Introduction
The paper will focus heavily on the marketing and branding strategy of the Animal Foodland organization in its region of operation. Part A was a brief explanation of Animal Foodland and the type of products and services that it intends to offer to its esteemed/target clients in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. However, I was able to get positive feedback from my instructor, which shows how many improvements I have made since I started this course. Moreover, the only negative I received was excluding one environmental analysis component, which is the competition. Generally, the feedback is impressive, and I’m working hard to ensure that this part is perfect according to the instructions. In this second section, I confirm that I will incorporate every component of feedback review to ensure that my research is professional and according to academic standards. Moreover, consumer behaviors, perceptual map, and positioning statement will be covered in this part of the business plan of Animal Foodland organization. Also, the Animal Foodland introduction and mission statement aids in highlighting the company’s objectives and what we are trying to achieve in the long run of the business.
Animal Foodland is the premier food company that intends to offer exceptional services and organic dog food, which most existing companies in Washington, D.C, do not provide. The primary purpose of Animal Foodland is to deliver dog food of various dog breeds within Washington, D.C, and its environs. The mission statement of Animal Foodland is “To provide excellent service for the dog owners in Washington DC.” This report will focus on consumer behavior, branding strategy, positioning statement, and primary and secondary target market of Animal Foodland company.
Branding Strategy
The branding strategy is the process or action plan that organizations and companies adopt to create and develop a successful brand to accomplish the set specific goals. Moreover, a successful branding strategy tends to incorporate all business components directly connected to the competitive environment and consumer emotions and needs (Fuchs & Diamantopoulos, 2010). Besides, the marketing department’s responsibility is to ensure that any brand strategy they intend to adopt incorporates all the company goals. Hence, branding is essential to most businesses because they act as the effective catalyst for the customers to comprehend and differentiate various brands within the market niche. With a great branding strategy implementation, the company can attract several consumers, bringing more revenue.
Value-based pricing strategy is the suitable branding strategy designed for Animal Foodland since consumers in Washington D.C concentrate more on their value for money when purchasing various products and services. By adopting the branding mentioned above strategy, Animal Foodland can determine the maximum charge that the target clients are willing to pay for the organic dog food the company intends to distribute within the region. Thus, the value-based pricing strategy aid in establishing the Animal Foodland products as higher in quality and value when compared to those of the available competitors.
Brand Name
The proper brand name is Animal Foodland for Excellent service for the dog owners. The animal Foodland is a unique name that differentiates the company from its existing competitors in Washington D.C. The brand remains unique because it provides exceptional services than its competitors, who tend to concentrate on one type of food for the dogs in the region.
Logo
The logo is the graphical symbol or demonstration which appears on the business papers, advertisement, and signs which customers use to differentiate one company from other companies in the same industry within a specific market niche. The logo of Animal Foodland comprises yellow and green color, which means organic or nature with the dog symbol to showcase their offering dog services in Washington D.C. Therefore, the presence of a logo on the company profile helps the customers to notice and consume Animal Foodland products and services easier because the logo is well designed in an attractive way that outcompetes those of existing companies in the region.
Slogan
The slogan is one of the remarkable and impressive phrases or quotes that most companies use to express the purpose or idea of their operation in a particular field. Most of the organizations invest a lot of money in the advertising firms to create a strong slogan that is different from their competitors to be outstanding in the market (Celik et al., 2019). The Animal Foodland’s slogan is, “To be the best service provider for the dog owners in Washington DC,” which describes or enlightens the consumers of their dedicated services to the dog owners in the market.
Brand Extension
Brand extension is one of the processes that famous companies adopt to increase their reputation and popularity, resulting in a demand increase for their products and services in the market. The Animal Foodland brand extension incorporates various products and services, such as the unique CSR that their competitors rarely practice. We are very confident that through the practice of the brand mentioned earlier, Animal Foodland will be able to participate in community services such as education workshops that intend to provide more information to the dog owners on how to take care of their pets.
Primary and Secondary Target Markets
The primary consumers are those few individuals that the company target to offer who can afford quality services when well convinced that the services and products outdo those of the existing competitors in the same market niche. The primary target market consists of the youths and a few dog owners who participate in dog game events in Washington DC. The company will target this group to ensure that they are equipped with enough knowledge on keeping their dog healthy and what type of food is suitable for a specific breed of dog being owned by the consumers.
Further, Animal Foodland also targets the secondary market of the middle-class individuals who have a tight daily schedule that does not give them ample time to look after their pets. Also, security remains as one of the secondary targets because they have a different variety of dog breeds intended for other functions that need their canines stronger to perform efficiently when on duties. The animal Foodland will become the consumers’ favorite choice when seeking dog services within Washington DC through the provision specialization of diverse manufacturing of dog foods for different dog breeds.
As mentioned earlier in part A, Animal Foodland targets middle-class individuals residing within the Washington environment. According to LĂłpez-Calva & Ortiz-Juarez (2013), the average middle-class income for individuals working and living in Washington DC is approximately $ 83,382, which is slightly higher when compared to other states in the united states. Moreover, most middle-class households in Washington comprise four individuals with a tight daily schedule, which makes it hard for them to carry out many activities such as fetching food for their dogs. Thus, since children and other youths are busy with their academic life, the dogs have no one to take care of them; hence with the online buying and food delivery services, Animal Foodland will achieve most of its goals during operation.
Animal Foodland segments the target market according to the available market size and the approximated potential of future population growth. The target customers for animal Foodland comprise working men, women, and youths whose ages range between 20 to 50 years. However, under geographic segmentation, Animal Foodland is located in George Town in Washington DC in the mid-Atlantic area of the East Coast of the united states between Virginia and Maryland. The animal Foodland company is strategically located in a place with good infrastructure, making the service delivery easy and faster.
Also, the Animal Foodland is located in Washington because of the large population of pet owners, and most of the pet boarding and pet games happen in the region. Moreover, the company has long-term goals of expanding beyond Washington DC. For instance, the organization aims at having various branches across the United States to offer unique products and services to the dog owners than the existing companies in the market. Once the animal Foodland has accomplished the short-term goals of being the best dog service provider in Washington DC, it intends on fulfilling the long-term objectives of having a variety of branches throughout the united states.
Positioning Statement
Most companies adopt a positioning strategy to locate a brand in the customers’ minds to increase the various benefits and revenue of the organization. Additionally, a good positioning aids the organizations in identifying the business goals, which contributes to the development of customer focus value proposition (Peneda de Oliveira & Sousa, 2020). For instance, “Just food for Dogs” is one of the competitor company which has spread to various parts of united states such as Texas through their brand positioning of distributing donations to dogs that have been rescued in central Texas. However, “Just Food for Dogs” does not offer consultancy services to their esteemed clients, which leaves ample opportunity for the Animal Foodland to overtake the market.
On the other hand, Animal Foodland company faces the Tomlinson’s Feed company competition which provides general food for all the dogs in the region. However, Animal Foodland remains unique by diversifying its food products and services, such as delivering various organic food types for a different breed of dogs in the world. Thus, the positioning statement of the Animal Foodland company is “Animal Foodland is a unique company that provides excellent service to the dog owners and practices corporate social responsibility than any other dog food company in united states.” The most significant competitors of Animal Foodland are “Just Food for Dogs” and “Tomlinson’s Feeds,” who make up a large part of the market in the united states. Still, Animal Foodland will outstand them in the future with solid marketing strategies such as the diversification of dog products and services.
The animal Foodland company intends to establish its positioning in three ways. First is by having a diverse team of highly qualified workers to provide any services to the clients. Second, Animal Foodland entails having a modern technology system that aids in delivering different food products for other dog breeds. Last but not least, Animal Foodland plans on offering community services such as holding scheduled workshops that the workers train the clients on the ways of keeping their dogs healthy.
Perceptual Map
The perceptual map presented below shows how competitive Animal Foodland is in terms of providing tastier and more natural dog meals compared to its rivals, Just Food for Dogs and Tomlinson’s Feeds. On the other hand, Just Food for Dogs provides only one type of food to its clients, making it have good tastes and less natural. Tomlinson’s offers more natural food with less taste when compared to Animal Foodland and Just Food for Dogs. Animal Foodland remains the unique company in the market by practicing community responsibility of offering awareness services to the clients and provide a variety of dog food for different types of dogs in Washington DC. Thus, the positioning statement is “Animal feeds remain at the center of the two competitors by offering exceptional services to the dog owners in the market.”
The below figure shows the strengths and weakness of the competitive companies concerning Animal Foodland company. Moreover, the map shows the forces that animal Foodland possesses over its competitors in the Washington DC market.
Consumer Behavior for the Target Market
Based on personal experience and conducted research, most dog owners in Washington DC have limited access to various services in the market. Most of the existing famous companies such as “Just Food for Dogs” provide only one type of food product that is not suitable for other breeds of dogs in the region. So, the entrance of Animal Foodland in the market with various dog foods for different dog breeds makes it outstanding and consumers choice when seeking any dog services within the Washington DC region. Therefore, Animal Foodland outcompetes the existing firms in the market by being universal in its business operations.
The middle-class target groups consist of consumers with the age range of 20-50 who are pet lovers and participate in pet games within Washington DC. The middle-class income can pay for the products and services that animal feeds provide since they are high quality and satisfactory. Moreover, most of the individuals are busy. They lack enough time to take their dogs for health checkups or buy them food with the start of the Animal Foodland program of offering dog food delivery to the clients upon their request through the online platform. Thus, animal Foodland qualified staff to ensure that all online submissions have been cleared according to the clients’ needs.
Also, Animal Foodland company ensures that the dog owners receive education on healthy ways of maintaining them during the organized workshop program. Moreover, the target consumers are willing to pay for the services once brought to their doorsteps because they are usually busy and might lack enough time to take the dogs to the veterinary services. For instance, Animal Foodland plans to have about two workshops in a month to provide free veterinary services and dog education to the owners while at home. Thus, workshops remain one of the CSR components of Animal Foodland, which outcompetes other companies in the market, such as Tomlinson’s Feeds.
Moreover, I feel the brand will resonate within the Washington DC target demographic because most of the individuals lack access to a variety of dog food products for a different breed of dogs they are rearing. Also, the Animal Foodland slogan and logo portray the company’s unique brand that the target market can identify when researching dog services providers in the region. First, the slogan connects its meaning with three different colors that are incorporated in the logo. Second, the logo contains yellow, black, and green colors with a dog picture, which indicates the company’s services in the market. Last but not least, the animal Foodland incorporates qualified staff who are dog lovers. They also have experience when it comes to dealing with dog products and any treatment services that are required by different types of dog breeds.
Company Reflection Strengths of Branding
The mission of Animal Foodland is to provide excellent service for dog owners. The company seeks convenience in the pet business by delivering dog food upon request and free pet owners to pursue other engagements. The company also aims to enhance the dignified treatment of dogs by providing consultancy services geared towards offering the correct dietary needs of the canines.
Animal Foodland strives to provide package services to its target customers, unlike its competitors. We will ensure that we follow the company mission by implementing a diverse culture that understands different dog breeds and the best food for their survival. We will also ensure that Animal Foodland adopts an advanced technology system that makes it easier for them to provide quality and fast services to the consumers.
The company will be privately owned and managed by a board of directors under the owner’s approval. Animal Foodland will also incorporate various workers from diverse backgrounds to provide services to the target market. The company mission will act as the pillar of strength by combining different individuals’ ideas and opinions regarding products and services. The animal Foodland staff will include a working team with few years of experience working in a dog food company and are willing to receive average salaries, unlike what the competitors offer to their employees.
Our company will also offer several workshops and employ qualified locals in their staff as part of Washington DC’s corporate social responsibility strategy. The staff members will be responsible for distributing food products to the customers who cannot get the services physically due to their busy schedule with other errands. Thus, with a well-designed timetable, the staff will perform efficiently in their assigned task, making animal Foodland outstanding in the market compared to existing companies within the region.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Animal Foodland will be one of the best companies that offer the best services and products to dog owners within Washington and its environment. We have all the required components that any company needs to succeed within this specific market niche, ensuring that clients are well satisfied with the services. The branding strategy will be followed strictly by the company stakeholders such as the employees and the owner to ensure that all incorporated in the short and long-term goals are accomplished or are about to be acc0omplished. Therefore, with the above considerations, Animal Foodland will be successful in the Washington market by approaching this target group of customers within the region that seek its services.
References
Celik, A., Abdul-Kareem, A., & Yilmaz, H. U. (2019). The impact of corporate social responsibility on community development: Evidence from Ghana. Global Journal of Business, Economics, and Management: Current Issues, 9(3), 122-133. Web.
Fuchs, C., & Diamantopoulos, A. (2010). Evaluating the effectiveness of brandâpositioning strategies from a consumer perspective. European Journal of Marketing, 44(11/12), 1763â1786. Web.
LĂłpez-Calva, L. F., & Ortiz-Juarez, E. (2013). A vulnerability approach to the definition of the middle class. The Journal of Economic Inequality, 12(1), 23â47. Web.
Peneda de Oliveira, C., & Sousa, B. M. (2020). Green consumer behavior and its implications on brand marketing strategy. Green Marketing as a Positive Driver Toward Business Sustainability, 69â95. Web.