Research Report

Langen, Bauer, Thornton

Introduction

Alfred Langen

New Media & Comm. Tech.

Senior

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Jaro Bauer

Industrial Design

Junior

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Chris Thornton

Strategic Communication

Senior

Key Goals For Four Paws

• Increased search engine visibility
• Use of key words important
• Establishment of a relevant presence on social networking sites
• i.e. Facebook, Twitter, etc.
• Increased focus on customer testimonials
• Bolstering public image
• An increased volume of information on bed bugs
• Essentially being a "one-stop" site

Competitor Analysis 1

Bed Bug Inspector, LLC.

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Strengths

• Overall Professional appearance
• Decent use of color choice (similar to Four Paws site/pamphlet actually)
• Very simple website with only four tabs/pages
• Effective use of images and videos
• Information clearly cited (from CDC)
• Clear, Concise argument for canine use in BB detection

Weaknesses

• Lackluster company background information (no sense of how they came to be)
• Website has a sterile, corporate feel to it
• Contact information is very sparse
• No sense of same day service
• Bad for those panicking with an infestation
• Pricing information virtually nonexistent

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Competitor Analysis 2

Buckeye Bed Bug Detection

Strengths

• Logo reveals the offered service
• Decent use of color choice
• Clear site structure
• Photo-slideshow with pictures of BB's, dog and detection process
• Short summary about dog efficiency, services and aims of the company
• Clear separation of information by
• Hierarchy of information
• Pre Bedbug inspection Checklist
• One click to all information

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Weaknesses

• Pre Bedbug inspection Checklist can be found under the Pricing tab?!
• “News section" has nothing current/relevant (ads)
• Contact information on every page (redundant contact tab)
• Facebook & Twitter + Blog
• Promoting “discretion” but will show up in social sphere
• Unclear tab-names like “Benefits”
• discontinuous layout

Competitor Analysis 3

Rose Pest Solutions

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Strengths

• Simple Navigation, Good tab headers
• Sufficient information, clearly stated, blog
• Easy to setup inspection
• Professional
• Readily available contact info

Weaknesses

• Clicking on residential redirects the user
• 1 bed bug page
• Repetitive

Research Summary

Methods

• An online survey
• 19 Total Responders
• 9 Female, 10 Male
• Found that average self-reported bed bug I.Q. was only 3.2
• Internet serves as main source of info

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Research

Summary

Graphs

Research Summary Cont.

Methods

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• Several interviews
• Showed pamphlet & webpage
• Insight into our target audience
• Usability Test
• Site fulfilled user's needs
• Few issues experienced during use

Persona 1

Bryan B.

21 years old

6'3 205 Lbs

Right Handed

Outgoing and calm demeanor

Spends time playing basketball and soccer

Environmental Science Major at OSU

Has not had a BB infestation before, but would use the internet to find out what to do if he did

Comfortable w/ a dog in the home

Would pay $100-200 for detection

Expert Internet and computer user

Online gaming, social networking, and more

Persona 2

Florence D.

53 years old, female

Left Handed

Outspoken at times, but generally calm

Restaurant owner (medium volume)

Had an infestation once before

Called an exterminator in a panicked state,

paid over $1000 for thermal treatment (did not know of cheaper alternative)

Comfortable w/ a dog coming into the business

Would pay $200+ for detection "Any price for peace of mind"

Intermediate level internet/computer user

Mostly email, small amounts of shopping, and news

Strategy

Moving Forward...

• Maintaining your company's focus on consumer's homes will be important in the future as a base for expanding the company
• Forging new relationships with additional clientele will be another key aspect to focus on for continued success
• Similarly, branching out from homes will be important to stay ahead of the competition

Opportunities

• Building contacts with landlords of campus houses, seemingly untapped resource (large market)
• Large scale businesses will provide opportunities for increased income (large buildings, large returns)
• Small to medium businesses might be a more stable option as a complement to consumer homes
• Some form of profit sharing with extermination companies for referrals

Strategy continued...

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Differentiate From Others

• Customer Service
• None of the three competitors we analysed explicitly offered same day service (especially in emergency cases)

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• Privacy
• Only one competitor mentioned privacy

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• Same Day Service

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• Small Business Charm

Affinity

Diagram

Organization & Design

Site Diagram

Wireframe