Mkt571: Segmentation and Target Market Paper- Tractor Supply Company

Segmentation and Target Market Paper: Tractor Supply Company

MKT571

October 5, 2015

Segmentation and Target Market Paper: Tractor Supply Company

Tractor Supply Company (TSC) started in 1938 as a mail order catalog company that expanded into retail stores serving rural communities. TSC grew into a company that is NASDAQ traded on the stock exchange. Headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, the company consists of 1400 retail locations in 49 states (Tractor Supply Company", 2015). According to the company’s official website, “TSC’s product list includes: Clothing & Footwear; Dog, Cat & Pet Supplies; Trailers & Accessories; Lawn and Garden Supplies; Propane & Heating Supplies; Tools & Gun Safes; Fencing Welders & Welding Supplies; Lawn Mowers & Power Generators” (‘Tractor Supply Company", 2015).

TSC’s mission statement is to “work hard, have fun, and make money by providing legendary service and great products at everyday low prices..: (Tractor Supply Company", 2015). To promote TSC’s goals of providing legendary service and low priced products; marketing must first identify the segment and target market for their service.

Demographic Segmentation

To develop a marketing strategy for Tractor Supply; the marketing department must examine the segmentation, targeting, and positioning (STP) of the company (Kotler & Keller, 2012). Segmentation requires TSC to look at Demographics of the market they serve. Tractor Supply is a rural community supplier and would target farming or ranching families as a whole but lean more to the middle-aged between 45-60 age ranges. This age group heads the households and leads the management of their farms or ranches. The family sizes will vary to the size of the farm or ranch in which they operate. Larger farm communities may experience larger family sizes. Even though some of the products sold by TSC are gender non-specific, TSC will promote their products for the male gender as automobile manufacturers do for their truck lines. According to the US Department of Agriculture, the average income of a farm in 2004 was $81,000. The farm income is approximately $20,000 more than the net income of an average household in the US ($60,500) ("U.S. Department of Agriculture: Farm Bill Summary", 2004). The demographic segment identifies targeting middle-aged male, 55.3 years old; head of household of a mid-size family of 4-6 members with average income around $80,000. Next marketing will need to examine the geographic segment.

Geographic Segmentation

The rural communities that Tractor Supply serves are normally located