CASE STUDY
Tractor Supply
Business Situation:
185 stores; $384 million in revenues; growth stagnant.
Stock had declined from $22 to $8 after initial public offering.
Focus entirely on farm segment – “Fulfilling maintenance needs of farmers and ranchers.”
Customer mix was 75% male, 25% female.
Strategic Insight:
Analyzed 1.3 million unique customer records, each PRIZM clustered and appended to longitude and latitude to identify and understand retail trade areas.
Conducted Brand Journaling with current and potential customers - built fences, planted gardens, cut grass, worked outside, visited stores.
Research team examined extensive Yankelovich customer study.
Through the above activities, the following strategic insights were uncovered:
A rapid change had occurred in Tractor Supply’s customer mix via a “Rural Revolution” lifestyle choice.
Passion for the land – not farming – was uniting customers and highest performance stores.
The brand would be re-positioned to harness these evolving business dynamics.
The customer base would be rethought according to a shared passion among customer groups and also store associates.
This shared passion was identified as taking care of the land or what we termed, “The Land Gene.”
A revolutionary new customer segmentation model would be created from these insights.
A site selection model would also be born within the strategy to maximize system sales, minimize cannibalization and provide guidance for both new acquisitions and organic store growth.
Brand Fluency
Brand: Tractor Supply Company
Brand What: Supplies for the Land Lifestyle
Brand Why: Enabling the lifestyle of anyone with a passion for taking care of the land.
Brand Promise: If you love the land, you’ll love this store.
Results:
Grew concept from 185 to 485 stores.
Growth from $384 million to $1.2 billion in revenues.
Pre-split stock equivalent of $80.
Acquired primary competitor.
Evolved customer composition to 50% male, 50% female.
Secured unique passion-retailing niche.
Realized true brand culture – internal and external.
Fully integrated campaign across diverse media utilizing $25 million in annual vendor Marketing funds.
Campaign:
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