SWOT And TOWS Analysis Of Mad Paws Pet Care Services Essay.

Write a report in SWOT analysis and draw a TOWS analysis chart made and update the table of contents .

Business Model and Strategic Planning

Mad Paws is a Sydney based pet boarding service company that provides the pet owners a reliable and guaranteed place for accommodation of their pets. The company was established in the year 2014 and since then it has expanded and developed to be a successful pet care service company in Sydney Australia (Madpaws.com.au 2018). The company offers services for pets such as cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs. Besides providing shelter or accommodations for pets, the company also offers a wide range of other pet related services that makes the life of pet owners a lot easier. Dog walking, house visiting, pet day care, dog grooming and training are some of the services that the company delivers to its customers (Madpaws.com.au 2018). The company aims in providing the pet owners the most reliable and convenient pet sitters for their pets when they are away. Mad Paws do business in a most cruel-free way as they do not use any cages or kennels for the pets. They find the customers the most caring and passionate pet sitter in the most suitable neighbourhood that would care and love their pet.

In this report a business model is created for Mad Paws in order to initiate a successful operation in to the pet care industry and further expand its popularity. From identifying the key customer base to detecting the sources of revenue, a well thought out business model is created for Mad Paws. Mad Paws have a good image in the market of Sydney and thus, it already have an advantage in the competitive market. In order to further accelerate its rate of success a business model along with a SWOT analysis is conducted. The outcome of the analysis are then reviewed to construct suitable recommendations that would increase Mad Paws image and popularity. The business model canvas along with value proposition canvas is prepared for the purpose of understanding the customers and then implementing strategic plans to satisfy the demands of the customers. The sources of revenue and resources are also identified so that the company could take the suitable opportunity and ultimately take advantage of it to carry out a successful business.

Mad Paws are a Sydney based company that offers a wide range of pet care services to the needful customers. The company was inaugurated in the year 2014 and have made a decent mark of its own in the pet care industry (Madpaws.com.au 2018). The company mission is to provide a trusted and affordable neighbourhood suitable to the pet owners need and deliver a carefree place for the pets. With this mission statement in context, the company offers its customers a variety of services. The company provides a home for the pet owners along with the option of finding a trustworthy and affordable pet sitter, in fact, the company delivers grooming services for dog owners as well. Mad Paws is a complete package that offers the pet owners quality services for their pets. One of the highlighting characteristics of this company is that it ensures that a cruelty free and affectionate home is provided to pets that do not use any cage or kennel for their accommodations. This is one of the reasons why the company is extremely popular among the locals and surrounding areas of Sydney.

Company Overview

Even though the company over the years has successfully achieved a decent reputation of its own there are certain challenges that come in way of Mad Paws. Some of these strategic issues are –

• Mad Paws is well known for its premium services in the competitive market. However, the charges applied for such premium services are not up to the mark. Therefore, as the operating costs increases the prices of the services remain the same and ultimately affecting the business.
• The company have a fair amount success in the market and identity of its own. However, it fails to emerge as a unique brand among the other competitors in the market.
• Another challenge that the company faces over the period is setting up boundaries for their services. This have a negative impact on their operating medium and ultimately affects upon their business.
• Often the pressure to provide quality services to pet owners result in dissatisfaction among the workers associated with the company. This gives rise to dissatisfaction in them and the qualities of services degrade.

Mad Paws have a range of services and products that satiates the customers need. Mad Paws is a pet care service company that provides pet owners the facility of pet sitting. The company aims to simplify the life of pet owners and deliver quality experience to the customers.

Value proposition statement – “Connect with one of our 14,481 pet sitters to love your pet when you're not around”

Product/Services – The company provides its customers a range of services such as finding the suitable pet sitter to providing accommodations to the pets. The company also delivers dog grooming services, dog walking, dog training and services of pet sitting at the convenience of the pet owner’s resident (Madpaws.com.au 2018).

Target market – The target market for Mad Paws are the pet owners that travel and other pet owners as well.

Primary benefit – Simplify the lives of pet owners by providing loving sitters. In addition to this, the pet owners get assistance and resources necessary for their pets in the pet care service that the company provides.

Unique factor of value proposition – The company provides its customers a loving and caring sitter that uses cruel free skills and resources for the pets. Cages and kennels are strictly prohibited resources in order to execute a quality and affectionate service for the pets.

In order to determine the distinctive customer or consumer groups existing in the market a customer segment is set up. The distinctive groups helps in understanding the differentiated needs of the customers and then accordingly planning the operations for it (Hjort, Ericsson and Gattorna 2013). For Mad Paws, there are significantly two broad customer groups present in the market and these are –

New pet owners – It has been observed that majority of new pet owners seek for pet care services since they do not have prior experience of handling their pet (Instone and Sweeney 2014). Henceforth there is a huge demand of pet care services among new pet owners and pet owners that have less than two years of experience.

Pet owners belonging to age group 20 to 45 – Another broad group of target market can be found in the segment of customers belonging to age group 20 to 45. It has been observed that customers belonging this range of age group have a busy schedule and are unable to give proper attention to their pets (McEachern and Cheetham 2013). Henceforth they seek out for pet care services that provide them assistance in taking care of their pets.

Strategic Issues

For the purpose of executing its services to the end customers that are the pet owners for Mad Paws, there are significantly two distribution channels. These are –

Official website – The official website of Mad Paws is the key channel with which the business connects with its target customers. The website contains all the necessary information and contact details with the help of which the company can post its details and offerings on a broader platform. The customers can easily book an appointment or a service for their pet. In addition to this, the website is equipped with feedback system as well that helps to understand the company the needs of the customers in an efficient way.

Mobile apps – Mad Paws have also taken the initiative of expanding its distribution channel on a broader level by introducing its personalised mobile app that are available for iPhone and android users (White 2018). The mobile application further gives an opportunity for the business to distribute its services to the end customers.

Mad Paws aims in maintaining a dedicated and long term customer relationship with its customers. Since the company’s mission is to provide the pet owners a reliable and affectionate pet care services, the kind of customer relationship that it aims is long term.

Long term – In order to establish a long term customer relationship the company takes necessary steps in providing quality services. In addition to this, the employees of the company have a recurring interactions with all their customers for the purpose of maintaining long term customer relationship.

Dedicated assistance – In relation with establishing a long term customer relationship, the company also aims in providing a dedicated assistance or guidance to the customers for satiating the customer needs. Each customer is provided with a dedicated support individual that helps in providing guidance to the pet owners in general. This type of relationship also helps in developing a long term relationship with the customers.

Based on the above mentioned factors the key activities that the Mad Paws must perform are as follows –

• In order to attract the target market and various customer segments, the company must advertise and promote itself on various platforms. Social media advertising is a great way to execute this activity since it is easier to use and can reach a wide range of customers as well.
• One of unique selling point of the company is to provide a loving and caring service to the pets and therefore, the pet sitters along with other staff members involved require proper training in order to sharpen their pet sitting skills. Henceforth, providing training session to all the staff members is another key activity.
• Another key activity that the company shall initiate is to run a background check of the pet sitters in order to ensure safety of the pets and providing premium services to the pet owners.

The key resources of the company are the main assets that can further accelerate the operating system of the business. These resources are extremely necessary in order to execute a smooth functioning of the business. For Mad Paws the following are the key resources –

• Staff members that are skilled to handle the pets along with it veterinaries are the key physical resources that the company needs in order to deliver the services it aims to provide its customers.
• Another key resource that the company must include or focus on is platform development. The technological platform used for the distribution channels must be upgraded.
• The premises of Mad Paws must be expanded and for such purpose the company requires financial investments. The company could apply for loan so that it could get the sufficient amount of financial support. This shall help in expanding the premises of the company.

The key partners provides the company with supplies and partners with the help of which the business can operate effectively in the competitive market (Dijkman et al 2015). Some of the key partners of Mad Paws are as follows –

• Veterinarians are one of the key partners that could provide the company with the assistance and thus, help establish a day care service which the company aims to execute. The professionally skilled vet doctors and others shall provide the much needed assistance that the Mad Paws day care department needs.
• Pet supply retailers are another significant partners that shall be essential for the company. The products and resources that required to set up and construct the business of pet care service shall be provided by these pet supply retailers.
• Pet insurance companies are another significant partners that must be associated with. The legal obligations and safety standards are covered by these pet insurance companies in case of any mishap happens in the business. The insurance could cover the risks that may occur.

Value Proposition

The cost structure that the company shall follow must be value driven. Since the company aims in providing premium pet care services to its customers, the cost structure that it must follow should be value driven. Therefore the analysing the key expenses and the returns that the company shall gather from its services, a good financial structure can be analysed. The company plans on expanding the premises and upgrade its technological platform. For this purpose, the company shall opt for short term loan. Since the cost structure shall be value driven the profitable business shall be on the low radar. However, the company predicts to grow financially with the payments from the services and products that it shall offer. Below is the significant financial assumption –

Most of the revenue for Mad Paws is and shall be generated for future from the customers and clients of the company. The number of new pet owners and pet owners belonging to age group 20 to 45 years are the two significant customer segments and most of the revenue shall be generated from these two segments itself. The variety of services provided by the company shall be beneficial for it to attract these customer groups. However, in order to be successful in the competitive market, the client growth rate must be steady for Mad Paws. It would be impossible for the company to overcome the loans, gain profit and cash flow if the customers do not bring in pets for the services offered. The cash flow below depends on the bridge loan in middle of the year from the founders of the company that is to be repaid at the end of the year.

The business pattern that can be observed from the above mentioned business model is the unbundling business model. The business is divided into two distinctive entities for the purpose of avoiding any sort of conflict and bring in complete focus on those entities. These two broad entities that are identified are infrastructure management and customer relationship management. Within the infrastructure management comes all the physical resources along with material resources and other operations components such as policies, processes and others. Whereas in customer relationship management customer satisfaction is of highest priority. Both the entities are given much focus in Mad Paws business since providing and maintaining valued customer service is of highest priority.

The following SWOT analysis is conducted upon Mad Paws in order to analyse the company’s strengths and weaknesses along with opportunities and possible threats. With the help of these analysis the company shall be able to identify its area of improvement along with the potential threats that it may face in the competitive market. The strengths enumerated with the help this analysis shall further me improved.

Customer Segment

The value proposition canvas provides the business an understanding of what the customers need and if those needs are fit with that of company’s services and products. Mad Paws being a pet care service provider have its customers in those individuals that possess pets or are pet owners. Henceforth, the customers or pet owners need is to get services that takes care of their pets and provide assistance and guidance for training their pets. This would simplify the pet owners’ job to handle and taking care of their pets in a significant way. The company is provides exact services that the customers of pet care industry seek for. Henceforth, the company’s products and services are an exact fit with that of customers need. Furthermore, the company provides a range of other facilities as well that efficiently simplifies the lives of customers. Providing pet training, dog walking, finding pet sitters according to the locality of the customer, these operations acts as a pain relievers for the customers.

Mad Paws places high value on the aspects of cruelty-free environments, providing caring sitters, having good customer relationships, the vetting of pet sitters, use of technology, and skilled staff. Placing focus on these aspects results in Mad Paws setting itself ahead of competitors who do not value a good and caring environment which is free of cages and kennels. It also allows for the providing of a higher quality service through the skilled staff and sitters who are properly vetted. Mad Paws places a medium value placed on establishing a brand identity and cost of services. The company looks to create an affordable product which means they are placed between more expensive or luxury competitors and competitors who offer much cheaper services. They have still to develop a unique and strong brand identity which would help them to be set apart from similar services. Mad Paws places a low value on profits which is reflected by their struggles regarding the providing of a premium service which is set back by rising operating costs. Overall Mad Paws places higher values on aspects which is exclusive to their offering which enables them to strengthen their value proposition.

Using the four action framework below the company shall analyse which factors must the company reduce, eliminate, raise and create –

Raise – The company must continue to provide the current services that it is executing at the moment provided some changes may be done with the changing trends. For instance, pet obesity is a major trend in current scenario therefore, the company could provide assistance regarding this issue and upgrade its services furthermore.

Create – The company should provide pet health care as well where the highly skilled veterinaries could work and take care of the pets. This shall further increase the sales rate of the company as it will provide and added pet service.

Reduce – The company tends to provide premium services to all the customers and this often causes an ample amount of investment from the company and less amount of return. Henceforth, the company must reduce its alternating price range and provide services according to the rates that are paid by the customers.

Eliminate – The company may want to eliminate their bird sitting services as there is comparatively low amount of demand for the specific facility. This action would save an ample amount of distinctive resources.

From the above analysis it can be said that Mad Paws have certain areas of improvement that may be lagging behind in the current operations. Henceforth, some of the recommendations that may work in favour of the company are as follows –

• The company must set its premium services for premium customers only and not for every other customer. This could save the expenditures of the company and thus benefit the company financially.
• Mad Paws must expand its distribution channels in order to reach a wide range of customers and therefore, increase its sales to a significant level.
• It must explore and expand its facilities to pet health care as well as it would provide the company to gain new customer segment.

Conclusion 

Henceforth, it can be said from the above discussion that Mad Paws have secured a reputable position in the competitive market of pet care industry. However, it requires to focus on certain areas of in order to accelerate its sales growth and increase its reach on a dynamic level. The above mentioned business model and SWOT analysis determines and enumerates its area of growth. In addition to this, the four action framework determines factors that are essential for achieving an efficient functioning in the competitive market.

References

Dijkman, R.M., Sprenkels, B., Peeters, T. and Janssen, A., 2015, ‘Business models for the Internet of Things’, International Journal of Information Management, vol. 35, no. 6, pp.672-678.

Hjort, K., Lantz, B., Ericsson, D. and Gattorna, J., 2013, ‘Customer segmentation based on buying and returning behaviour’, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, vol. 43, no. 10, pp.852-865.

Instone, L. and Sweeney, J., 2014, ‘Dog Waste, Wasted Dogs: The Contribution of Human–Dog Relations to the Political Ecology of Australian Urban Space’, Geographical Research, vol. 52, no. 4, pp.355-364.

 Madpaws.com.au 2018, Mad Paw, viewed 17 October 2018 <https://www.madpaws.com.au/about/in-the-press/>.

McEachern, M.G. and Cheetham, F., 2013, ‘A conception of moral sensitivity and everyday consumption practices: insights from the moralizing discourses of pet owners’, International Journal of Consumer Studies, vol. 37, no. 3, pp.337-343.

White, K. 2018,  Mad Paws raises $1.1 million as pet-sitting competition gets ruff , SmartCompany, viewed 16 October 2018, <https://www.smartcompany.com.au/startupsmart/advice/business-planning/mad-paws-raises-11-million-as-pet-sitting-competition-gets-ruff/>.