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The most important, fundamental step in business planning is deciding exactly which market you’re in…..this is the starting point in order to appraise your market and understand it, decide where you’re positioned and then develop strategies which make the most of the opportunities available to you. That’s business. That’s how to succeed.


And there’s lots of good news if you’re in the pet market:

A recent survey of 2,000 UK pet owners* (1,000 dog owners and 1,000 cat owners) revealed that nine out of ten women and eight out of ten men considered their pets as “one of the family” with one in five sharing beds with them! Other revealing statements from the survey which demonstrate the strong emotional bond between owners and their animals include the following:

  • When asked how much they loved their pet, 50% of women and 40% of men gave top scores of 9/10 or 10/10.
  • 85% of respondents said that owning a dog or cat improves their quality of life.
  • Over 50% spend 1-3 hours a day playing with their pets, with one in fifteen spending a massive 3-5 hours a day playing with them.
  • 25% of owners describe their pets as their ‘best friend' (this figure rises to 1/3 amongst 18-25 years olds).


So I guess the next question to consider is whether our love of animals is reflected in the amount of money we actually spend on them? - bearing in mind that this country is only just emerging one of the deepest and most prolonged periods of economic recession in living history. Well, there’s good news there too….

In 2013, the PFMA recorded further growth (4%) in the pet food sector which is now worth a staggering £2.6bn in the UK!

Euromonitor record an overall growth in the pet care market of 4% during 2013, with pet food growing at 4% and pet products by 5%. They comment “pet owners were keen to get the best for their pets, in spite of rising prices observed across all categories”. This is supported by the best performances coming from premium pet food manufacturers, which means that as a nation we are spending more on quality top-end food than ever before.

The future is also bright as pet care is anticipated to grow throughout 2014.

So I guess the nitty-gritty, million-dollar question that vets need to ask themselves, is one of the most fundamental ones, the place to start: The question that needs to be answered before any planning or decision-making takes place is…which market am I in?

Is your business part of the veterinary market or are you in the business of pet care?**


(I know which position I would start from……)


*Survey conducted by PetSafe
** If you’re in the business of pet care, I suggest you subscribe to Pet Gazette, a monthly magazine packed with information and opportunities that vets may capitalise on too.
You may also want to register and list your practices’ services (for free) on vetmart, a new site for ‘everything animal’