Methods: Focus Group Interviews, Field Research, Online Research
Time Period: 2 months
Role: To collect field research, online marketing research, and presenting the information in a digestible manner
Problem: Following a host of negative reviews for Petco, a local branch sought help to improve their customer service reviews. To best accomplish this, Petco needs to conduct a new marketing segmentation analysis and determine what steps can be taken to compete in the market.
Impact: Encouraged Petco to increase their online presence and in store experiences that are catered to their new target audience.
Background
Currently, Petco is not the market leader in its industry of animal supplies. Petco’s main competitor, Petsmart, is not only a threat within its own market of animal supplies, but also within private companies in America. While PetSmart is ranked 47th in Forbes’ list of America’s largest private corporations, Petco more than 50 ranks behind at the 100th. Although growing in size may not be the only goal for Petco at the moment, this information provides some insight into how much of the market we are missing out on. To rectify this, we must expand our brand with novel ideas and strategies.
When thinking of ways to attract new customers to our brand, we must also keep in mind that these changes should not be drastic enough that they drive away our original demographic of consumers. This progressive, yet steady change will encourage a new era of pet supply purchasing and providing our beloved pets with quality care and training. We will enhance our relationships with our customers and their cherished pets, giving us the edge over our competitor, Petsmart.
Amongst Petco's main competitors are PetSmart, Chewy, and Amazon. In 2016, PetSmart beat Petco's market share by 13.9%.
Research Methods
Our focus group analysis provided us with a keen insight into the unfilled needs and behavior of our consumers. One complaint we heard from our participants was the unpleasant smell and cleanliness of brick and mortar stores.
However, due to the nature of our products, it is difficult to keep stores completely clean at all times.
We conducted both a market segmentation and analysis of target markets to better understand who Petco needs to focus on. The market segmentation was done based on the behaviors, psychology, and experience of the users.
The target market analysis was breaking down in depth needs of these users.
Petco's new positioning should be to provide both the experienced and inexperienced pet owners with the most accessible form of in person expertise while also ensuring that our pet owners are able to enjoy a smooth integration with their online experience.
Impact
A solution to this is facilitating the consumer’s ability to make purchases online.
Through our research, we determined that Petco needs to stop denying the emergence of the online space. It is more worthwhile to integrate it seamlessly into its operations.
Petco should give their users the option to have in store purchases delivered to them on a bi-monthly or monthly basis. They should leverage their partnership with Amazon to create an easy experience for the user. With the emerging demographic of young pet owners, Petco should create video content that is widely available online. They may have certain employees make pet owner videos to assist with any questions users might have.
This will aid consumers who feel that the brick and mortar store is too overwhelming and would prefer to purchase from Petco in the comfort of their home. If we increase our presence online by updating the webpage and offering exclusive deals on the most popular products, we can reduce complaints of uncleanliness while still maintaining sales.
