Marketing and Strategic Management Concepts

The provided assignment appears to be a comprehensive review of marketing and strategic management concepts. It includes references to multiple sources, such as books and research papers, which provide insights into topics like the marketing mix, brand awareness, customer engagement, and entrepreneurship. The assignment seems to be aimed at students of business and marketing who need to understand these fundamental concepts for their studies.

Running head: MARKETING PLAN OF PET STORY
Marketing Plan of Pet Story
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1MARKETING PLAN OF PET STORY
Executive summary:
The aim of the report is to develop a market plan of a new pet company to determine its new
initiative that it is going to undertake in the Canadian market. The report analyzes the market
structure for the company prevailing in the country and establishes the pet company, named as
Pet Story into the scenario. It connotes the strengths, weaknesses and threats that the company
can have and identifies the various opportunities it has to sustain in the market. The report
analyzes the current situation of the company with all the products and services it would be
selling to its customers. It will focus on acquiring fame for the quality of its products and healthy
customer relations that would be beneficial for it to be progressive in its operations. The report
also depicts that the new germ-detecting product that the company is going to launch would be
very effective for both the customers to render proper care for their pets and the company to
expand its business. The market strategies that are dealt in the report suggest that the company
will slowly but steadily progress in its business proceedings that would enable it to establish
itself on stronger grounds in the future.

2MARKETING PLAN OF PET STORY
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Discussion........................................................................................................................................3
Current Market Situation.............................................................................................................3
SWOT Analysis...........................................................................................................................4
Objectives....................................................................................................................................7
Marketing strategy.......................................................................................................................8
Target customers......................................................................................................................8
Product strategy.......................................................................................................................8
Price strategy...........................................................................................................................9
Promotion strategy...................................................................................................................9
Place strategy.........................................................................................................................10
Action plan.................................................................................................................................10
Projection...................................................................................................................................10
Controls......................................................................................................................................11
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
References......................................................................................................................................13

3MARKETING PLAN OF PET STORY
Introduction:
The Canadian pet market is a functional market in the nation, where pet shops, pet
producing markets, veterinaries and such other associated businesses are operational. It has been
reported that the continuity in the sales of the products and services that are non-medical will
promote sales in the Canadian pet market to about $9.2 billion by the year 2019 (Agr.gc.ca,
2018). The market has shown a steady growth by a rate of 4% since the last 5 years. However,
the veterinary services in the market have gradually shown a fall with a stark decline in visits by
the pet owners.
The Pet Story will offer the various products associated with pets. The company is
founded by Brandon Adams in Oakville, Ontario. The company will start its operations from
Oakville and have distributors at many different places in Canada. The company’s products
would include natural pet foods, concerned with the health of the pets. They will provide
supplements, vitamins, toys, and accessories for training pets, cages, rubber chains, aquariums
and all the necessary pet related items. The company also aims to provide medical and dental pet
products to its customers and serve to people having cats, dogs, fishes, birds, mini pigs, or any
small animal. The company will have one primary retail location with multiple distribution
channels and will be launching another retail store in Edmonton, Alberta. It has been developing
a 24-hour online store to reach to its customers from all around the country. The report will
briefly over-view the market strategies and plans of the emerging company with special attention
to the germ level detector for pets that is being launched by Pet Story.
Discussion:
Current Market Situation:

4MARKETING PLAN OF PET STORY
The Pet Story is a pet retailer company of products and services that aim to fulfill the
lifetime requirements of pets. The company will have only one brick and mortar store in the
Canadian market and will be launching another store in Alberta. It will be associating with huge
distribution channels through which it will be selling its products throughout the country
(Armstrong et al. 2015). The company will keep a very competitive price for its products and
stock more than 15000 products in store. The everyday low prices ascribed for the products
would help it to retain its customers. The company aims to have good relations with the
customers (Jaakkola, Elina and Matthew 2014). It opts for a slow but steady rise in its marketing
outcome and will have about 5000 additional products of it in the website. The growing trend of
humanization of pets in the recent times has accelerated the pet business leading to an overall
growth in the pet industry by 3-5% per year. The growth in the industry has however led to the
introduction of similar companies like the Pet Story to emerge in the market that acts as
emerging threats for the new company (Baker 2014). Established companies like CanAm,
Champion Pet foods, the Crump Group and others enjoy a dominant position with enormous
customer loyalty that act as threats for the Pet Story Company to make greater investments and
face losses in the end. Similarly, the rise in the number of investors will be productive for the
company to a significant extent that can make it progressive in the overall market scenario.
SWOT Analysis:
Strengths-
 The company will be working with proper consideration of the Ontario SPCA that works
for the protection of animals.

5MARKETING PLAN OF PET STORY
 It is soon to open the store in the market area of Ontario, which would bring it greater
number of customers.
 It will have competitive price for the products.
 The products are mostly natural and organic, that is preferred more compared to the
chemical medicines.
 It will provide expertise and professional advice to the pet owners.
 The company will sell a wide range of products concerned with most of the problems that
are observed in pets.
 The products will encompass multiple animals and reptiles without being concentrated to
a particular species.
 The online store of the company seeks to be highly productive for the company.
 Free delivery of products with no additional charges all around the country act as
strength.
 It will be incorporating new technologies that help to keep a track on the online records
and scheduling, promoting smoothness to the business proceedings throughout the nation
(Kavitha and Reddy 2016).
 Pet Story will provide 5% off in its products if they are bought from the store.
Weaknesses-
 Presently, the company does not aim to have any role in rescue programs or charities for
pets that are often left by owners.
 It will have no global presence and will operate within the boundaries of Canada.
 It will be selling its own brand, which is unrecognized by many customers.

6MARKETING PLAN OF PET STORY
 The company will have only one operational store and will be launching another one,
which is very less compared to the other operational pet companies in the industry.
 There is a lack of advertisement of the company that keeps it unknown to many potential
customers.
Opportunities-
 The country can aim to expand the business across the other countries.
 It can associate with the functional retail sites such as Amazon and Costco to promote
greater sell of the product worldwide, the product being completely new in the pet market
(Cooper 2013).
 Though the company has the scope to render veterinary services, tie-ups with veterinary
hospitals with professional doctors would be beneficial for it, increasing the customer’s
reliability.
 The company can adopt measures to get its brand recognition.
 With incorporation of services like animal training and grooming, the company has the
scope of greater expansion and growth.
 Launching few stores in the super markets like Safeway, Dominion, Foodland and others
would bring greater profits to the business (Lorch, Brian and Tony 2016).
Threats-
 The pet industry has been facing a growth in the market that has been encouraging
entrepreneurs to invest in the market and launch their own companies. Rapid increase in
the number of emerging companies serves to be a major threat.

7MARKETING PLAN OF PET STORY
 Major threats from similar established companies operating in the Canadian market also
affect the market of Pet Story.
 Declining number of children in the household has been a notable threat for the pet
industry as a whole, with lowering number of adoption of the pet animals.
The SWOT analysis of the Pet Story Company shows that though the company seeks to work
with greater focus in its ethical considerations to create a strong customer base, it needs to
integrate measures to incur profits (Ayub et al. 2013). It has several strengths that will accelerate
its smooth functioning and operations. The quality of the products that the company will deliver
promises quality that would help it to achieve fame. The company’s plan and way of entering the
Canadian market t hints at its scope to expand the business crossing the boundaries of Canada.
Objectives:
Pet Story aims to develop consumer relations and gain customer trust by providing
quality products and services (Huang, Rong and Emine 2014). Its aim is to provide the customers
with sufficient knowledge and professional advice for the health and happiness of their pets. The
company’s new initiative to launch the pet’s germ level detector machine and the launch of new
branches in the various parts of the country, along with the medical service has the primary
objective to render better health care facilities and advices related to the health of the pets, their
lifestyles, grooming, training and behavior. The germ level detector would be identifying the
presence of germs in the body of the pets so that they can be freed from them. The product is a
UV torch that would identify the germs and their locating areas on the bodies of the pets. Along
the torch, there will be a meter given that would also detect the rate of the germs present in the
body of the pets. This would enable the pet owners to view the microorganisms that cannot be

8MARKETING PLAN OF PET STORY
detected with bare eyes and consult veterans accordingly. With the new endeavour, the company
will be able to achieve a good reputation in its operational areas. The good reviews from
customers all around Canada in the internet site of the company would approve the quality and
effective service by the company (Martínez, Patricia and Ignacio 2013). With the addition of the
new initiative that the company is going to undertake, Pet Story will strive to achieve its noble
objective along with the expansion of its market in the country.
Marketing strategy:
Target customers-
Pet Story will target the upper middle and middle class pet owners for their market. They
will try to target pet enthusiasts who are seriously committed to their pets and consider the pets
to be an important part of the family. They are potential customers since they engage themselves
in buying a wide variety of products and experiment them on the pets. These people are also
concerned with the health of their pets and opt for regular check-ups. Thus, the company’s new
endeavor to launch the germ detector would be effective for these customers. The company also
tries to find people who adopt a number of pets together instead of only one. The customers are
present in all demographics. Thus, the company’s online services will act as an added benefit
getting customers from all around Canada. The company is aiming to launch many other stores
in the different places of Canada reaching customers who do not avail internet.
Product strategy-
The Pet Story will be primarily selling its own store brand of products and provide
responsible services to the pets that are brought in the stores. The company will be launching the
germ level detector for the pets in both the store and online to identify the root of diseases in

9MARKETING PLAN OF PET STORY
pets, sitting at home. The product is very new in the pet industry that is being produced by Pet
Story. A successful appreciation of the new product would enable the company to reach the
global market scenario by selling the products online (Pe'er, Aviad and Thomas 2013). The
product is absolutely side effects free and does not pose any harm to the skin or internal organs
of the pet’s bodies. Thus, the product seems appealing and promising in the market. The
company is also striving to set up more stores in the different places of the country (Khan 2014).
Price strategy-
The company will keep a very considerable and competitive price for all its products so
that people coming from different class can afford them. The prices will be lower compared to
the products of the other brands operating in the market (Matejovsky et al. 2014). The company
will also provide store discount card through which it will be giving discounts to people buying
more than three products from the store. It is the case for the website of the company as well.
The new germ detector that the company will be simultaneously launching will also have a
considerable price that can be afforded by both the upper middle and middle class people.
Promotion strategy-
Pet Story is a new company creeping into the Canadian market. The new company along
its new endeavors needs to adopt various promotional activities to reach to the population at
large. The company is also opening its face book page in which it will be providing updates of its
location and other details and promote the new germ detecting product. It will be also providing
information regarding the launch of its new store in Alberta (Scott 2015). It would also regularly
update the twitter account and the official website of the company. Pet Story will also resort to

10MARKETING PLAN OF PET STORY
radio and television ads for the promotion of its new product that is completely a new product in
the Canadian market.
Place strategy-
Pet Story will be opening in the popular ByWard market in Ottawa of Ontario, which is
flocked by a huge number of people regularly. The company will be expanding its business by
setting multiple new stores in different areas of the country (Wilson et al. 2016). Their new
launch of a store in Alberta is soon to happen. The store will be well stocked and would cater to
all the requirements of the pet animals. With a good network of distribution channels the
company will introduce its products to the customers from all around the nation. The company
has the potential to cross the boundaries of the country and be operational in the other nations;
however, it is primarily concerned in opening its two stores and selling its products and services
to the entire nation (Kotabe, Masaaki and Kristiaan 2014).
Action plan:
The company needs to incur huge profits so that they are able to balance the cost that is
going to be invested in its new programs (Kotler 2015). The launch of the new product itself
claims huge investment that needs to be accumulated from the profits that the company gets by
the sale of its other products. Moreover, the amount that is assumed to be spent on
advertisements, rents, remodeling and building new stores with the production of the UV germ
detectors is also high (Tuten, Tracy and Michael 2017). Thus, the company must engage in
attracting and bringing sufficient number of customers to it and incur profits from its online sale
as well that would help it to maintain its business proceedings without facing any loss.
Projection:

11MARKETING PLAN OF PET STORY
The table given below shows the projection of the Pet Story Company to establish its
stores and accelerate the sale of its new product. It analyses the cost that the company would
incur to promote the product, including its investment in the stores that the company strives to
launch within the next 5 years. The estimates of the company have been projected as follows:
Year Production of
the product
(CAN $)
Rent of the
store(s)/mont
h
(CAN $)
Advertisement
(CAN $)
Construction
(CAN $)
Cost
(CAN $)
2018 600 2000 600 10000 13200
2019 1600 5000 800 12000 19400
2020 1800 5000 400 N/A 7200
2021 2000 5000 200 N/A 7200
2022 4000 12000 1000 20000 37000
Table: Estimates of the cost to be incurred by Pet Story from 2018-2022
(Source: Self)
Controls:
The company is set to introduce the germ detector, which is a completely new concept in
the pet industry. It needs proper medical assistance and technology experts to strategize and
produce the detectors (Meeker and Meisinger 2015). The company must be concerned enough so
that no mistakes occur that can negatively hamper the health of the pets. This would negatively
affect the company’s fame. Along with the new product, the company is all set to launch new
stores of it in the parts of the country. This contributes to a huge investment, considering the rent,

12MARKETING PLAN OF PET STORY
advertisements and such other essential elements (Fisk et al. 2013). The cost incurred for
medicines and tools already is high. Therefore, the company must be able to control all the
measures it is going to take.
Conclusion:
The report concludes that Pet Story, though a new company in the pet industry, seems to
be very progressive with the primary objective of rendering quality products and best services to
the customers. The company has multiple strengths that would accelerate its proper functioning,
connoting to its progressive nature. However, there are major threats and weaknesses as well that
can act as barriers for the company. The company has various objectives and initiatives to
promote and extend its business in the Canadian market. The positive motives of Pet Story along
the promising new product that it is going to launch indicates that the company would be able to
survive in the market scenario establishing itself as one of the leading pet companies in the
Canadian market. With the new product, the company can also be assessed to be selling its
products throughout the world acquiring a global market for itself.

13MARKETING PLAN OF PET STORY
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14MARKETING PLAN OF PET STORY
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