FROM VISION TO BUSINESS

The Rocky Pet

Like many businesses, The Rocky Pet started as personal motivation. In this case, it was the emotional connection that the entrepreneur founders had with their dog, Rocky. Just like them, The Rocky Pet wanted to enable other dog owners like them to express their love to their dog companions through dog bandanas.

DAVID AND GOLIATH

competing with Amazon and Chewy

Entering the matured dog accessories market was challenging when they started their business. The Rocky Pet was competing with behemoths like Amazon and Chewy. Despite being a good product, it would be a battle hard to win if they continue selling just with product features. If The Rocky Pet wanted to be a viable business, it needed to find a way to differentiate itself from its competitor.

INCONSISTENCY

while talking to consumers, retailers, and partners

In addition to the lack of differentiation with the direct consumers, The Rocky Pet also had multiple faces, such as wholesale retailers and business partnerships. As a result, the internal team was constantly confused because talking and convincing direct customers differed from talking to the Retailer or Business Partners. As a result, all the communication was inconsistent, creating distrust in the business and ultimately missing the opportunity to grow and differentiate in the market.

THE TIPPING POINT

investment money was on the line

After multiple failed attempts to solve the problem internally and wasting money with unqualified freelancers claiming to solve the problem with just visual designs, like the visual expression of branding (logo, color palette, fonts) or UX/UI, The Rocky Pet decided it was time for change. As business owners in Moox, we understand the frustration of wanting to accomplish a vision with limited time and resources. Particularly the pressure of doing things right after getting a significant cash influx through investments.

THE REAL PROBLEM

design doesn't solve business problems

Like many of our clients, The Rocky Pet was not experiencing a design problem; it was experiencing a positioning and consistency problem. To solve this, we did an in-depth search within the company. We examined the leadership business goals, expansion goals, employees’ goals, stockholders’ goals, the competition, and their customers’ goals, to find the commonalities and create a bridge.

HOW TO MAKE PEOPLE PAY FOR FREE THINGS?

find who is willing to pay

In a saturated market littered with competitors, we found that most competitors provided customers with the same cute, feminine style and treated the dog as a baby. In addition, 1 in 5 Americans adopted a dog during the pandemic leading to many male dog owners and other owners that treat their dog like a companion instead of a baby without options. The market accentuated the problem as the dog bandana is often given for free by dog groomers or is considered a low-quality, cheap product. These difficulties leave affluent dog owners without many options to treat their dogs with quality products.

NEW POSITION, NEW HORIZONS

opportunity without competition

As a result, we repositioned the company as a premium dog bandana for bold dog owners to cease the market opportunity. But more importantly, we extracted The Rocky Pet from the fierce competition battleground and placed it into one environment where they were the sole provider.

UNIFYING DIFFERENCES

multiple interests, same goal

With the right differentiator, there was enough ammunition to communicate the company’s value to the customers, retailers, and partners. However, they all have different goals. We found consumers wanted to express themselves with their dogs. Retailers wanted to provide unique products to attract more clients and compete with big store retailers. Finally, partners wanted to strengthen their valuable association with like-minded partners.