cares. There is a tremendous opportunity for growth in this arena, because newly created canine day cares not only fill an existing need, but also help shape customer wants and desires regarding pet care services. Because of the needs of the market and my own interest in working to improve the lives of companion animals, I have decided that the subject of my Applied Learning Project will be opening a canine day care facility in Boston, Massachusetts.

Initially, the idea to open a canine day care facility appeared as if it would be easy to implement. However, I quickly discovered that I faced a major obstacle in starting this business: finding an appropriate location. Like day cares for children, a canine day care facility needs to be readily accessible, so that people can drop-off and pick-up their charges with minor inconvenience. In addition, canine day care facilities face a hurdle that day cares for children do not face: many areas, even those zoned for business, strictly limit the number of companion animals that can be on one property. Furthermore, a canine day care needs to have sufficient outdoor space to provide the animals with an area to play as well as an area to defecate and urinate. Not many traditional commercial real-estate locations meet all of these needs. Furthermore, it is extremely expensive to lease commercial real-estate in the more affluent areas of town, where people are more likely to utilize a canine day-care facility. Therefore, as part of my Applied Learning Project, I will more thoroughly investigate the various possible locations for a canine day-care facility, and determine the most appropriate location, based on amenities and affordability, for the business.

Of course, location is only one aspect of any business. While a canine day care could be little more than a glorified dog park, such a facility is unlikely to generate interest among those who really want to pamper their pets. To reach my targeted clientele, I will need to establish a facility that provides pets with pampering and love, as well as with companionship from their fellow canines. Therefore, I hope to offer a full-service facility. The first, and most basic, service available will be drop-off day-care services. From 6am to 7pm, people will be able to leave their dogs at my facility, where the dogs will be allowed to play with other animals under the supervision of a certified animal trainer. Of course, because dogs are pack animals, safety is an issue and one of the primary concerns of such a business. Therefore, new incoming dogs will be subjected to a sociability test by the trainer as well as providing proof of current immunizations and general good health, and, if they pass, initially introduced to a smaller, or beginning, group of dogs. The animals will have two major play facilities: a large, indoor obstacle-course type playroom, and an outdoor play yard. In addition, there will be specialty areas, designed to meet more specific needs. For example, when the weather permits, there will be a large, shallow, in-ground wading pool for dogs like retrievers, who enjoy swimming. There will also be sufficient kennel space for each dog to spend time away from the other dogs, for napping and snacking.

Furthermore, the facility will offer two additional services: grooming and training. A clean pet is usually a healthy and happy pet, and for a competitive rate, customers will be able to avail themselves of all of the traditional aspects of a dog grooming salon. One of the challenges of the Applied Research Project will be determining what other type of grooming services customers would like to access at the day care facility. For example, there are canine salons that offer upscale services like massages, conditioning treatments, and even cosmetic services like hair coloring. Market research will be essential in determining whether or not there is a serious marketplace for such services, and whether that market overlaps with the canine day care market or whether they are actually two different markets with two different customer bases.

In fact, a substantial amount of market research will be necessary to establish what services will be offered, the frequency of those services, and the price for those services. Some canine day care facilities have boutiques, in which they sell unique items, such as handmade pet beds, custom collars, and handmade doggie treats. Not only is research necessary to determine if there is a market for these items, but also to determine the best price range for them. In addition, many kennels offer specialized snacks, like hot dogs, hamburgers, and doggie "ice cream" treats for their customers. The profit margin on these items is generally very large, but I would need to determine whether or not there would be sufficient demand to offer these treats. Because a canine day care facility would bring many unfamiliar dogs into close proximity every day, I feel that it would be important to have a certified dog trainer on staff at all times. However, I would also be interested in finding out how many dog owners would be interested in having a trainer address behavioral and obedience issues, and under what setting. For example, would the owners be more interested in participating in evening or weekend classes with a trainer, or in having the trainer work one-on-one with their pets. I have also considered the idea that having a veterinarian visit the day care facility on a bi-weekly basis might be something that would interest my clients. Assessing the demand for these additional services is essential, because I want to open a shop that is full-service, but that also appeals to the broadest audience possible.