Introduction
Most firms face numerous challenges when it comes to meeting the demands of customers. This forces firms to seek marketing approaches that will ensure that the company remains afloat in the ever-competitive market. TSC is one company that believes in its customers and it has for many years focused on offering satisfactory services and products. TSC calls itself a growing company, and they have always focused on increasing traffic and sales through constant improvements. In that regard, they usually focus on investing in all aspects of business, not just selling and making a profit. They always want customers to be happy, satisfied, and motivated to come back again (Calloway, 2009). It is clear that TSC is well poised since it invests in an evolving retail space, backed through its various store growth initiatives, omnichannel efforts, ONETractor plan, and several attractive reward programs (Sehgal, 2011). The company’s shares also show unprecedented growth over the past years, which makes it an attractive investment option. With the best marketing strategies, the company stands a chance to witness further momentum while remaining competitive in the industry. This study provides the most important aspect of the business, which is customer relation.
Background of the Company
Tractor Supply Company was started on December 2, 1982, and it is an operator of rural lifestyle retail stores within the United States (Calloway, 2009). The firm focuses on supplying the needs of recreational farmers, ranchers, small businesses, and tradesmen among others. It focuses also on selling products that aim at supporting rural lifestyle. In all its branches, it aims at operating retail stores under its umbrella Tractor Supply Company, Farm Supply, Del’s Feed, Petsense, and operates Websites under the names: Ptsense.com and TractorSupply.com. Most of its stores are situated in rural communities and towns outlying metropolitan markets. By December 31, 2016, it had 1738 operational stores in 49 states. These 1595 Tractor Supply and Del’s retail stores and 143 Petsense retail stores (Bauer, 2015). This firm’s selection of merchandise has numerous products categories such as pet, livestock, small animal products, truck, towing tools, hardware, garden items, lawn mowers, work clothing, footwear, maintenance products, and agricultural products for rural use among others. It has distribution facilities in Maryland, Arizona, Texas, Georgia, Washington, Nebraska, and Indiana. As the largest retail store chain of rural lifestyle products in the United States, it uses a strategy that offers convenient shopping experience anywhere, anytime, and anyway the clients choose.
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Business Strategy
The company has a business strategy that focuses on sales and earn growth, which is broken down into the following essential components:
Market Niche
TSC identified a specialized market niche whereby it offers the lifestyle needs of entertaining farmers, ranchers, and other people interested in a rural lifestyle. It also focuses on providing services to tradesmen and small businesses. In so doing, they have an assortment of products that meet the fundamental customer needs. This makes the company remain differentiated from general merchandise, home centers, and other specialty retailers. The company also caters for the rural lifestyle while serving a market through being a trip consolidator for numerous basic maintenance needs for rural clients, farmers, and ranchers.
Customer
The company targets customers who own homes, farms, and livestock and are above average and below average income earners. Considering the cost of living of the customers remains an integral tool in assisting the company to meet its objectives as well as that of its clients. In that regard, the company has always sought to serve its customers based on their primary lives in towns and in rural communities. It also has a huge customer base that comprises of ranchers, those who enjoy the rural lifestyle, tradesmen, farmers, ranchers, and other small business owners.
Customer Services
The company aims at providing its huge pool of customers with reliable product availability and high level of in-store services. These services are offered by well trained, motivated, and team members who have the interest of the clients at heart. The company believes in the capability of the store team members to provide responsive, friendly, and seasoned advisory services to the customers (Eddy, 2014). The company also engages with the customers through the company’s e-commerce website known as TractorSypply.com, which offers the opportunity for clients to shop at a convenient time. It further maintains its customers by offering solutions to their problems through their Store Support Center situated in Brentwood, Tennessee to assist their in-store and online customers. The company holds the belief that this excellent customer service is a way of promoting strong customer relationship, loyalty, which makes them come back for more products and services. Firms that emphasize the need to satisfy its customers always thrive and TSC is not an exception. It uses a third-party provider to measure our level of customer service and satisfaction. This process is instrumental because it allows customers to offer feedback on their shopping experience. The data collected by the third-party provider shows customer satisfaction scores to excel at all times. The company also evaluates the customers’ feedback, which helps the company to implement improvements at various levels of business.
Customer Relationship and Online Marketing Strategy
Tractor supply made a specialty in the market, driven by its expansive collection of items that are customized to meet local and geographic needs of different customers. It offers a wide cluster of stocks that are aimed at meeting the varying demands of customers. Tractor Supply's drive is based on numerous issues such as the development of store base and fuse of mechanical headways to initiate traffic, which is the key income drivers. The organization stays on track to accomplish long haul local store development focus of 2,500. In second-quarter 2018, Tractor Supply opened 25 stores and 3 Petsense stores. Year to date, it has propelled 40 namesake and seven Petsense stores, along these lines, staying on track to achieve the objective of opening 80 leader stores and 20 Petsense stores in 2018 (Calloway, 2009).
For so many years, the organization picked up from its attention on effectively control inventories to limit the effect of climate on its business and profit by regular interest. Concerning this, it is concentrating on the improvement of IT frameworks and inventory network. It is likewise attempting to strike a harmony among activities and interests in the organization’s stores and appropriation focuses, with severe cost disciplines and operational efficiencies.
Tractor Supply's “ONETractor” activity went for associating store and web-based shopping is a key advance in coordinating its physical and computerized tasks. Thus, the organization is receiving rewards from its ‘Purchase Online Pick Up in Store’ program while it keeps on extending it's Neighbor's Club client rewards program (Eddy, 2014). The executives anticipate that both of these techniques should assume a noteworthy job in boosting the top line. It additionally expects long haul results to profit by the organizations portable POS and stockyard activities. Additionally, following a strong second-quarter 2018, Tractor Supply's playful viewpoint for 2018 drives positive thinking. Notably, the organization has conveyed income and deals beat in three out of the trailing four quarters. Further, it imagines profit per offer of $4.10-$4.20, up from $3.23 in 2017 (Eddy, 2014). Surely, Tractor Supply looks solid in the midst of changing the retail scene. The organization's drives offer noteworthy development potential in the not so distant future.
Research Methodology
This study used a mixed approach, which includes both qualitative and quantitative approaches. This is essential since it helps in understanding the sustainability Tractor Supply Company. This is an important approach because it highlights the most vital aspect of the business, which is the customers’ attitude and actions. To ensure that the company offsets the weaknesses and draw on the strengths based on the qualitative and quantitative approaches. Many researchers have criticized the idea of combining the above two research approaches, however; the integrated approach remain unharmonious (Calloway, 2009). Nonetheless, from a technical perspective, it is apparent that data collection and analysis approaches can be fused to achieve the desired results. Adopting this approach is instrumental in helping tractor Supply Company to understand comprehensive account on various issues essential for business sustainability. In the process, using the qualitative approach is important since it assist business utilize numerical evidence.
Research Objectives
The main objectives of this study are that it aims at investigating the relationship between the company and its huge customer base. It also highlights the several issues that are an impediment to the success of Tractor Supply Company. By focusing on sustainable business practices, this research aimed at analyzing the company’s different approaches to managing a business in the best way possible. Finally, it also aimed at highlighting the role of technology in the competitive world of business. This is important because it helps in attaining the goals of the business (Calloway, 2009).
Main Findings
The findings clearly indicate that Tractor Supply Company has improved its use of numerous sustainable business practices to improve its relationship with customers. This remains an important aspect of business in today’s business climate. From this study, it is clear that at least two-thirds of businesses thrive when the customer is their focus. By focusing on meeting the demands of their customers has been instrumental in improving the company’s performance. The research also found out that the company’s economic sustainability has been essential and it is the reason behind its survival in the competitive market. The technological advancement is another vital aspect that ensures that the company remains afloat in the ever competitive market. Tractor Supply Company uses numerous strategies that aim at improving its online platform. This has been instrumental in ensuring that its technology is accepted in the market. Additionally, the study affirms that through the company’s online platform, they have assisted many of their customers inquiring on a number of issues (Bauer, 2015).
Analysis
The analysis of the Tractor Supply Company shows that it has been a successful company. It aims at meeting the demands of the customers and this has been instrumental in allowing it to remain afloat in the competitive market. The company also has focused a number of technological development that enhances the manner in which it relates to its customers. By employing a customer-oriented strategy, the company has recorded growth since its inception. This has been an integral aspect of ensuring that the firm’s online platform helps it achieve growth at all levels.
Conclusion
It is evident that Tractor Supply Company remains the largest firms and a leading organization within its industry. One of the most vital aspects that have helped it attain a high level of growth is that it upholds its dominant position through judiciously scrutinizing its marketing strategies. This has helped the company to progress well in the online market where its customers can get products wherever they are. TSC remains a major long-time specialty retailer, which is evolving at a higher pace (Thomson, 2010). For decades, the company focuses on selling agricultural supplies to its farmers. Currently, it has augmented its operations to include hardware services and home center to individuals who love the rural lifestyle. From the discussion above, it is evident that TSC will become one of the greatest companies because its growth seems to have augmented. Additionally, customer relation has been an integral aspect of the company’s growth through sustainable business practices. It continues to boom since it has focused on penetrating into new markets. By assisting their customer and developing a great customer relationship, TSC will remain successful in handling its large retail operations.
References
Bauer, C. (2015). Better ethics now: How to avoid the ethics disaster you never saw coming! . Nashville, Tenn: Aab-Hill Business Books.
Calloway, J. (2009). Becoming a category of one: How extraordinary companies transcend commodity and defy comparison . Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons.
Eddy, N. (2014). Work hard, have fun, make money: The Tractor Supply story . Brentwood, Tenn: Tractor Supply Co.
Sehgal, V. (2011). Supply chain as a strategic asset: The key to reaching business goals . Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.
Thomson, D. G. (2010). Mastering the 7 essentials of high growth companies: Effective lessons to grow your business . Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.
