Website Analysis for AdoptAPet.com
The Adopt a Pet site is B2C but also has a B2B component as it allows shelters and rescue groups to log into the site and manage their pets. On the home page, different callouts target the different categories - the main box shows options for searching for dogs, cats, other animals and shelters/rescues, while smaller boxes target shelters and rescues, claiming the site will increase adoptions for free. The site is marketed, however, as a B2C site for those seeking pets or looking for a shelter.
Value Proposition & uniqueness from competitors - The site’s value proposition is connecting users with available, adoptable pets that meet their preferences, within the user’s specified geographic range. One of the unique features the site provides is the option to save the search options. When a user clicks one of the search categories from the home page (find a dog, find a cat, find other type of animal, find a shelter, help a shelter), they are taken to a page to narrow their search with the following fields: Zip code or city, distance radius, breed, se, size, color and age. There is also an optional check box for special needs. Then the user can optionally enter their email address to opt into notifications when a pet matching those criteria enters the database. This is a great value proposition for customers because it offers to take some of the effort out of searching - the right match may not be available for option right now, and the site will continue notifying you when a new potential match comes up for adoption. The value proposition for shelters to use adoptapet.com is that the site is a free tool for shelters to advertise their pets and also that it draws users from a wide geographic base.
Revenue model - the site is advertising-supported, and additionally is donation-supported. Pet food brand Purina, Bayer’s K-9 Advantix flea and tick repellant and North Shore Animal League America. The advertising revenue allows Adopt a Pet to provide their service for free to customers and shelters. In addition, the site is a non-profit 501(c)3 and accepts donations from the public.
Integration with other channels - The site integrates with social media marketing, SEO and word of mouth marketing. There is a callout on the home page with a link to a flyer users can print out to distribute to shelters. The site also integrates with Adopt a Pet’s Facebook page with a promotion advertised on the home page, offering a $1 donation up to $50k for every “Like” their Facebook page receives. The site also tries to draw SEO rankings by asking people with a website to link to adoptapet.com in order to “help pets.” Mobile Presence? The site does have a mobile version. When navigating to the site from a mobile device, the user has a link at the top of the window notifying them there is a mobile version of the site and offering a hyperlink.
Global or local presence - The site’s presence isn’t global, but it serves customers across the United States. The first field on the search page is zip code/city, which encourages a local experience.
Intended customers - Intended customers share a common interest in adopting pets or supporting animal rescue. The site relies heavily on emotion to engage its audience. The language of the site emphasizes they are helping pets, that adoption is the loving solution. Activity on the site is likened to helping pets. The myriad options for narrowing search results makes the experience of searching for adoptable pets much more involved and encourages analytical shopping. The site’s donations function also caters to impulsive buyers, as advertisements appear on most pages making an emotion appeal for donations. The “Twitter a Critter” and “Email a Friend” functionality also supports impulsive buyer patterns, as these are quick and easy tools to help share the pet’s story and details.
Usability - The site is easily navigable. Having the main functions of the site linked along the top of the home page is helpful, as users don’t have to scroll at all to begin using the site. The interface is very intuitive when displaying search results and the pet profiles. There is some danger of content overload on the home page, as once a user scrolls down a lot of the boxes seem to blend together and distract from one another.
Attract - the site places very high in search results for pet adoption and pet matching.
This attracts customers due to the relevance and trust factors relating to top search results. The site relies on word of mouth advertising from both customers and shelters - the site draws this word of mouth by positioning itself as a tool to connect users and pets, assisting shelters and participating in the rescue and rehoming process.
Additionally, part of the site’s terms of use includes a link sharing agreement requiring shelters to post a link to Adopt a Pet on the shelter’s site.
Interact - “Adoption is the loving option… consider adoption before buying a dog from a dog breeder or pet store.” The major customization the site performs is through the pet search, allowing the user to sign up for notifications, which extends the site’s service beyond the current visit (and into the react stage). Once a search is performed and the user clicks on one of the pets, the pet profile is displayed. The pet profile includes images of the pet, the pet’s sotry and important information such as rules for adoption (no children, no other pets, special needs, etc.). Links on the side of the profile connect the user to contact information for the shelter, a list of all pets at that shelter, and the ability to share the pet with a friend via email. A cool Web 2.0 feature is the ability to Tweet the animal - a feature called “Twitter a Critter,” which creates a short URL to the pet’s profile for sharing on Twitter. Another feature of each pet’s profile is a link to relevant blog articles about pet health, training and more, which Adopt a Pet creates.
Act - With regard to the pet connections, the “transactions” on the site are emailing the information to a friend, sharing the pet via Twitter, and contacting the shelter for additional information. The site also captures the user’s email and search preferences when the user opts to use the “save-a-search” feature. This involves storing the information in the database. The final transaction the site performs is accepting donations. There are predetermined/suggested contribution levels as well as the option to enter a manual amount; additionally the site offers users the option to enroll in a monthly donations program.
React - In the react stage, Adopt a Pet has a unique tool that continues communication and promotion of the brand offline and enhances customer service - the save-a-search feature.
The save-a-search feature notifies customers via email when new pets enter the database matching those search criteria. This is a tremendous value-add for pet-seekers, as it brings the matching pets to their email inbox, which can be quite helpful for busy schedules. This feature also encourages more careful “buying” patterns among adoptees, as the user can wait for the site to send new matches and closely analyze the matches. The site also provides a tremendous amount of FAQ and information about pets, pet health and the adoption process. One of the major benefits of being a “middle man” between shelters and pet-seekers is that most of the inquiries will be forwarded to the shelters, while the site requires minimal interaction related to the product (in this case, pets). The site’s focus can be on enhancing the user experience and facilitating the sharing of information about pets (Twitter, email). Additionally, there is a direct link for site feedback and contact information for customer support as well.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths - One of the major strengths of the site is the breadth of their database. Adopt a Pet is the largest non-profit pet adoption website in North America, with over 6,500 shelters and rescues holding accounts. This makes the site attractive to users, as they don’t have to navigate to other sites to see most of these pets. Another of the site’s strengths is the localization of results. The first search field is zip code or city, which is significant from a design perspective because obviously location is among the most important factors in searching for an adoptable pet. The site’s usability and social media integration are also strengths.
Weaknesses - Self-promotion is a weakness. At times, it’s difficult to determine who the site is targeting, as the navigation includes links to user functions such as “search dogs,” “search cats” as well as shelter functions such as “shelter login.” A clear navigation menu across the top of the page, or else links to map “for users” or “for shelters” might eliminate any confusion. An additional weakness is that while users can save their searches and narrow search criteria to their specifications, there’s little true personalization built into the site, such as user profiles/login. The site doesn’t save information about users with cookies or sessions.
Opportunities - there is opportunity for the site to deepen user engagement with more personalization, as well as continue the relationship beyond adoption. There is also additional service the site could provide to shelters rather than simply displaying contact information and “handing off” the customer. A major opportunity is to further integrate social media, especially Facebook, into the site, which would allow for personalization as well as facilitate communication across the web and promotion of the site.
Threats - A major threat would be a site that combines the scale with a more personalized experience. A mobile application that leverages local search results and push notifications would also be a threat, as the site currently only features a mobile version. From the B2B perspective, a site offering deeper service to shelters, such as accepting applications, handling customer service inquiries, and processing donations for shelters is a threat, as currently Adopt a Pet merely serves as an informational connection between shelters and pet-seekers.
Conceptual Development
The save-a-search feature is similar to our concept of creating a personality profile that is then matched against pet characteristics. Some functionality that would benefit our site includes the “Twitter a Critter” and “email to a friend” plug-ins that allow users to share pet information. These features would engage customers in off-site conversation, help build community around the site’s mission and increase brand recognition.
One recommendation I would make is to minimize some of the site-promotion and make it less obvious. It’s a bit off-putting at times how much of the advertising and calls for donations appear on-screen. I would also de-clutter the home page - there’s just too many boxes with different information, and even the latest blog post appears there, so it’s a bit overwhelming. Instead, just presenting the users with the five links in the main box, with some info on the sponsors below, would be much more user-friendly.
Jessica LoPresti
9/23/2011
HCI 460
Deliverable B: Website Analysis
WEBSITE ANALYSIS FOR PETFINDER.COM
URL: http://www.petfinder.com/ (1)
What
e-commerce category does the site belong? Mainly, Petfinder.com provides free
services to businesses and customers. For example, non-for-profit animal rescue
groups and shelters can join the shelter listings, showcase animals available
for adoption in the pet listings and also download widgets, tools and graphics
for use on their own websites. Visitors to the site can search for adoptable
animals, read numerous articles/watch videos on topics such as the adoption process,
pet training and pet health. They can also read about news, events and
volunteer opportunities in their area. Donations can be made on the website of
their non-for-profit organization, the Petfinder
Foundation.
The B2C aspect of the site is for those customers interesting in
purchasing pet-related items; The Petfinder.com store icon links to a partner
site: animal rescuesite.com. A portion of every purchase funds the food and
care for rescued animals (2).
What is their value proposition? How are
they unique from other competitors? The value proposition for
Petfinder.com is to promote the adoption of homeless pets by providing an
extensive pet listing for people to search and by offering numerous educational
resources on how to adopt and care for the animals. The search can be tailored to personal
preferences by allowing users to determine parameters such as location,
distance and also the age, gender and size of the animal.
When non-for-profit rescue groups and shelters join Petfinder.com,
they get a free Home page for their organization and have the opportunity to
join the FurKeeps
program, which can qualify them for free microchips, affordable pet
insurance and .99 cent training DVDs so that pets will have a better chance at
staying in their new homes.
What is
their revenue model? The main revenue model for
Petfinder.com is advertising-supported. Corporate sponsors, such as Toyota,
Bissell, PetCo and Science Diet, place banner ads and
pop-up ads on the site that promote their products. The online store that sells
a variety of pet-related items follows the web catalog revenue model.
How does
the website integrate with other channels? Petfinder.com partnered with The
Animal Rescue site and established an online retail sales channel where a
portion of each purchase is donated to the care of animals. In addition,
Petfinder.com integrates with social media marketing through Facebook, Twitter
and You Tube.
Do they
have a mobile presence? Yes, customers can download a free Petfinder.com
iPhone app to view pet listings and read "Happy Tails" successful adoption
stories.
Do they
have a global or local presence? Petfinder
has members in all 50 states (local) and the District of Columbia, Canada,
Mexico, the Bahamas, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, St. Martin, Jamaica, Guam and the
Virgin Islands (global—Northwestern hemisphere). (3)
Intended customers
Who are
the intended customers for the website? The intended customers of Petfinder.com
include animal rescue groups and shelters, people looking to adopt, current pet
owners and animal lovers looking to foster a pet, volunteer or donate.
Describe
how the site provides a utilitarian and hedonic shopping experience?
Petfinder.com
provides a utilitarian and a hedonic experience depending on the user. The
utilitarian aspect of the site is for users wanting to accomplish a task such
as place a classified ad, purchase pet insurance, view list of shelters and
seek out specific information in the learning center. The site has a hedonic
element as well for those interested in viewing the pet listings and reading
the "Happy Tail" success stories. There is actually a "Fun" section on the site
where users can send pet e-cards, play online games, enter contests and watch
animated videos purely for the entertainment value.
How does
the site cater different types of customers such as impulsive, patient and
analytical buyers? The site caters to impulsive customers by
offering a link to their online store and a link to make donations.
Patient
buyers will take time to peruse the pet listings in the search for a pet most
suited for their lifestyle. Analytical buyers will "do the research" by reading
numerous articles about adopting an animal in the Learning Center prior to
selecting a pet.
Usability
How useful
is the site's special interface feature and arrangement of content? Was it easy
or difficult to navigate throughout the site? For the main horizontal navigation,
the terminology is clear (i.e. "Adopt a Pet, "Animal Shelters", "Pet News",
"Pet Videos", etc.). Beneath the main nav, there is another row of categories ("Before you
Adopt", "After you Adopt", "Pet Health", "Cats", "Dogs", etc.)
that can actually overwhelm the user with too many places to search and make it
difficult to locate specific information. The navigation on the left side of
the page displays the most common actions such as "Search for a Pet" and "Find
Animal Welfare Groups".
Because of the breadth of information found on the site, strong
organization is needed and Petfinder could definitely
improve in this area. The amount of content on the home page is excessive; the
user must scroll down to view the whole page, which is cluttered with too many
content boxes, text, photos and ads.
Attract
How does the site market and advertise in order to attract consumer interest? The Petfinder site consistently comes up either on or near the top of the list in a Google search. Typing in key words such as "pet adoption", "adopt a pet" or "locate animal rescues" produced high-ranking results.
Petfinder has been providing these valuable pet adoption resources on the web since 1995, thereby, establishing a solid reputation and trust with its customers and associates. Since then, Petfinder has placed over 12 million animals into homes and over 13,597 adoption groups are now Petfinder members. In 2006, Petfinder.com was acquired by Discovery Communications as a part of their Animal Planet Media Enterprise.
On the site, rescue groups and shelters can download various modules and graphics to use on their organization's site. All of these modules have the Petfinder logo, which is another way of advertising and attracting consumer interest.
Interact
What types of tools and features does the site provide to enhance customer experience? Also consider how the site applies web 2.0 tools and personalization. Visitors to the site can immediately begin searching the comprehensive database of available pets by defining the type of animal, breed, location and additional characteristics. A listing of pets most suited to the user's preferences appears with photos of each animal, a short story/description and a link to the website of the shelter. Users can share the photos and bios with friends and family via email, Twitter and Facebook.
Members and visitors can interact with each other by asking and answering questions on the message boards and the Petfinder blog. The videos, articles and "Fun" section of the site also enhance the customer experience by providing entertainment.
Act
How does the site process order placement and payment? How does the site handle delivery, shipping and returns? The store processes orders online and by phone. Buyers add items to the shopping cart, then verify the items and change the quantity before checking out. Methods of payments include PayPal, credit cards or gift certificates. Delivery time options include domestic ground shipping (1-2 weeks), 3-Day, 2-Day and Next Day Air to most US locations. All items, excluding sale items, are returnable within 45 days of purchase and customers can either exchange the item or receive a credit.
The Act stage for non-e-commerce portion of the site includes posting classified ads, uploading pet profiles and contacting shelters to continue the adoption process.
React
How does the site
maintain customer service and support? Customers can contact the store via
email or by phone. In addition, people who have signed up will receive newsletters
and other promotional information.
Does the site have multi-language support? Petfinder.com does not offer any multi-language support.
|
SWOT analysis |
Strengths: Petfinder has a strong sense of purpose by providing a valuable service that assists shelters with the placement of homeless animals and connects people with pets. Strengths of the company include the comprehensive database of shelters and adoptable pets and a positive reputation that has been built up over 16 years of providing these services. Petfinder also adds an entertainment element to their site as a way of engaging the audience.
Weaknesses:
The
organization of the website needs improvement. The heavy content is not
displayed in a clean and efficient manner, which may cause users to leave the
site if they cannot find the information they are looking for. Also, for being
a company that promotes the care of animals, it is surprising to not see a
ÔDONATE' button. A user would have to click on the link to the Petfinder Foundation in order to make a donation, which may
not be intuitive for some.
Opportunities: Petfinder is using contemporary technologies to promote their company by establishing a social media presence on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and also by developing a mobile app. Petfinder has the opportunity to expand their reach to other geographical markets around the world.
Threats: Petfinder has considerable competition with other companies offering pet adoption services. Some of these companies offer a more personalized user experience through the offering of a pet matching service and online adoption applications, which are services Petfinder does not currently offer. In addition, some of the competitor sites are more user-friendly in terms of the design and layout of content.
Conceptual Development
Based on
your analysis what are some features do you think will be helpful for the
success of your site? I
think it is important to focus on a few important features and execute them
well instead of trying to be an all-encompassing site. For example, the pet
matching service helps remove some of the guesswork for users by recommending
pets based on their personality and lifestyle. Offering an online adoption
form, allows users to act and get a head start on the adoption process. Having
a clean and appealing website design, will engage and enhance the user
experience as well as attract more visitors to the site.
References
(3) http://animals.howstuffworks.com/pets/petfinder3.htm
Mykle Brossette
Deliverable B
Website Analysis
Web Site Analysis for Petango.com
http://www.petango.com/
What e-commerce category does the site belong?
Petango.com has a B2B concept where they provide a service to animal
shelter businesses to help adoptable animals be adopted, lost animals get
found, and to streamline the adoption process for the animal shelters. The
shelters are also given a micro home page for their shelter to provide specific
information for their shelter that includes contact information. The shelters are also allowed donations to
their specific animal shelter on the site. The site is free to the
organizations.
There is also a large B2C component where the site sells pet
supplies, pet insurance, and pet prescriptions. The customer can also add
animals to a wish list to watch their favorite animals and compare. The
customers can also view all events in their community for local animal shelters.
What is their value proposition? How are they
unique from other competitors?
The value proposition of Petango.com
is to be ” a comprehensive, easy-to-use, web-based animal management program that can save animal shelters or rescue
group valuable time and money.”(1) They
are partnered with 1.150 shelters and is a one-stop destination
for anyone looking to adopt a pet in North America. The potential adopters of
cats and dogs will enjoy real-time searches, a watch list, contact lists, share
with friends, adoption application on-line, and events listing for their
community. Anything the customer needs the site will provide.
As for the businesses, they will enjoy having their animals
managed by Petango.com and listed for them. Their own micro site to help
promote their shelter on their site and donate now links. The adoption process
is also streamlined for them through the site. This is all provided to the
organization for free in return for a link to the Petango.com site on the
animal shelters web site home page.
The customers and businesses are allowed a very convenient way to
interact with one another without a lot of work. Petango.com provides all
services up to the actual adoption for them. Petango.com also provides a
one-stop shopping of pet supplies, medications, and pet insurance for the
customers.
What is their revenue model?
The revenue model is based on being advertising-supported and a
web catalog. The advertisement support comes from various pet supply companies
and pet food companies. Coupons are often advertised for these items for people
to purchase through the petango.com site. The site also has an extensive web
catalog of items the user can purchase through the site via a shopping cart.
The items are categorized by cat and by dog. All items are purchased through
the petango.com site. No revenue is made from shelters using this site for
their adoptable pets since it’s free to organizations for that purpose.
How does the website integrate with
other channels?
The site integrates with distributors by being a retail channel
for these distributors. The site is not a
distributor for the supplies it sells or the animals it advertises for
adoption. The company does not have any sales outlets or brick-n-mortar stores
leaving little channel conflict.
Do they have a mobile presence?
Yes,
the site has a free mobile app for customers to download that focuses on Lost
Pets, Adopt a Pet, and Animal Shelter Find.
Do they have a global or local
presence?
The
site caters to all of North America (local) and then to specific urban and
rural cities (local). Petango.com is not global and caters to any animal
shelters outside of North America.
Intended customers
Who are the intended customers for the
website?
The customers of the site are animal lovers and pet owners. Many
of these customers will be looking to adopt a pet or care for the pet he or she
owns. The site is very specific in its target to animal lovers and owners,
specifically cat and dog owners. The customers are of varying ages and need to
be at least 18 to adopt. The customer also needs to have a credit/debit card or
paypal account to purchase any items on the site.
Describe how the site provides a
utilitarian and hedonic shopping experience?
The site provides a utilitarian experience for the pet owner by
allowing them to easily complete their task of shopping for pet supplies. The
site has easy to follow navigation for the purchase of supplies for their pets
and an easy to use shopping cart. The layout of the site allows for an
effortless check-out while shopping. The site also provides a coupon code for
the customer during their payment process to guarantee their discount on
checkout.
The site provides a hedonic experience when choosing a pet to
adopt. The survey process is colorful and fun. There is a series of 20
questions to make sure the proper pet to human match is returned from the
system. Each survey question has a different page and some of the pages contain
trivia on pets.
Example survey question page:
Once the questions have been answered a series of pets within a
certain mileage that the customer specified during the survey is returned. The
pets are categorized with categories such as: cuddly, calm, active, hyper, etc.
and a link to a larger profile page for the pets are provided.
The larger profile page for the pet has an application form for
the customer to fill out if they are interested. Or the customer can add the
animal to their wishlist to return at a later date
for careful decision making or comparison.
How does the site cater different
types of customers such as impulsive, patient and analytical buyers? Give
specific examples from the site.
The “Pawsonality” survey to match the
human-to-pet can be very persuading for the impulsive shopper. On return of the
animals a percentage is given for the amount of compatibility. An impulsive
shopper might decide that they need to fill out the adoption form right away to
ensure the pet is available to them for adoption. The impulsive shopper might fear
the pet might not be available at a later date and the percentage adds to the
sense of urgency. For the impulsive shopper that is purchasing items the
customer might feel he or she needs to purchase the item right away due to
coupons and promos.
The patient and analytical shoppers are given the option of
registering for an account on the site. Once a customer has an account they can
fill their shopping cart and add/remove items at their leisure. The customer
can also add items to a wishlist, including animals,
and return to this list at a later date to compare. The analytical shopper is
also given starred reviews on items from previous purchasers that help the
customer choose a highly reviewed item. Personal reviews are available for
customers to fill in on items they purchase. Analytical customers can then read
these reviews to decide if they want to purchase the item. And if the review is
not very positive more recommended items are listed below the review.
Usability
How useful is the site’s special
interface feature and arrangement of content?
The layout of the site is very useful. Advertisements are above
the fold and presented to the customer when they first land on the home page.
The “pawsonality” survey to match people with
adoptable pets is easily noticeable. The layout is chunked into categories for
customers to easily find what they are looking for on the site. The site makes
browsing very easy with the navigation or product search easy with the large
accessible search bar. The shopping cart is also accessible and global
throughout the site.
Was it
easy or difficult to navigate throughout the site?
The site is very easy to navigate with a very low level of
frustration. A noticeable amount of time was placed into the information
architecture of the site.
Attract
How does the site market and advertise
in order to attract consumer interest? And what are some of their methods?
They build brand awareness by being associated with non-profit
animal shelters. The site is very attractive and entices the customer to use
their site as a one stop place for all their pet needs.
The site builds site awareness by working with non-profit animal
shelters. Petango.com has a banner or a badge on the organization site that uses
its service. Once a user is on the site large advertising banners are used to
alert the customer to sales. The site also provides coupons on items that are
sold within their on-line store. The site also allows users to register and
create a profile. When the user has their profile set up the site will allow
them to personalize their site to pet preferences and place animals or products
on their wishlist. Customers also can donate money to
a shelter of their choice through the site and not be forced to visit
individual shelter sites to donate. Another option for donation is when they
purchase products a percentage is calculated and added to a “donate to shelter”
line item. The customer is then asked if they want to donate that amount, or a
different amount, to a shelter of their choice.
Interact
What types of tools and features does
the site provide to enhance customer experience? Also consider how the site
applies web 2.0 tools and personalization.
The site provides an interactive personality test to match the
customer with adoptable pets in their area. Through this survey the customers
are asked a series of questions to make sure they are matched with compatible
animals for their lifestyle. The site
also allows through registration for the customer to personalize the site to
not only fit their needs, but what the needs of their pets are while using the
site. Products are recommended to the customer based on the type of pets they
have. Customer reviews are also provided on products. The site is easily personalized
for customers with registered accounts. The customers also have individualized
e-mail strategies so they can share animals, products and wishlist
with friends on their contact lists.
Act
How does the site process order
placement and payment?
The site provides an on-line application form for customers to
fill out when wanting to adopt a particular pet. Donations are handled through
the site either individually or through the shopping cart. The site provides
order validation for donations and application of coupons/promos. Petango.com
also provides the calculation of sales, taxes, and shipping together for the
customer. Multiple payment methods are allowed for purchases or donations. And
Petango.com also fulfills the delivery of products to specified addresses.
How does the site handle delivery,
shipping and returns?
Returns are allowed within 30 days for all items except
prescription items with no hassle. Animal adoptions are not handled by
Petango.com. The donations are also non-refundable. Free basic shipping is
available on orders over $35. The overall handling of delivery, shipping and
returns seems to be a smooth transaction for the customers.
React
How does the site maintain customer
service and support?
Live Chat is available normal business hours including Saturday
but closed on Sunday. A 1-800 number is also provided for customers to the
site. Registered customers can track their orders through the site.
Does the site have multi-language
support?
No, Petango.com does not offer any multi-language support.
|
SWOT analysis |
Strengths
The company is very good at being able to provide customers with a
one stop shopping kind of experience. The customer is allowed the opportunity
to get the majority of their needs from Petango.com without needing to search
several different sites for what they are looking for on the internet. Numerous
companies in North America use Petango.com for their pet adoption services
because they excel in this area and are free to organizations. The organization
using Petango.com in return needs to advertise for Petango.com on their site
without any cost to Petango.com. This allows Petango.com a very strong presence
in the animal shelter community and to reach a wide range of customers across
North America. The company’s purpose and dedication to the animal shelters it
helps provide services to come across in a very strong manner. Petango.com is
dedicated to providing help for animals that need adoption and then to provide
services for the new pet owner after the customer adopts an animal. If a
customer uses Petango.com to find and adopt a pet, they will most likely return
to purchase pet supplies, insurance, & medications for the adopted pet.
Weaknesses
The site makes it difficult to find a pet to adopt that is not a
cat or dog. The options are limited if you have a bird, fish, rabbit, etc. and
need to buy supplies. It’s also difficult to search for animals that are not
dog or cat on the site.
The site also seems to have performance issues and lags at times.
The livechat takes a while to load and this causes a
lot of the lag. The site is also often unresponsive to clicks. Updates to the
site to avoid these performance issues are important for them to maintain their
customer base.
The site also targets a middle-class market and does not have a
multiple language translator on the site. This could keep many people in the
lower income level of North America from using the web site to adopt an animal
due to language barriers. Many of the items might not be affordable for people
in a lower income level, specifically medications and insurance for the pet.
And I do not see any programs to help people and their pets that are in need of
help.
Opportunities
There are not many new opportunities when it comes to animal
shelters because many of these will remain non-profit and operate in the same
manner. There might be new animal shelters that will work with Petango.com, but
not much in new opportunities for the company. Many of the new opportunities
will come through advancement in technology that could improve their website.
Also, the pet industry might have new products or services Petango.com could
provide to its customers through the site. A few typical services that are
needed for pets that is not currently on the site is:
pet walking, pet sitting, kennels, and obedience training. There are numerous
opportunities for Petango.com to branch out into having people offer their pet
sitting, pet walking or obedience training skills to customers within certain
metropolitan vicinity.
Threats
Petango.com has a professional site and is more user friendly than
a lot of the competitors. Some threats might be new companies that want to
provide the same kind of third party services to the animal shelters. The
company might face problems in the future with streamlining the adoption
service between customer and animal shelter that might come from legal issues
with local state or city laws. The company might also face financial obstacles
by providing free services to the animal shelters if they cannot provide
themselves enough revenue from the advertising. The web catalog might help if
they can keep their prices lower than competitors to keep their repeat
customers. But the database to keep all the animals for all the animal shelters
across North America is cumbersome and costs a lot to upkeep. They might face
more financial problems with trying to maintain the database as the number of
animal shelters they service grows.
Conceptual Development
Based on your analysis what are some
features do you think will be helpful for the success of your site?
The “Pawsonality” survey will be very
helpful for the pet matching service on our site. The questions are very
thorough in being able to determine the perfect match. The site is also set up
by only allowing the customer to fill out the adoption paperwork on-line and
allowing the animal shelter handle the actual adoption process. The donation to
a specific shelter could also be used on our site. They also have a good
example of being an advertising-supported site, but free service to the animal
shelters revenue model that we would like to implement.
What are some practical improvements
or enhancements you would recommend in order to improve customer loyalty?
The
site could be improved by allowing Facebook integration and ad placement on
Facebook. This way the customer could quickly share animals that need adoption
with family and friends on Facebook. A listing of volunteer opportunities for
local animal shelters could also be provided for customers that cannot adopt
but want to help. A birthday/adoption day service could also be provided to
customers where they can get a free item or large discount on products for the
pet they adopted through the Petango.com site. This would also include monthly
discounts that target the specific type of animal the customer adopted through
the Petango.com site.
Citations:
(1): Petango and Petpoint. Retrieved from http://www.petpoint.com/help/petango.htm
Overview
Each business idea is different in its own way and focuses on a particular strategy or provides specialized services so as to retain their market position with other competitors. While there are lots of organizations with its business operations similar to our project, one of the sites that is fairly close is thepetconnection (http://www.thepetconnection.com/). This site essentially provides a platform for people to either look for pets, and businesses or shelters to make them available on it for others to view it. In addition, it also allows individuals to create their own classifieds to sell the pets. However, there are subtle differences and that this site falls under for-profit organization. However, it supports National Pet Human Society from part of its revenue. The site has custom classifieds records, breeders database, rescue listings and Pet matching service as their channels. The organization does not appear to have a mobile presence and seems more of a local business although the site caters to people throughout the country when trying to search for pets in their databases or post a classified onto it.
The generated revenue comes from the their business customers who promotes their products or services with this organization. Pet products such as toys, beds, training aids, food or services like training, vets, grooming and boarding/kennels can be listed or added to thepetconnection’s database for a low yearly fee. Individual customers who wish to sell pets also have to pay a small fee for listing their pet on the site.
Intended Customers
End users or people interested in buying pets, shelters wanting to make an online presence by having their catalog available electronically, or people who want to sell their pets as an individual, are customers of thepetconnection. The site provides a modest utilitarian and hedonic experience, as it is not heavily content oriented. It has simple structure and easy navigation and the content is limited and concise. This will allow a user to spend less time on it to know if this is a suitable site for him/her for their purpose.
Thepetconnection caters to all kind of buyers, impulsive, analytical, and potential buyers. Impulsive buyers will be able to give a quick look at the site’s offering by going to Pet Buyer page and see if it lists pets of their interest. Analytical and potential buyers can go through breeders database, classifieds, rescue listings or signup for Pet Matching Service for a small fee. The service takes in the buyer information along with the type of pet they are looking for, the price range and some extra description if a buyer wishes to add. They then contact you once they have a suitable list of pets that matches the criteria.
Usability, Attract and Interact
Thepetconnection’s usability is rather very simple but yet helpful. It provides an easy navigation menu that is able to link all the pages of site.
The organization does not have a marketing campaign or paid advertising and thrives on search results of popular search engines such as Google. However, they have a simple design that will offer a user to quickly learn all there is about the site and their services without having to navigate through a lot of pages. Other methods would be providing best service or leads so that the marketing is done by word-of-mouth.
The site does not fancy a plethora of web 2.0 tools however, it does have forms and minimum required interaction from their users. The forms are simple and collect basic information from users such as name, address, pet preferences, price range etc.
Act and React
Thepetconnection’s order placement is only for their services that they offer. At this time their payment system is down and was unavailable to determine the options. Since it is a service, it is handled electronically by emailing the list of suitable pets when found. They do not have a returns policy as it is on most service-based product.
The site fails to support multi-language support and the customer service is available through phone or email only.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths:
· Limited and concise content is one of the strongest assets for this site.
· Good information source for pet related questions such as Grooming, Nutrition, breed information, health, training, lost pet etc.
· Incredible matchmaking database, and unparalleled information resources to make pet-parenting experience more fulfilling.
· Making available resources related to pets at a very cheap price.
Weaknesses:
· No or very little marketing. This makes the site invisible to people who are not actively looking for products or services offered.
· From the searches performed for products and services, it appears they have a very limited user base or that it is only for a local crowd where the site has gained some popularity.
· Competitors have advantage by having better site design with better graphics, pictures and videos for people to interact with.
· The site was built in 2002 and does not seem to have scaled well or shown growth since which means the profit level is just adequate to keep it running but not seeing any growth with it.
· No web based advertisements or partner association that could fetch some extra revenue.
· No blog or forum for people to interact with other pet buyers or sellers, which has become a standard for any website as Web 2.0 emerged.
Opportunities
· Packaging the product differently may give a higher return. This would also include redesigning the user interface to make it more attractive.
· The breeders or pets or products or any search that is conducted gives result in a simple list format currently, which could be changed to be listed in profile based format with more information and probably pictures or videos of the product or service demo or pet
· Having partners with local breeders can give both opportunities to make revenue. Thepetconnection can gain by putting their ads and local breeders can gain more business by getting themselves out on the electronic world.
· Form or a system to make a direct donation to a particular organization listed on the site would give an incentive for local breeders or business owners to have their profile on this site.
· Web 2.0 advantage can be taken by having modules on site that would identify location based on the IP of the user and provide with relevant ads for local listings in their area. Hence increase the sales or products or services.
· Social network presence on networks with high user base such as Facebook and Twitter can yield more business.
Threats
· Presence of better equipped competitors like www.petfinder.com, www.adoptapet.com, and www.nextdaypets.com
· No security seal such as Verisign or McAfee secured to make the system secured and customers comfortable to share information.
· Not keeping up with other competitor-like services or products.
Conceptual development
There are a number of takeaways from the analysis of this site that relates to our project. A good design is a must to not just attract the customer but to just even make them feel it is legitimate business and gain their trust. A web 2.0 tool presence such as a forum or a blog or a wiki is must maintain a site’s interactivity. Pictures and videos convey more meaning to any statement therefore aiding content with them is a must for retaining customers who may momentarily, accidentally or just stumbles across the site. Nothing can substitute a good and consistent navigation, layout and design of the site. Multi-language support is good for catering to international crowd or growing the business in other countries. Keeping site up-to-date with latest products, services or pet listings can give a better turnover.
Some additional steps such as having a mailing list of all the members of the site to update them with latest offerings or changes in services may help retaining the loyalty of customers. Taking advantage of plugins offered by social networks such as Facebook that displays other friends of members likes and activities on this site will also improve member loyalty. And most importantly provide a value for goods or services that are being offered.