Dog Obedience School Business Plan

The sales strategy will be based on communicating Canine Critter College’s philosophy for training pet owners to train their dogs. This is Tri C’s competitive advantage because instead of the traditional dog obedience school that trains the dog, Tri C trains the adults in how to communicate with the pet, as well as how to train the dog. This philosophy empowers the owner to be able to problem solve with the animal on their own instead of being held prisoner to a rigid rule based training system.

The marketing efforts will be concentrated on networking activities as well as advertising.

5.1 Competitive Edge

Canine Critter College’s competitive edge is based on their underlying philosophy and the way they present it as being completely intuitive to the client. This greatly effects the quality of interaction between the dog and its owner because the intuitive nature allows the owner to completely understand why they are doing what they are doing.

Canine Critter College carefully details canine social behavior. This provides insight into why the dog is acting like it does. When the dog has some sort of behavior outburst, it is because it is trying to communicate something to the owner in the only way it knows how. If the owner is taught not only why the dog is acting out, but also ways to analyze future actions by the dog, the training session is empowering the owner to have a more sophisticated method of communication/interaction with dog. This is of course recognizing that communication is a two-way street, one element is the understanding of the dog’s behavior, the other is ways that the owner can clearly communicate to the pet.

The key here is helping pet ownersunderstand the reason their dog is acting as they are and providing them with requisite knowledge to problem solve on their own. This distinction is important. Most obedience classes teach you what to do in certain circumstances. Canine Critter College explains the dog’s behavior and empowers the owner to interpret and make a well-reasoned analysis and conclusion of what to do.

5.2 Sales Strategy

The sales strategy will be based on communicating Canine Critter College’s competitive edge to the prospective customers. Training the owners to train the animal is far more effective because it empowers the owner to work with the dog well beyond the classes, as well as allows the owner/dog relationship to grow beyond the training classes because the owner has been taught an effective communication mechanism.

When a prospective customer calls to get more information about the classes, they will be pointed to the website for more in-depth information. The customer will also be offered a list of past customers, as well as the offer to sit in on a class. The ability for the person to observe a class will be instrumental in turning them into a dedicated customer.

5.2.1 Sales Forecast

The first month will be used to advertise Canine Critter College as well as develop outlines for the different sessions within the classes. There will be no sales activity during the first month. The first group class will occur during the second week of the second month. Also during the second month there will be a couple of private sessions. From month three on, there will be a steady increase of sales as the classes develop more participants. Profitability will be reached by month nine.

5.2.2 Marketing Strategy

Canine Critter College strategy will be based on networking and advertising. The networking will take place with different breeders in the area. Gerry will network with many of the local breeders. This will not be difficult as the canine training/breeding community is relatively small and intimate. By forming relationships with the different breeders, the breeders will act as a well respected referral service for Canine Critter College.

Canine Critter College will also do advertising with the local chapter of the AKC as well as with the Humane Society. These will be the initial marketing efforts. After a while, word-of-mouth referrals will take over as the most effective marketing mechanism.

5.3 Milestones

Canine Critter College will have several milestones early on:

• Business plan completion. This will be done as a roadmap for the organization, and will be an indispensable tool for the ongoing performance and improvement of the company.
• Office set up.
• Development of class structure.
• Profitability.