Matching Items (5)
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- All Subjects: Business
- Member of: Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
- Resource Type: Text
Description
Through the research of: accredited business articles, wedding sites such as The Knot, personal interviews with brides, research novels, television shows, and movies; this project will depict why and how traditional, American "White Weddings" have become so commercialized by advertisements and businesses as a result of various media channels' reinforcements of cultural ideals and norms about brides and weddings since the 1920s. The purpose of this paper is to identify the largest cultural and commercial forces that contributed to the growth and expansion of the wedding industry.
ContributorsHovendon, Allison Michelle (Author) / Suk, Mina (Thesis director) / Ostrom, Amy (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
Scottsdale Ranch Animal Hospital (SRAH) is a well-established veterinary clinic co-owned by Dr. John Nick and Dr. Richard Stolper that is located in Scottsdale, Arizona. The hospital’s mission is to provide, “the highest quality medical, surgical, educational, boarding and grooming services available. We strive for the highest level of integrity and compassion in our interaction with our patients and their human pets” (“Welcome to Scottsdale Ranch Animal Hospital”).
The purpose of this report is to analyze the current market position of Scottsdale Ranch Animal Hospital, and make appropriate marketing recommendations and strategies for implementation. Managerial goals include increasing customer retention and growing its customer base in order to generate new revenue.
The analysis conducted includes reviewing the external environment, internal environment, and market opportunities. Notable industry and environmental trends include: laws regarding bans on the sale of commercially bred pets, an overall increase in national pet spending, declining feline veterinary visits over the last few years, a cultural trend emphasizing spending on luxury pet goods and services, and a significant level of local competition that has similar service offerings.
Notable internal strengths include: the prime geographical location of SRAH in a pet-friendly and wealthy community, multiple service offerings available, the quality of veterinary staff, a loyal clientele, and a “blank slate” in terms of marketing. However, internal weaknesses include: outdated equipment and technology, a lack of marketing efforts and a weak online presence, poor management, human resource issues and little employee accountability, and poor financial conditions as a result of high levels of debt between the practice and building.
Partway through this project, SRAH decided to sell its practice to PetVet Care Centers, a company specialized in acquiring animal hospitals in order to grow a national veterinary network. PetVet took over ownership in March of 2014, and has already begun to address the critical managerial and financial problems at SRAH. Thus, the following recommendations are made to the new owners specifically regarding building an integrated marketing campaign. The limitation, however, is that PetVet’s marketing budget is unknown at the time of this report.
Based on SRAH’s precarious position in the marketplace, it is recommended that the practice focus on client retention, capturing first time visits by creating a strong online presence, and capturing first time visits by targeting new customer segments. Client retention strategies are as follows:
• Push email sign ups for online Pet Portal. Goal is to improve the percentage of clients signed up from 36% to 43% by the end of the 2014 fiscal year (approximately 450 new sign ups).
• Specifically create policies regarding behavior in employee-client interactions.
• Include a summary sheet detailing services received and veterinarian recommendations to be given with discharge paperwork.
• Implement callbacks within 24 hours of a patient surgery to be performed by vet techs
• Create specialized goodie bags for surgeries or boarding stay. Example would be a boarding goodie bag that contains treats, toys, and a personalized “thank you for staying with us” card.
• Bundling services to create preventative care packages. Canine Junior and Senior Wellness packages could result in additional $31,000+ in revenue each year.
Strategies centered on capturing first time visits through creating a strong online presence include:
• Hiring CyberMark for its regional SEO services to improve SRAH’s ranking in search engine results.
• Switching to a new website producer to allow for greater flexibility and autonomy in managing SRAH’s website. It is suggested that PetVet consider IDEXX or CyberMark for this service.
Lastly, strategies centered on capturing first time visits by targeting new customer segments are as follow:
• Purchasing a direct mail list from DirectMailTools.com, that specifies Scottsdale homeowners or renters, who own a cat or dog, and have lived in their place of residency for less than a year.
• Consider converting breed specific groups as a long-term goal, though no immediate action is suggested.
The purpose of this report is to analyze the current market position of Scottsdale Ranch Animal Hospital, and make appropriate marketing recommendations and strategies for implementation. Managerial goals include increasing customer retention and growing its customer base in order to generate new revenue.
The analysis conducted includes reviewing the external environment, internal environment, and market opportunities. Notable industry and environmental trends include: laws regarding bans on the sale of commercially bred pets, an overall increase in national pet spending, declining feline veterinary visits over the last few years, a cultural trend emphasizing spending on luxury pet goods and services, and a significant level of local competition that has similar service offerings.
Notable internal strengths include: the prime geographical location of SRAH in a pet-friendly and wealthy community, multiple service offerings available, the quality of veterinary staff, a loyal clientele, and a “blank slate” in terms of marketing. However, internal weaknesses include: outdated equipment and technology, a lack of marketing efforts and a weak online presence, poor management, human resource issues and little employee accountability, and poor financial conditions as a result of high levels of debt between the practice and building.
Partway through this project, SRAH decided to sell its practice to PetVet Care Centers, a company specialized in acquiring animal hospitals in order to grow a national veterinary network. PetVet took over ownership in March of 2014, and has already begun to address the critical managerial and financial problems at SRAH. Thus, the following recommendations are made to the new owners specifically regarding building an integrated marketing campaign. The limitation, however, is that PetVet’s marketing budget is unknown at the time of this report.
Based on SRAH’s precarious position in the marketplace, it is recommended that the practice focus on client retention, capturing first time visits by creating a strong online presence, and capturing first time visits by targeting new customer segments. Client retention strategies are as follows:
• Push email sign ups for online Pet Portal. Goal is to improve the percentage of clients signed up from 36% to 43% by the end of the 2014 fiscal year (approximately 450 new sign ups).
• Specifically create policies regarding behavior in employee-client interactions.
• Include a summary sheet detailing services received and veterinarian recommendations to be given with discharge paperwork.
• Implement callbacks within 24 hours of a patient surgery to be performed by vet techs
• Create specialized goodie bags for surgeries or boarding stay. Example would be a boarding goodie bag that contains treats, toys, and a personalized “thank you for staying with us” card.
• Bundling services to create preventative care packages. Canine Junior and Senior Wellness packages could result in additional $31,000+ in revenue each year.
Strategies centered on capturing first time visits through creating a strong online presence include:
• Hiring CyberMark for its regional SEO services to improve SRAH’s ranking in search engine results.
• Switching to a new website producer to allow for greater flexibility and autonomy in managing SRAH’s website. It is suggested that PetVet consider IDEXX or CyberMark for this service.
Lastly, strategies centered on capturing first time visits by targeting new customer segments are as follow:
• Purchasing a direct mail list from DirectMailTools.com, that specifies Scottsdale homeowners or renters, who own a cat or dog, and have lived in their place of residency for less than a year.
• Consider converting breed specific groups as a long-term goal, though no immediate action is suggested.
ContributorsStolper, Samantha Lynn (Author) / Ostrom, Amy (Thesis director) / Denning, Michael (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
This thesis examines the importance of graphic design in the marketing profession, with an emphasis on the necessity of specific graphic design skills in the acquisition of an entry-level marketing position or internship. The research begins with a thorough examination of various job posts requiring a marketing degree and a detailed analysis of how certain changes in the marketing landscape are causing graphic design skills such as the Adobe Creative Suite to be important in entry-level marketing. The thesis then discusses and critiques what actions are being taken by universities across the United States to address the issue of marketing undergraduates not feeling prepared to enter the workforce. Using these actions as a basis, the thesis then concludes with recommendations for universities in general, recommendations specific to Arizona State University, and recommendations for students given these new insights regarding graphic design. Some of these university recommendations, which also apply to ASU, include creating an interdiscplinary degree program, improving or changing current major or minor programs to integrate the two disciplines, implementing new courses, and encouraging students to use a variety of low-cost, online resources. The student recommendations include searching for degree programs with design-related major and minor offerings, pursuing a minor in a design-related area, utilizing online learning resources and approaching design students and faculty for individualized instruction.
ContributorsGebhardt, Kayla Lynn Mikell (Author) / Ostrom, Amy (Thesis director) / Fehler, Michelle (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
I will explore that confidence gap between men and women and how it holds women back in a male-dominated business world. Then, I will give recommendations to businesswomen and managers to overcome the confidence gap. Everyone knows that women on average get paid less per dollar than men. Clearly, this is partly due to a social ill that discriminates against women. However, I am not the type of person to sit back and wait for things to change. As a young woman graduating Barrett and moving onto law school, I wanted to explore what I myself can do to combat disadvantages I may encounter in the corporate world. My objective is to investigate the differences between men and women in the business world using the book, The Confidence Code, by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman as a framework for discussion. Is there a confidence gap between males and females and how is that hindering the latter in the workplace? Next, I will discuss why it is important for businesses to even care about having women on their teams at all. Finally, I will explore possible ways to build self-confidence in women in order to make them more successful in their careers. I will give recommendations to businesswomen themselves and to businesses in general to achieve this goal. For the purposes of this thesis, I will define confidence in business as "the belief that one is able to succeed at something" and furthermore, "the act of actually trying to be successful at something". To take it a step further, confidence also means being resilient instead of discouraged in the face of failure. Self-confidence is absolutely essential to a successful career as a businessperson. It is necessary to build skills such as: speaking up, sharing ideas, negotiating, applying for jobs, positions, projects, and promotions, not letting others intimidate you, not feeling the need to unnecessarily apologize, and to be proactive instead of hesitant. I found that part of the reason for the wage gap and why there are so few women CEOs is due to women's lack of confidence. For example, women do not initiate salary negotiations as often as men do and they ask for significantly less money when they do. Women will not apply for promotions unless they feel 100% qualified while men will go for it if they feel they have about half the qualifications. Then I decided to do research on whether or not women are as confident as men- and the answer is absolutely yes. Companies with more women in leadership positions outperform companies without. Men and women generally produce the same results but women still doubt themselves more. Finally, it turns out women actually have more effective leadership strategies then men. The confidence gap is due to many biological, psychological, and sociological factors. At the beginning of my research, I was frustrated by what I was finding. But the good news is that there are many ways women can overcome the confidence gap through reframing, taking action, and practice. There are ways businesses can foster a culture that meets the needs of women in a previously male dominated space. This information is empowering and I hope my thesis can help other women the way it has helped me.
ContributorsChristov, Anjelica (Author) / Kalika, Dale (Thesis director) / Ostrom, Amy (Committee member) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Tech2Learn, a privately owned tutoring company, serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade at its Phoenix location. The company's founding mission "is for every child to build individual competence and confidence in essential skills." It accomplishes this mission by providing a safe, fun, and engaging environment where children feel comfortable learning. In addition to tutoring in traditional subjects such as math and reading, Tech2Learn also offers a dyslexia reading lab, and a High School Placement Test prep course. The goal of this plan is to find a low cost and easy to manage way for Tech2Learn to market its services and encourage referrals. To achieve this goal, I conducted both an external and internal analysis. In order for Tech2Learn to remain competitive in the industry, it must be aware of trends such as the rapidly evolution of teaching technology, new government mandates on curriculum, and parents' desire to be involved in their children's education. While these trends create opportunities for growth, there are also threats that arise. One threat to Tech2Learn is a large number of competitors in the market. The company relies on its strengths of human capital and unique teaching approach to minimize these threats. The tactics and strategies recommended in this plan are intended to reduce the company's weaknesses. Specifically, tactical recommendations target Tech2Learn's digital presence through the creation of a Facebook page, consolidation of company owned web domains, and updating business information on both owned and earned online sites. Additionally, strategic suggestions aim to prepare Tech2Learn for future growth through the implementation of a formal training procedure, consideration of an additional office location, and differentiation through the early adoption of new technologies, such as virtual reality.
ContributorsCunningham, Sinead Bridget (Author) / Ostrom, Amy (Thesis director) / Giles, Bret (Committee member) / Cummings, Deborah (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-12