7. MARKETING AND COST ANALYSIS
7.1 Marketing Analysis
The Canine Hunger Forces’ automatic dog feeder will be a feeder designed for all dog lovers.
This product will be for sale worldwide, and our target will be for a range of customers. While
some kennel owners have several dog’s at their care at one time, keeping track of their feeding
habits can become overwhelming. Kennel owners are responsible, and should desire, to give
their clients the optimal dog caring options available. However, while this product is ideal for
multiple dog owners, it is also applicable to those single dog owners who are always on the go.
How is this product applicable to all of the proposed customers? The Canine Hunger Force
automatic dog feeder will implement the use of the internet to keep track of the dog’s feeding
habit. The internet is an existing technology that is used for almost every aspect of a person’s
life, from checking personal e-mail to running a small business. With this technology available,
why not make this technology applicable for pets? From the personal web page given to the
Canine Hunger Force (ECE4007 RP1) 9
client, they will have access to set multiple feeding times for their dog and also monitor its
feeding habits. The use of the internet makes this feeder very intriguing for possible clients.
How does this product compare with those already on the market? Through research, we have
not found a dog feeder that implements the use of the internet in the product. There are some
feeders that allow the user to set the dog’s feeding times and amounts, allowing the owner to
leave, knowing the dog will have food in his or her bowl. We found two different feeders in our
research: Perfect Petfeeder[3] and Petmate Le Bistro Automatic Dog Feeder [4]. The Perfect
Petfeeder has an alarm to let the user know if the hopper is empty, but it should be noted that
these products do not have any way of monitoring a dog’s feeding habits. The proposed feeder
will have a load sensor that will monitor how much food is in the bowl to prevent overflow and
to also monitor consumption amounts. Once each feeding time occurs, the load sensor will
record data that will go to the owner’s web page. This data will help the owner keep up with the
overall health of the dog by monitoring which foods they like and how often they are eating. If
there happens to be a drastic change in food consumption this data will be available to the owner
so that he can take necessary action