In this, final chapter of the research part of the thesis, a summary of the qualitative research findings obtained through in-depth interviews is going to be presented, combined together with the findings from the previously presented quantitative research in form of online questionnaires. As such, a comprehensive picture of the landscape of Czech dog owners with focus on their opinion and view on CBD will be obtained.
First, the difference in perception of CBD products for people in contrast to those for pets will be discussed. As has been analysed in both, the quantitative and qualitative research, the perception of CBD and products derived from it
for humans or for dogs is not much different. If one conclusion should be presented, it would have to be the fact that people appear to be more careful when choosing supplements or medication for their pets rather than for themselves, due to the psychological burden of being responsible for someone else’s wellbeing.
The perception of CBD as such is not much different, rather positive. For the purpose of the research, an explanation of CBD and its effects on bodies with endocannabinoid system (i.e., both human and dog bodies) has been explained in order for the respondents to be able to make decisions and communicate opinions based on relevant information provided to them. It is not a rule that certain substance will influence in the same way human and animal body, therefore, the explanation of CBD having relatively the same effect may have caused the nearly identical perception of CBD for human and dog use.
However, even if this was the case and the explanation caused the similarity of result, no misleading information has been provided due to the effects being, indeed, very similar and potentially equal.
Coming to the question of awareness of CBD amongst Czech dog owners, slightly different results were obtained from the quantitative and qualitative research. According to the results, less of the participants of the online survey have previously at least heard of CBD, whereas in the qualitative research, almost all of the respondents have previously heard of the substance. Based on the analysis of this difference, it has been concluded that the difference could be, and probably indeed should be, attributed to the slightly different structure of the respondents’ sample, as for the quantitative research higher number respondents from the age groups above 45 and 55 years old participated.
Second possible explanation of such difference is the agent of chance however, the first presented option is more probable.
General awareness of CBD was defined for the purpose of this thesis as that the participant of the research has at least heard of the substance before.
However, the awareness proved to not mean as much within the question of depth of the respondents’ knowledge. This question has been further discussed during the in-depth interviews where was uncovered, that most of the respondents had a rough idea of the topic but lacked deeper knowledge as to be able to say for what and how can CBD be used.
Therefore, the conclusion of the above findings would be that the Czech potential customers for CBD for dogs must be educated about its effects and uses, rather than just about its existence, which suggests that the communication strategy and advertising of the company should be
So far, most of the participants of the research are not fully convinced to use CBD but neither are they against the idea. This, for the company advantageous, position is probably given by the recent development and popularization of the CBD industry which is starting to evolve and the customers are staring to be more aware of the substance, not so much about its effects though.
Hence, the advertising content of the company could be based on the clinical studies, which received a very high support as a factor that could convince dog owners to use CBD for their dogs. Actually, same claim is valid also for products for personal needs and to be used by people. This finding has been slightly surprising due to the fact that various clinical studies for both, people and dogs, are publicly available. What this says about the potential customers is that they are not pro-actively searching for the information, for unidentified reasons. Nevertheless, supplying the target audience with the relevant, expert information proved by said scientific studies appears to be the second most important factor and option for attracting the customer and persuading him to purchase the product.
The studies as an encouraging factor have been repeated during the research many times, however, the unambiguously most popular factor that would convince dog owners, remains the veterinarians, professionals in pet health.
This opinion was by far the most popular one in the survey as well as in the interviews, where four participants admitted that they are quite likely to discuss the topic of CBD use for their pet with their veterinarian prior to the purchase or would directly purchase it from the pet health medical professional (as a result of the interview). Other five would also be open to the idea of discussion of the topic with the vet to see if he/she would confirm the positive effects of the substance and approve it as a supplement for their dog.
Hence, lacking the support from veterinarians is one of the main pain-points that need to be eliminated in order to convince the target audience nearly fully about CBD being the right solution for their dog.
Also, during the interviews it has been identified that mostly all of the owners of dogs with medical or behavioural issues that could be treated or healed by CBD, would be open to the option of trying the product to achieve an improvement in their dogs, proving the great potential of the yet only tapped market which is almost ready to be exploited (without the negative connotation to the word).
The above stated is valid even though the price of the product is relatively high for many of the dog owners, as has been proved by the research. However, paying the price of Releaf for a veterinary supplement after veterinarian’s
advice and recommendation of the product, seems to be bearable and realistic for most dog owners, as the research showed.
Last topic which got a lot of attention during the research, especially the qualitative part, was also one of the main questions of the thesis. It was the perception of CBD products which would be advertised as containing THC.
During the desk research it has been found out that many competitors often do not say if the product contains THC or not. In other cases, the product description sometimes contains the information about the product being a full-spectrum one, however, a person who is not quite familiar with the topic does not know the meaning of full-spectrum, meaning THC-containing.
On the other hand, as also proved by the research, companies who act so do it in their best interest, as from the questionnaire, 50% of potential customers for dog CBD brands would be discouraged by this information (THC as an ingredient) being used in the advertisement. Hence, it is possible to conclude that the recommended way of advertising would definitely be without talking about the THC in the oil.
Even though the attitude to THC is rather negative in the Czech Republic and it is generally referred to and talked about as drug, in contrast, the general attitude to CBD, its products and other cannabis products is quite affirmative, fortunately for the brand.
4 Recommendations/strategies suggested based on the research
Through combination of desk research with quantitative and qualitative research performed, the author was able to build a complex picture of the industry and the Czech market, same as a picture of the potential customers (Czech dog owners) and their current mindset, opinions and openness to the subject of CBD. Based on this picture, recommendations for the direction of the marketing strategy of Releaf For Pets will be provided.
As it has been understood by the author that the focus of the thesis should be mostly on B2C marketing, corresponding recommendations and ideas will now be discussed in this part of the thesis.
Throughout the thesis, an analysis of the company, the industry and the company in the corresponding industry has been performed in order to understand its attributes and position. It has been uncovered, that many brands offering CBD products for pets on the market are Czech. Those companies who are in fact Czech and so is their product, rely on and promote their origin country to the customer. Country of origin may seem as a factor not that important for promotion, but the reality is that it can be very well used, especially if the origin serves as proof of quality, which is the case for Releaf For Pets. The product is of a Swiss formula. Switzerland, being a notorious example of quality and precision, gives the product a great option of promotion, emphasising the Swiss background. Hence, the marketing of the brand should be built around the idea of high quality of the product and precision of the production process. Furthermore, in the context of communication, emphasis could be put on the Swiss origin and elements associated with Switzerland like red colour or the typical white cross on red background such as the Swiss flag. Another option of association to Switzerland could be slogans or texts used in promotion. An example of such can be a metaphor of the organism or body of the dog functioning perfectly as a Swiss watch, if using Releaf products of Swiss quality. Such option could be used due to the established saying ‘working like a Swiss watch’ in the Czech language and the association it triggers in people’s minds, i.e., working very well, without missing a beat (which could be another metaphor for the English promotional communication).
The quality of the product, together with the veterinary certification it has been awarded, are definitely something that should be communicated to the potential customer. During the competitor analysis, it has been observed that
companies often publish the laboratory results or other certificates they have at hand in the section of information about the product. This approach would be recommendable for Releaf For Pets as well, especially due to being one of only a few products actually having the veterinary supplement certification.
From the competitor analysis performed, it has been identified that various of the other players on the market also have a blog section on their website, or at least an FAQ section. Normally, this is a way of communicating to the customer that CBD is not just a substance to be used in dog healthcare, but it also triggers the idea of ‘CBD lifestyle’ supported by articles and posts connected to CBD and to many other topics. Generally, the blogs talk about the health benefits of CBD, new studies conducted, breakthroughs in the field or other products with CBD. Therefore, a blog section on the company’s website could also be an option of further educating and informing the customer and attracting him to the website. Furthermore, a newsletter sent out on a regular basis is also an option, however this already requires regularly generated content, also requiring more dedication invested into the company. Worth adding is then also the fact, that companies who usually invest in these activities have a wider portfolio of products which can be promoted through these efforts. Hence this option is evaluated as a potential future activity, rather than one worth implementing currently. For the time being, adding an FAQ section to the website has been concluded to be sufficient.
In relation to more detailed information about the products, it would be recommended to also publish a guide on dosage of the product when administering to pets and on administration. As has been mentioned during one of the interviews, a current user of CBD drops had difficulties finding the information on dosage of a certain product, which resulted to be quite annoying. Also, during the competitor analysis it has been identified, that many competitors do publish instructions on dosage and even provide calculators for the right dosage based on the dog’s weight. Instructions on administration, as to how actually give the drops to the dog (directly into mouth) should also be added to the website in order to make the administration easier for the new customer who may be a new user without previous experience with the product.
Talking about the company website, it has been identified that it is only available in the Czech language. Therefore, one of the recommendations would be to also provide a translation into English, so that also foreign visitors can navigate the website easily and have the chance to get information about the company/product, or even purchase the product.
Hereabove, it is talked about the website from the point of view of the customer who already got to the page. This is currently possible through domain cbdpropsa.cz. However, the brand name is Releaf For Pets and its accounts on social media can be found under the name @releaf4pets. Hence, it would be recommended to also purchase a domain releaf4pets.cz, potentially also releaf4pets.com to make it easier for an interested customer to reach the website and e-shop. (Note: It has been verified and both of the suggested domains are currently available for purchase.)
In order to actually attract the customer to visit the website, it would be desirable to engage more in SEO or even paid Google ads. An experiment has been conducted through Google search, entering words leading to the brand, but only very specific keywords returned, as one of the options, the website of the company.
Nowadays, presence of a brand or company on the Internet through having a website is not sufficient anymore. Great part of population is also present on social media where they spend significant amounts of time. Releaf For Pets is present on Facebook, where it has a Facebook page set up, with slightly over 300 subscribers. It has been identified that there is not much consistence in maintaining the Facebook page, as the posts has been irregular and with a long period of inactivity. Therefore, consistency of management of the page would be recommendable.
Speaking of the topic of social media, another highly popular network in the Czech Republic is Instagram and as previously identified, many of the competitors established their presence also there, now having hundreds, some even thousands, of subscribers. From the competitor analysis chapter, it is apparent that usually, competitors’ Instagram accounts have a lot more popularity and consequently attention, based on the number of followers.
From Instagram research, a page of Releaf For Pets has been found, however it does not have any followers or activity yet. Therefore, engaging in this social media would also be highly recommended, as Instagram is a platform providing more opportunities of promotion.
As has been hinted in the paragraph above, there are other ways of using (especially) Instagram as a business tool. The option is collaboration with popular members like celebrities and bloggers or influencers, which are present mostly on Instagram. As Releaf For Pets is relatively new on the Czech market, celebrity collaboration is probably not an option yet, therefore Instagram collaboration could be an option. As has been identified in the competitor analysis, the competition is also engaging in said activity.
Objectively, such activity is a good way how to reach the target population due
to the focus of the influencer and interests of the people following him/her. As the product to be potentially promoted is Releaf, influencers whose content is highly related to dogs or are dogs (some accounts are handled as a profile of a dog directly) would be the ideal for collaboration. Some of the collaboration options could be: @cairo_shiba_inu, @smoothcollie_balty or
@pugrasputinandcharly or similar. In the examples mentioned, the focus has been on finding dogs of higher age, which is the case of the last two options.
These are representants of the sub-segment A from the suggested segmentation which can be found in the chapter 2.3.2. In contrast, the first example of Instagram profile for possible collaboration is a representant of the sub-segment B from suggested segmentation.
Nowadays, businesses are present on social media and so are medical professionals or even hospitals, in particular veterinarians and veterinary hospitals. Such collaboration could potentially also be an option for Releaf For Pets and based on the research performed in the chapter 3, this option should be a success for the brand, due to the credibility and validity of veterinarian’s opinions and recommendations.
As social media is a topic receiving a lot of attention, not only due to its potential in generating profits, often, companies opt for social media professionals to handle their accounts. In case Releaf For Pets would like to pursue the path of major promotion through social media, it would be recommendable to hire or at least get advice from a professional in this area, as to how to handle social media promotion and campaigns, as doing so wrongly can easily turn a campaign or promotion attempts into a failure.
So far, the products are available on the company’s own e-shop and through a few other e-shops and veterinarians’ offices. An area not yet discovered or dived into are physical retail stores, as in pet stores. On one hand, there are still many customers purchasing pet products physically, however, when discussed during the in-depth interviews, the respondents said that they are purchasing pet products mostly online. Therefore, the option of entering retail stores with the product cannot be assessed as recommended so far but in case of interest, further research should be conducted prior to opting to do so.
Last commentary to the B2C promotion is derived from the result of one of the research areas questions of the thesis. It concerns THC as an aspect of promotion of the product. Based on the research findings and negative connotations the respondents expressed, it is implied that stressing out the fact that Releaf contains small amount of THC is not the way to success. Neither is denial, as the product indeed contains it, however, it should be rather
The above, practical recommendations concern the B2C marketing of the brand. However, as has been identified through the research performed, the B2B segment (veterinarians) is extremely attractive and hides a lot of
The above, practical recommendations concern the B2C marketing of the brand. However, as has been identified through the research performed, the B2B segment (veterinarians) is extremely attractive and hides a lot of