Comprehensive Marketing Report: Dog Washing and Vet Service Strategies

This report provides a detailed marketing analysis for a dog washing and vet services business. It explores brand positioning strategies, targeting premium consumers in Sydney, and identifying market leaders like Rufus & Coco. The report outlines the consumer adoption process, from awareness to adoption, and details the marketing mix, including product (spa services, vaccinations), pricing (premium), promotion (digital and traditional), place (Mosman location), people (trained employees), process (customer-centric), and physical evidence (salon design). It also covers employee payment structures, cost estimates, and a break-even analysis, concluding with the potential for the business to become a market challenger. The report includes financial projections and references to relevant literature.

Running head: SERVICE MARKETING
Service marketing
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Segmentation strategy......................................................................................................................2
Targeting..........................................................................................................................................2
Brand positioning strategy for dog washing and vet services.........................................................2
Market leaders in Dog washing and vet services.............................................................................3
Niche identified...............................................................................................................................3
Consumer adoption process.............................................................................................................3
Marketing mix.................................................................................................................................4
Employee payment..........................................................................................................................5
Cost estimate....................................................................................................................................5
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
This report aims to provide a detail analysis of marketing a new business. The chosen
business is dog washing and vet services. The report will describe the product and service brand
positioning for this unique service identified. In the past few years, it has been seen that the pet
industry has experienced significant growth and the number of pet owners have increased to 685
accounting to 85million households (Elmas 2019). The changes in the attitude of the people and
advent of the millennial and generation Z, there has been significant adoption of pet lifestyle.
The change in culture is a major reason for increase in pets in households. The pet market in
Australia have increased significantly with more than $12 billion in annual spending on pet
services and products. The figures have increased by more than 40% in the past decade (Elmas
2019).
Segmentation strategy
Segmentation of the consumers have been made based on demography, psyche,
geography, beliefs, values and lifestyle. The company aims to choose consumers at all age
groups that have pets (Camilleri 2018). The consumers will be chosen from Sydney as the
business operation will commence in Sydney. The consumers need to have a higher disposable
income and love for pets. These consumers are the ones having pets at their home and treat them
as their children. The people who think that their pets are bored are being provided services to
entertain them. The consumers having higher disposable income will be chosen.
Targeting
The target market of the study will consist of the consumers in Tier 1 city and consumers
having dogs. Even though, the number of pets in Sydney households are high, focuses on the
consumers having dogs makes it a niche market (Camilleri 2018). Dogs have different needs
when compared to other pets so the company wants to only focus on dogs as pets. The number of
dogs in households are significantly higher so anticipated profits are higher when compared to
the costs.

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Brand positioning strategy for dog washing and vet services
The product and services will be marketed as luxury services as everybody cannot afford
a pet as it requires significant income to maintain them. The company will position their product
and services as homely products and services to consumers that care about their pets. The
company aims to offer service especially for dogs along with vet services as there is a lack of
customised services for dogs (Camilleri 2018). The majority of the households in Sydney have
dogs as pets so it is the most ideal way of positioning their products.
Market leaders in Dog washing and vet services
Rufus & Coco are the market leaders in pet services in Australia and caters to all sorts of
pets: feline, feathered and furry. The company focuses on the making the pets look good and
make them feel happy (Kopp 2019). The company not only offers pet foods but also have started
a fur salon. The company wants to help the consumers to keep their pets healthy, active and
beautiful. There has been increase in awareness among the consumers regarding pet products and
needs of the pets. The company has opened up a Fur Salon in Sydney which provides blueberry
facials, activated charcoal exfoliation sessions and therapy mud baths (Thefursalon.com.au
2020). The pet salon is catered to the luxury consumers in the market as generally consumers
themselves do not get enough time to attend a salon and spa so sending their pets to spas require
higher disposable income. The products used to cater to the pets are highly sophisticated and
company ensures to maintain the PH balance with hypo allergic fragrance. It makes it suitable
for pets that are even sensitive to such products (Kopp 2019). This has made Rufus & Coco as
the market leader in the pet services.
Niche identified
The disposable income for the consumers in Australia and majority of the dog owners
have higher disposable income and treat them as children. Therefore, premium consumers having
higher disposable income and owning dogs are the chosen niche market. Moreover, the company
will only focus on the consumers in Sydney.
Consumer adoption process
The five stages of consumer adoption process is awareness, evaluation, adoption, trial
and interest. Initially, marketing strategies will be used to make the consumers aware of the new

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pet services offered by the company so that they can gain interest. In order to be aware of the
company, the company will use test marketing, events and road shows along with digital
marketing strategies for increasing social media awareness. By providing information on the
products and services offered, the interest of the consumers will be increased. The consumers
will provide 20% discount for the first three bookings so that they avail the services. The quality
of service offered will develop a positive image and increase in value among the consumers. The
consumers will adopt the product when they understand that the services are specifically adhered
to the dogs and customised services will be provided to different dog breeds.
Marketing mix
Product The product and services consist of spa services, vaccinations and
different forms of baths for dogs. It will consist of brush and free wash,
shampoo, wash, pedicure, hygiene trim, ear clean, blow-dry, and
pamper spray, face and deep conditioning treatment.
Price The services and products will be premium priced where the prices will
vary from $10 to $100 based on the service chosen.
Promotion The company will use both digital and traditional marketing medium to
promote their salon and products. In terms of traditional marketing,
television advertisement, hoardings, pamphlets and newspaper
advertisement will be used. The company will also use test marketing
and roadshows to demonstrate their services and products in malls and
high end streets to attract consumers. In case of digital marketing, the
company will use social media marketing and search engine
optimization to increase their presence on the social media platforms. It
will help in reaching the generation Z and millennial generation who are
pet owners.
Place The shop will be opened in the northern shore of Mosman to compete
with the market leader in this segment. The salon will have nice music,
amenities and space for the dogs to be active and happy.
People The company will hire 20 employees, out of which 10 employees will
focus on providing services to the consumers. The remaining employees

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focus on marketing the services and products both on traditional and
digital platforms.
Process The business will be customer centric and focus on the customised
needs of the different dog breeds. The company will use research and
development to develop new therapies to improve the quality and types
of services offered.
Physical evidence The salon will be designed for dogs and will provide all the necessary
facilities to make a dog happy. It will create an experience for the
owners and their dogs which will make them come back again and
again.
Table 1
Source: Huotari and Hamari (2017)
Employee payment
The vets hired will be interns and they will be provided 20 dollar for every hour.
However, these interns will work for 5 days a week so that the expenses can be reduced. Some of
the interns will work on part time basis so they will be receiving 10 dollars per hour.
Cost estimate
Profit and Loss statement
5-Year Financial Plan- Dog and vet services
Profit and loss projections
Year-by-year profit and loss assumptions
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Annual cumulative price (revenue) increase - 2.00% 4.00% 6.00% 8.00%
Annual cumulative inflation (expense) increase - 2.00% 4.00% 6.00% 8.00%
Interest rate on ending cash balance 0.50% 0.50% 0.50% 0.50% 0.50%
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Revenue
Gross revenue $146,000 $148,920 $154,877 $164,169 $177,303
Cost of goods sold $7,750 $7,905 $8,221 $8,714 $9,412
Gross margin $138,250 $141,015 $146,656 $155,455 $167,891

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Other revenue [source] $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
Interest income $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
Total revenue $138,250 $141,015 $146,656 $155,455 $167,891
Operating expenses
Sales and marketing $4,000 $4,080 $4,243 $4,498 $4,858
Payroll and payroll taxes $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
Depreciation $7,040 $7,181 $7,322 $7,462 $7,603
Maintenance, repair, and overhaul $100 $102 $104 $106 $108
Total operating expenses $11,140 $11,363 $11,669 $12,066 $12,569
Operating income $127,110 $129,652 $134,987 $143,389 $155,323
Interest expense on long-term debt $1,799 $1,430 $1,046 $647 $231
Operating income before other items $125,311 $128,222 $133,941 $142,742 $155,091
Loss (gain) on sale of assets $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
Other unusual expenses (income) $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
Earnings before taxes $125,311 $128,222 $133,941 $142,742 $155,091
Taxes on income 30% $37,593 $38,467 $40,182 $42,823 $46,527
Net income (loss) $87,718 $89,756 $93,759 $99,920 $108,564
Cumulative income $87,718 $177,473 $271,232 $371,151 $479,715
Table 2
Source: (As created by author)
Break Even Analysis
The break even analysis shows that the company can acquire profit within a year and
before the starting of the next year, the company is expected to reach breakeven point. The break
even value is 0.90 years which means there is good prospect for the business in the upcoming
years to come.

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Year 0 Year 2 Year 4 Year 6
$0.00
$50,000.00
$100,000.00
$150,000.00
$200,000.00
$250,000.00
$300,000.00
$350,000.00
$400,000.00
$450,000.00
Break even Analysis
Conclusion
Thus, it can be concluded that the company can become a major challenger in upcoming
years if they address the current gap in the market. There is a only one major company, Rufus &
Coco offering similar services so the company can start as a market follower and can soon
become a challenger in the upcoming 5 years. The marketing mix has defined the services,
products along marketing strategies to be implemented.

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References
Camilleri, M.A., 2018. Market segmentation, targeting and positioning. In Travel Marketing,
tourism economics and the airline product (pp. 69-83). Springer, Cham.
Elmas, M. 2019. From DOGTV to pet cremation: How humanisation is driving a boom in the
business of our furry friends - SmartCompany. [online] SmartCompany. Available at:
https://www.smartcompany.com.au/entrepreneurs/humanisation-driving-boom-pet-industry/
[Accessed 6 Jan. 2020].
Huotari, K. and Hamari, J., 2017. A definition for gamification: anchoring gamification in the
service marketing literature. Electronic Markets, 27(1), pp.21-31.
Kopp, C. 2019. Pet spa is so extra your dog can indulge in a therapy mud bath — sign us up.
[online] NewsComAu. Available at: https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/home/pets/sydney-pet-
salon-offers-blueberry-facials-and-therapy-mud-baths-for-animals-only/news-story/
db237d543a3a31b6ab95ed532ab6c4f8 [Accessed 6 Jan. 2020].
Thefursalon.com.au 2020. The Fur Salon by Rufus & Coco. [online] The Fur Salon. Available at:
https://www.thefursalon.com.au/ [Accessed 6 Jan. 2020].