Market Potential
The launch of the Pet Care services and the application attached to it will be based on a detailed assessment of the environment of the pet care market. Given the recent updates on the pet care industry, the market opportunities are quite vast, with the potential of the industry being mostly untapped (Kestenbaum, 2018). The current pet industry size is reaching an estimated $75.38 billion, which is a rather promising number (American Pet Product Association, 2019). Therefore, the project is expected to meet rather stiff competition and have a very high market potential to explore.
Evidence of Customer Interest
The promotion of pet care into the global market might seem like a silly idea for the uninitiated, yet further research will show that people with pets face time constraints due to the amount of time that they have to spend on taking care of their pets. The fact that there are currently roughly 6,500 pet sitter jobs available in the target market is a clear indicator of peaking customer interest and the urgency for the respective service to arrive (“Pet sitter jobs,” 2019).
Relevant Buying Motives and Customer Requirements
The main motive for customers to purchase the service in question is the need to ensure that their pets stay taken care of and safe. Thus, among the essential customer requirements for the pet sitting services, one should mention the ability to meet the needs of a pet, including feeding it, grooming it, ensuring that it remains safe, and providing healthcare treatment if needed. Consequently, the competencies of a veterinarian and a pet grooming expert, as well as the knowledge of dieting options for the pet in question and other skills, should be listed as the foundational customer requirements and criteria for service quality. In turn, the application is expected to assist a customer in selecting the required options, ordering the needed services, and maintaining communication between the buyer and the organization.
Present and Potential Competitors and Overall Competitive Intensity
While being very popular among numerous customers and companies, mostly those producing pet care products and pet food, the specified market has not been dominated by a single organization yet (Dodd, Cave, Adolphe, Shoveller, & Verbrugghe, 2019). Therefore, the range of competitors in the pet care industry is presently very scarce, most of them being individual pet sitters (American Pet Product Association, 2019). However, the competitive intensity may turn out to be quite large since many pet owners may prefer a cheaper option of asking a friend or a neighbor for pet sitting instead of using the services of our organization or installing an app (American Pet Product Association, 2019). Nevertheless, with the development of a strong competitive advantage based on the quality of pet care and range of services, the project will gain competitive momentum in the industry.
Short- and Long-Term Market Influences
Highly qualified staff and tools for providing pets with the required care are the main short-term market influences in the case under analysis. By investing in the professionalism of staff members, the organization will thrive in the target market. Indeed, the need for high-quality services and pet care that lasts for at least several days have been the top concerns of the target demographic (Cheli, Bontempo, & Dell’Orto, 2017). E- The specified market influences can be seen as the impetus for the organization to work on creating interdisciplinary teams that will collaborate to make the quality of pet care especially high. As far as the long-term influences are concerned, the focus on communication with pet sitters should be the focus of the organization’s future improvements.
Market Changes Presently Taking Place
Similar to other environments, the pet care market is shaping under the influence of numerous factors. At present, the digitalization of the pet industry can be seen as the most common trend (Kestenbaum, 2018). With numerous applications emerging to keep owners informed about the well-being, safety, and even mood of their pets, technological advances have geared the pet industry toward the humanization of pets by their owners (Cheli et al., 2017). Thus, the application to be developed will have to incorporate opportunities for describing the unique personality-related characteristics of pets that their owners deem as important.
External Regulations
The pet market is influenced heavily by organizations that protect the rights of animals and prevent animal cruelty. Therefore, the external regulations that the project will have to meet include harmlessness of pet care products created by the company, as well as the absence of animal cruelty. Set by FDA, the guidelines for pet product quality will have to be adhered to very closely to ensure that animals will not receive any products that may harm their health (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2019). Overall, the principles of nonmaleficence and beneficence have to be followed when providing care to pets.
Market History and Traditions
The history of the pet market is rather short since the specified environment has emerged quite recently (Danziger, 2018). However, the focus primarily on toys for pets, as well as pet care products, has been quite consistent in the pet care economy (Kestenbaum, 2018). With the emergence of digital tools, a variety of applications ranging from useful ones such as pet location tools to less functional ones such as locating other pet owners have emerged (Danziger, 2018). Although the current range of products is quite high, its variety is comparatively low.
Present and Potential Obstacles Facing the Market
Since the pet sitter service and the relevant application are very useful for busy pet owners, the project has a lot of potentials. However, it will also inevitably face several obstacles in the pet care market. Among the present blocks to successful project implementation, one should list preference for friend support as opposed to business services for pet sitting among pet owners (Dodd et al., 2019). In addition, team members will have to be highly educated and ready to address the needs of any pet, which may imply taking care of not only cats and dogs but also reptiles and other exotic animals.
Market Gaps to Be Filled
Despite the high level of demand for pet sitting, the range of organizations that provide the specified kind of services is very narrow. The located gap is very difficult to fill in since most people prefer to use the assistance of their neighbors and friends (Kestenbaum, 2018). However, with the emphasis on quality and the importance of providing pets with high-quality services and support, this project will be launched successfully.
Opportunities for Partnerships with Other Firms in the Industry
Although the levels of competition are not quite high in the pet industry, there are numerous influential organizations whose partnership is likely to be very profitable for the project. For example, companies producing pet care products will have to be considered as potential partners. Similarly, firms offering devices for effective pet care and IT organizations will be viewed as potential partners.
The Most Viable Market Position for the New Product and Service
The service and the application will be positioned as tools that will help owners of pets to maintain the quality of pet care high and have time for themselves. It will be crucial for the project to establish that owners of pets should not see time constraints and the inability to offer their pets proper care as their fault. Instead, they should trust the services that will provide guaranteed impeccable services and take good care of their pets. Thus, the service and the application will sell especially well in the target market.
References
Cheli, F., Bontempo, V., & Dell’Orto, V. (2017). E-nose and e-tongue: An analytical tool for quality control and management in the pet food industry. Sensors & Transducers, 213(6), 24-29.
Danziger, P. N. (2018). The pet retail market is hot and getting hotter by the day.Forbes. Web.
Dodd, S. A., Cave, N. J., Adolphe, J. L., Shoveller, A. K., & Verbrugghe, A. (2019). Plant-based (vegan) diets for pets: A survey of pet owner attitudes and feeding practices. PloS One, 14(1), 1-19. Web.
Kestenbaum,R. (2018). The biggest trends in the pet industry.Forbes. Web.
Pet sitter jobs. (2019). Web.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2019). Pet food. Web.