Introduction to Negotiation Strategy
At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Negotiation Strategy and other business case study solution. Pets.com Inc.: Rise and Decline of a Pet Supply Retailer case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Omar Merlo. The Pets.com Inc.: Rise and Decline of a Pet Supply Retailer (referred as “Pets.com Marketing” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship. It also touches upon business topics such as - negotiation strategy, negotiation framework, Growth strategy, Marketing.
Negotiation strategy solution for case study Pets.com Inc.: Rise and Decline of a Pet Supply Retailer ” provides a comprehensive framework to analyse all issues at hand and reach a unambiguous negotiated agreement. At Oak Spring University, we provide comprehensive negotiation strategies that have proven their worth both in the academic sphere and corporate world.
What’s my BATNA (Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement) – my walkaway option if the deal fails?
What are my most important interests, in ranked order?
What is the other side’s BATNA, and what are his interests?
The case follows the rise and decline of Pets.com from its inception in 1994 until 2000. It starts with a look at the birth of Pets.com, followed by a discussion of the market, consumer behaviour and key competitors. It then focuses on Pets.com's business strategy and marketing mix. The case study provides the basis for class discussion of a number of key issues, including but not limited to a) the decision whether to enter a strategic partnership, b) the pursuit of an aggressive growth strategy, c) the design and management of the marketing mix, d) the use of aggressive communication and pricing strategies, and e) brand-building decisions. Pets.com is often cited alongside the Edsel, New Coke, Betamax and others as one of the biggest marketing blunders of all times. As such, students find it a fascinating story. The case study also asks students to reflect on some common challenges faced by organizations, such as entry and survival in a highly competitive market, how to deal with a dominant player, venture capital and entrepreneurial issues, business model design, brand management, marketing mix decisions, and the benefits and perils of a growth strategy. The case has been used successfully in the following courses: a) an MBA elective course dealing with popular marketing mistakes and failures, b) a postgraduate strategic marketing course dealing with growth strategies, c) a marketing management course at the undergraduate level focused on the design and management of the marketing mix, and d) a services marketing module at the undergraduate level on the topic of online marketing.
By interests, we do not mean the preconceived demands or positions that you or the other party may have, but rather the underlying needs, aims, fears, and concerns that shape what you want. Negotiation is more than getting what you want. It is not winning at all cost. Number of times Win-Win is better option that outright winning or getting what you want.
Options are the solutions you generate that could meet your and your counterpart’s interests . Often people come to negotiations with very fixed ideas and things they want to achieve. This strategy leaves unexplored options which might be even better than the one that one party wanted to achieve. So always try to provide as many options as possible during the negotiation process. The best outcome should be out of many options rather than few options.
When soft bargainers meet hard bargainers there is always the danger of soft bargainers ceding more than what is necessary. To avoid this scenario you should always focus on legitimate standards or expectations. Standards are often external and objective measures to assess the fairness such as rules and regulations, financial values & resources , market prices etc. If the negotiated agreement is going beyond the industry norms or established standards of fairness then it is prudent to get out of the negotiation.
Every negotiators going into the negotiations should always work out the “what if” scenario. The negotiating parties in the “Pets.com Inc.: Rise and Decline of a Pet Supply Retailer” has three to four plausible scenarios. The negotiating protagonist needs to have clear idea of – what will happen if the negotiations fail. To put it in the negotiating literature – BATNA - Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement. If the negotiated agreement is not better than BATNA then there is no point in accepting the negotiated solution.
One of the biggest problems in implementing the negotiated agreements in corporate world is – the ambiguity in the negotiated agreement. Sometimes the negotiated agreements are not realistic or various parties interpret the outcomes based on their understanding of the situation. It is critical to do negotiations as water tight as possible so that there is less scope for ambiguity.
Many negotiators make the mistake of focusing only on the substance of the negotiation (interests, options, standards, and so on). How you communicate about that substance, however, can make all the difference. The language you use and the way that you build understanding, jointly solve problems, and together determine the process of the negotiation with your counterpart make your negotiation more efficient, yield clear agreements that each party understands, and help you build better relationships.
Another critical factor in the success of your negotiation is how you manage your relationship with your counterpart. According to “Omar Merlo”, the protagonist may want to establish a new connection or repair a damaged one; in any case, you want to build a strong working relationship built on mutual respect, well-established trust, and a side-by-side problem- solving approach.
According to
Harvard Business Review
, there are three types of negotiators – Hard Bargainers, Soft Bargainers, and Principled Bargainers.
Hard Bargainers – These people see negotiations as an activity that they need to win. They are less focused less on the real objectives of the negotiations but more on winning. In the “Pets.com Inc.: Rise and Decline of a Pet Supply Retailer ”, do you think a hard bargaining strategy will deliver desired results? Hard bargainers are easy to negotiate with as they often have a very
predictable strategy
Soft Bargainers – These people are focused on relationship rather than hard outcomes of the negotiations. It doesn’t mean they are pushovers. These negotiators often scribe to long term relationship rather than immediate bargain.
Principled Bargainers – As explained in the seven elemental tools of negotiations above, these negotiators are more concern about the standards and norms of fairness. They often have inclusive approach to negotiations and like to work on numerous solutions that can improve the BATNA of both parties.
Open lines of communication between parties in the case study “Pets.com Inc.: Rise and Decline of a Pet Supply Retailer” can make for an effective negotiation strategy and will make it easier to negotiate with this party the next time as well.
Omar Merlo (2018), "Pets.com Inc.: Rise and Decline of a Pet Supply Retailer Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.
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