1. Imperial College Business School
MSc Strategic Marketing 2015-2016
Marketing Fundamentals (BS1505)
The Launch of DogVacay
in the UK
KENSINGTON 8
EMILIE STORDALEN (01084344)
CAROLINA PLEXIDAS (01110243)
MARGARIDA FERNANDES (01153653)
PATCHARAPAK VIDHAYASARANA (01095171)
SHENGHAN LIAO (01094469)
PRIYASHI NAHATA (01108167) Word count: 3,000
2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................. 1
1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 2
2. MARKETING RESEARCH AND FINDINGS................................................. 3
2.1 SWOT Analysis ......................................................................................3
2.2 New Market & Customer Analysis .............................................................4
2.2.1 Size of The Potential New Market........................................................ 4
2.2.2 Profiles of Potential Customers ........................................................... 7
2.3 Competitor Analysis .............................................................................10
2.3.1 Indirect and Direct Competitors........................................................ 10
2.3.2 Social Media Analysis ...................................................................... 11
2.3.3 Porter’s Five Forces ........................................................................ 13
3. SEGMENTATION, TARGETING AND POSITIONING................................ 14
3.1 Market Segmentation ...........................................................................14
3.1.1 Geographic .................................................................................... 14
3.1.2 Demographic ................................................................................. 14
3.1.3 Psychographic................................................................................ 15
3.1.4 Behavioural ................................................................................... 16
3.2 Target Market......................................................................................17
3.3 Positioning ..........................................................................................18
4. 1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
DogVacay, an alternative to kennels, is a peer-to-peer dog sitting service. It unites
dog owners with reliable trained sitters in the same neighbourhood through a user
friendly website and mobile application. This report explores the strategies that have
lead to the company’s success and popularity in the U.S. and Canada, where it has
been operating since 2012 and recommendations to expand in the UK market.
The market research conducted for this report indicates that the humanisation of pets
has increased the opportunity for new potential pet businesses in the UK. Owners
have developed a stronger emotional connection to their dogs, treating them as their
own family. This has led them to look for the best quality services to cater to their
canines. Alongside this, the increasing growth of the pet industry in the UK, and the
expansion of digital usage presents a large opportunity for DogVacay to launch in
London, as a means of reaching new customers through a sharing economy model.
Market segmentation has been performed to identify the target market; middle class
dog lovers ages 20-59 comprising of both dog owners and sitters in London. The
recommended marketing mix has been developed based on market research analysis
and the STP process, with the aim to maximise the potential success of DogVacay
launching in the UK.
Findings presented in this report demonstrate that DogVacay’s competitive advantage
in the UK market is their USP; unlike other competitors such as DogBuddy and
BorrowMyDoggy, all pet sitters are trained and certified before joining the service.
This provides dog owners with peace of mind and reduces the issues of
trustworthiness which they typically demonstrate when using kennels. It is strongly
recommended that DogVacay’s promotion strategies focus mainly on building brand
awareness as this will stimulate WOM and increase its credibility amongst its biggest
competitors.
5. 2
1. INTRODUCTION
DogVacay, commonly referred as the “Airbnb for dogs”, is a leading online pet
community and service based in Los Angeles (Business Wire, 2015). It was founded
by Aaron Hirschhorn and his wife Karine Hirschhorn in March 2012 (DogVacay, 2015).
The business idea emerged from a negative experience when boarding their dogs in
a kennel. DogVacay offers a peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace, connecting dog owners
with trustworthy dog sitters in their neighbourhood, through an online platform and
a mobile application. The company manages vet training (for hosts), insurance (for
hosts and owners), payments and a 24/7 customer service team (DogVacay, 2015).
Today, DogVacay operates in more than 300,000 cities in North America with more
than 20,000 vetted and insured sitters. Over 1 million dog sitting appointments have
been booked through the platform (www.dogvacay.com) and the company has raised
$47 million in funding from top investors (Business Wire, 2015).
Initially, DogVacay focused on the overnight business of dog sitting. In April 2015,
the company launched Daycare services offering dog owners the choice of dropping
them off at a trusted home for a couple of hours (Business Wire, 2015). The same
year, the company was named as one of the 14 most innovative pet startups in the
U.S. (Schmidt, 2015). According to the CEO, DogVacay’s aim is to become the world’s
largest pet service company (Business Wire, 2015).
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2. MARKETING RESEARCH AND FINDINGS
2.1 SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths
Certified and trained sitters
24/7 customer service and vet line
Insurance for dogs and sitters
Lower price compared to kennels
Messaging system for dialogue
between users to ensure the safety
of both parties (Peterson, 2014)
Sitters with rating under 5 stars are
investigated
User-friendly website and mobile
application interface
Focus on being a caring community
Great reputation: strong PR and
indirect marketing achieved through
WOM (Popper, 2015)
Competitive advantage over
competitors: only company with
trained and certified sitters
Weaknesses
Offers own certification for sitters,
not existing UK certifications
Launching later than competitors in
UK market
Targets mostly tech savvy
customers
7. 4
Opportunities
Growing pet industry in the UK:
opportunity to expand
internationally, and increase market
shares (Euromonitor International,
2015)
Technological advance: growth in
digital world and smartphone device
usages
Threats
Owner concerns/trust in DogVacay’s
services
Negative reputation from bad
customer experience through WOM
Decline in dog population (PMFA,
2015)
New property laws: ‘‘tenants with
dogs are having to pay much bigger
deposits than their non-pet owning
counterparts’ (Prynn, 2015)
Stricter Landlords: “almost half of
central London flats ban dogs in the
terms of their leases, creating a
major shortage of ‘dog friendly’
properties” (Prynn, 2015)
Difficulty in ensuring customer's
loyalty
2.2 NEW MARKET & CUSTOMER ANALYSIS
2.2.1 SIZE OF THE POTENTIAL NEW MARKET
The size of the pet care industry is substantial, with estimates indicating that pet
spending in the UK will surpass £4.6 billion in 2015 (Figure 1). According to the
director of strategy briefings at Euromonitor, Gina Westbrook, there is a great
opportunity to commercialise pet services due to an increasing trend in people
8. 5
humanising their pets (Davidson, 2015). The forecasted growth for the pet care
industry is 2.2% from 2013 to 2018 in the UK (Euromonitor International, 2015).
In 2014, the dog population in the UK was 8.5 million (Figure 2), with dogs present
in 24% of all households (PFMA, 2015). When looking more closely at the London
market, 10% of households had dogs (Figure 3), and the average amount of
disposable income can vary between £16,801 and £43,577 (Figure 4).
Figure 1
Source: Davidson (2015)
10. 7
Figure 4
Source: Boyce (2015)
2.2.2 PROFILES OF POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS
2.2.2.1 TYPE 1 CUSTOMERS
According to Walk My Dog (2015), about 1000 people with 74% of owners reporting
their pets as one of the family, and therefore, treat them accordingly. This
psychological shift is called the ‘humanisation of pets’ and subsequently the emotions
usually reserved for family now apply: guilt for neglecting them and joy when seeing
them happy (Westbrook, 2014).
11. 8
2.2.2.2 TYPE 2 CUSTOMERS
Dual-income households are emerging due to the growing number of working women
in the UK (Dugan, 2014). Pet owning has become more challenging as less time is
spent at home, however, the increasing disposable income means that dog owners
are more willing to outsource their responsibilities, saving them time and effort (Walk
My Dog, 2015).
2.2.2.3 BUYING BEHAVIOURS
A survey by PetAround (2013) shows a definite trend in that a quarter of families with
pets avoid holidaying, or cut down the length of their trips, ‘because of the hassle and
cost of kennels and cat homes’ (Startups, 2015).
Evidently, the digital revolution is changing consumer’s behaviour. Portable devices
such as smartphones and tablets have become increasingly popular in the UK
(Sweney, 2015). There are 30 million active mobile social media users per month,
making it the leading country in Europe (Figure 5). According to Statista (Figure 6)
16-24 years olds in the UK have the highest share of respondents of purchasing
products/services through social media, indicating that DogVacay should primarily
focus on digital marketing. Moreover, digital advertising is expected to grow by 12%
to £8.1bn making the UK the leading country in the world in digital ad spending this
year (eMarketer, 2015).
13. 10
Figure 6
Source: Harris Interactive (2014)
2.3 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
2.3.1 INDIRECT AND DIRECT COMPETITORS
DogVacay’s direct competitors are similar online business platforms such as
DogBuddy and BorrowMyDoggy. The company’s indirect competitors include a luxury
pet hotel, Elm Tree and the choice of people using friends and family to dog sit.
After thorough analysis, it is evident that DogVacay offers a superior quality because
of their diverse portfolio of benefits to its customers (Figure 7).
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Figure 7
2.3.2 SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYSIS
DogVacay has a relatively large social media presence compared to its competitors
(Figure 8) indicating that their core fan base is willing to engage with the service
beyond bookings.
16. 13
2.3.3 PORTER’S FIVE FORCES
Porter’s Five Forces (Porter, 1979) assesses DogVacay’s competitive strengths in the
UK pet industry to determine whether the business model can be profitable, based on
existing businesses in the industry.
The threat of entry is relatively high as the brand awareness, initial capital investment
and the consumer switching costs are low. There are no proprietary technology or
materials involved, increasing the risk of DogVacay’s market share to be depleted by
new entrants in the marketplace.
The bargaining power of suppliers (sitters) is relatively high as they have the choice
to join various platforms at a low switching cost. In addition, dog sitters can provide
the service without going through DogVacay.
The threat of substitutes is high as DogVacay’s customers can easily switch to indirect
competitors at no cost, using friends or family.
The bargaining power of buyers (dog owners) is moderate because customers have
the power to rate the service therefore DogVacay has to provide the highest service
quality at a competitive price.
The intensity of competitive rivalry is high as there is a major direct competitor in the
UK market and the customers’ switching costs are low.
17. 14
3. SEGMENTATION, TARGETING AND POSITIONING
3.1 MARKET SEGMENTATION
DogVacay is a multi-sided platform (MSP) service that creates value by facilitating
interactions between two customer groups; owners and dog sitters working in mutual
interdependency (Ankaraju, 2010).
Owner segment: This segment involves any owners in London who have access to
the DogVacay platform and are in need of dog sitting.
Sitter segment: The sitter segment involves individuals who are willing to employ
themselves as dog sitters through the platform.
The following are the key variables that DogVacay can choose to segment their
customers by.
3.1.1 GEOGRAPHIC
City: London as approximately 7% of households own a dog and there are
roughly 8.5 million dogs in the UK (PFMA, 2015).
3.1.2 DEMOGRAPHIC
Income
o In the UK income has little bearing on dog ownership, as other factors
are more important (Westgarth et al., 2007). However, London has the
highest disposable income in the UK (Figure 4).
18. 15
Occupation
o Students: There were around 366,605 full-time students in London for
the academic year 2013/14 (HESA, 2014).
o Part-time workers: In the UK they work fewer than 35 hours per week
(GOV.UK, 2014).
o “Presence of unemployed, disabled persons or full-time students
(including children of school age) in the household also increased the
odds of dog ownership” (Westgarth et al., 2007).
o Retirees don’t usually own dogs (Westgarth et al., 2007).
Age
o Presence of the age groups 6–19, 20–29 and 30–59, increase the odds
of dog ownership (Westgarth et al., 2007).
o Ages of 60+ are less likely to own a dog (Westgarth et al., 2007).
3.1.3 PSYCHOGRAPHIC
Social class
o Upper class (A): Spend the most money on their dogs by using private dog
sitters and luxury kennels more often than others (Petplan, 2011).
o Middle class (B, C1): The average disposable income per household in
London varies between £16,000 and £43,577 (Figure 4).
Attitudes
o Research shows that of all pet owners, dog owners have the strongest tie
with their pets and are most nervous of leaving them with strangers. Over
25% of pet owners in the UK leave their pets alone from 5 to 8 hours
(Petplan, 2011).
19. 16
3.1.4 BEHAVIOURAL
Limited time to take care of their dogs due to busy lifestyle
Technological skills are necessary in order to access to the platform. Knowledge
of social media and P2P services are greatest among millennial.
Figure 9
Source: Office for National Statistics (UK) (2013)
20. 17
3.2 TARGET MARKET
DogVacay has two target markets, owners and sitters (Figure 10). In order to reach
both segments, DogVacay should focus on targeting middle class people and dog
owners in London, aged 20-59. The target age range was determined by research
that shows ages 20-59 are most likely to own a dog (Westgarth et al., 2007).
Additionally, pet owners spend up to 7.6% of their weekly disposable income on their
pets (Figure 2). The age ranges of 16-24 and 25-34 are the most active in using social
media to buy products/services.
Secondly, in the UK most people finish schooling responsibilities at age 18 (Gov.uk,
2015) and therefore are more likely to have time to become a sitter. It is a fair
assumption that ages 34-59 will have more disposable income to spend on their pets,
as younger people have been the ones most affected by the economic downturn
(Arnett, 2013).
The goal is to target this one group and spark transactions within that successfully.
Dog owners talk to each other about dogs, and are often in need of similar services.
DogVacay will focus on the dog community in order to nurture and develop high
potential customers within this target market. To capture market demand, DogVacay
can benefit from sitters and owners’ internal recommendations, similar buying
behaviours and identical travel requirements. (Platform Thinking, 2015)
21. 18
Figure 10
3.3 POSITIONING
Positioning statement:
DogVacay is a platform that promises the safest “home away from home” for
dogs with busy and loving owners.
The key to DogVacay’s positioning is to set themselves as the safest and most
convenient P2P platform for dogs and their owners as research shows that 44% of
pet owners are worried about leaving their pets alone, with 25% leaving them alone
for over five hours (Petplan, 2011). DogVacay’s certified trainers increase their
customers’ peace of mind and the quality of their service against its competitors
(Figure 11).
23. 20
4. RECOMMENDED MARKETING MIX
The additional three Ps for Service Marketing (People, Process and Physical Evidence),
have been take into consideration and integrated in the recommended marketing mix
below.
4.1 PRODUCT
DogVacay offers a differentiated and high-quality service to the market. Its USP is
the sitters are certified and trained, making it the only company in the UK that has
this as a safety prerequisite. To further establish how importantly DogVacay takes
the concerns of dog owners, photo and video updates of their beloved dogs are
regularly posted on the mobile application.
DogVacay is a location-based service enabled with map-search, helping owners
search for sitters in their preferred location, creating a better customer experience.
Additionally, a dedicated 24/7 customer service and vet line is available.
The varied filtering options enable an easy search process for owners, tailoring the
services to their needs. The user-friendly website and mobile application feature a
singular style and colour scheme to keep a consistent look, feel and user-experience
across all platforms (Figure 12).
24. 21
Figure 12
4.2 PLACE
DogVacay occupies an online space, with a business model firmly positioned as part
of the sharing economy model, bringing people together who share a common goal
(Matofska, 2013).
By existing in two digital spheres – mobile application and the website – they can
meet their users’ needs when they are at home, planning in advance, but also when
on-the-go for last minute solutions.
25. 22
4.3 PRICE
As in the original U.S. model of DogVacay, hosts will be in charge of the price they
set for their pet services (Liang, 2013) giving pet owners a range of prices to choose
from. DogVacay should keep the price range for sitting at £10 - £100 so that they
have a competitive price advantage with DogBuddy (DogBuddy, 2015).
Likewise, DogVacay’s revenue is generated on a commission basis. It is recommended
that they keep a slightly smaller percentage of commission compared to its
competitors to have a competitive price advantage but still be profitable. As
DogBuddy takes 15% commission (Maynard, 2015), it is advisable for DogVacay to
take 14% commission for each booking that it facilitates.
4.4 PROMOTION
Although DogVacay is well-known in North America, it stands in the awareness stage
in the UK (Figure 13). Therefore, it is essential that their communication focuses on
building awareness and knowledge about the brand through pull strategies (Kotler et
al., 2013). DogVacay should use their paid media as a vehicle to increase the impact
of their earned (e.g. press and social media engagement) and owned media to achieve
success (Nilforoush, 2012).
Figure 13
Source: Kotler et al. (2013)
26. 23
4.4.1 PUBLIC RELATIONS
It is suggested for DogVacay to launch an entertaining series of events called ‘Nice to
paw you!’ during National Pet Month (1st
April to 4th
May 2015). These should be held
across dog-friendly parks in London, like Hampstead Heath, in order to capture dog
lovers’ attention (Telegraph, 2006). To increase interactions with bypassers, free
accessories branded with the logo (similar to Figure 14) should be offered, increasing
brand awareness.
The hashtag #NiceToPawYou will enable partakers to share highlights from the event
on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as they are the most frequently used social
media platforms in the UK (Figure 15). Well-known influencers in the London pet
community will be invited to take part with their dogs, further increasing DogVacay’s
exposure.
This integrated campaign of offline to online promotion will culminate in driving
potential customers to the website, and increased social media exposure. The national
press coverage will generate WOM and build brand awareness, allowing DogVacay to
increase its credibility amongst competitors.
Figure 14
Source: Anderegg (2015)
27. 24
Figure 15
Source: Harris Interactive (2014)
4.4.2 SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION
An SEO tactic will facilitate potential customers in finding the company. There should
be an improvement on the content, inbound link and reputation of the website, so
that DogVacay can rank higher on Google’s natural listings search results. Google
AdWords will also help the brand reach the right audience at the right time when they
search for “dog boarding London” or similar keywords.
28. 25
4.4.3 CAMPAIGNS
4.4.3.1 PARTNERSHIP AND TRANSPORTATION HUB ADVERTS
DogVacay should partner with companies that have similar target audiences with keen
travellers, such as Expedia. An option should be available on the host’s booking page,
asking users if they need dog boarding services which will redirected them to
DogVacay website if they are interested. The campaign’s print adverts should be
featured at London’s major transport hubs such as Paddington station (Figure 16).
These will act as an instant reminder to turn to DogVacay when they next travel.
Figure 16
29. 26
4.4.3.2 VOUCHER
Figure 17
To encourage WOM promotion and motivate new customers to register, DogVacay
should use vouchers codes (Figure 17). These can then be shared through various
digital outlets.
To engage and reinforce relationships with existing customers, an email should be
sent on a monthly basis. Customised content will encourage customers to use the
service more frequently and build brand loyalty.
30. 27
4.4.3.3 BRAND LOVE
Depending on the quality of the service is not enough, DogVacay needs to create
brand love in order to maintain brand loyalty (Carroll and Ahuvia, 2006). DogVacay
can appeal to their customers by volunteering and sharing a percentage of their
revenue to dog shelters in need, inviting celebrities, influencers and press to join.
This will leverage the brand into being perceived by the public as trustworthy and
supportive of animal rights, and therefore be implicitly considered the smarter choice
for their dogs.
31. 28
5. CONCLUSION
This report has presented that it is feasible for DogVacay to expand in London to
reach new customers. With market research forecasting a growth for the UK pet
industry, it is clear that there is a market for this service.
Capturing market share in large cities is challenging, but through the STP process and
Porter’s 5 Forces, it is evident that DogVacay has the advantage through their USP,
their specially trained sitters.
From the competitive analysis, we see that their direct competitors are similar online
business platforms such as DogBuddy and BorrowMyDoggy. The challenges with
launching in the UK include the high threat of substitutes (friends and family), as well
as the substantial strength of the bargaining power of suppliers. As with any online-
based business, customers being able to join other platforms at a low switching cost
is also a concern.
However, positioning DogVacay as the safest, most trustworthy service makes it the
ultimate choice for dog-care and gives it the competitive edge it needs to succeed in
the market. DogVacay clearly differentiates itself as a superior quality service through
its diverse portfolio of benefits to its users.
32. 29
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