“They broke ground in the middle of a field,” says Hanson. The area offered a diverse farm customer base: dairy, beef, cash grain and vegetable producers as well as custom operators.
In 1990, the dealership had its first expansion when it purchased an exist- ing dealership in Watertown. They expanded again in Hartford in 1998, later closing that store and opening a new store in Jackson. They acquired a dealership in Sauk Prairie in 2003, added another store in Columbus in 2008 and earlier this year acquired the location in Salem. However, it was the acquisition in 2000 of the Janesville location that positioned their future success serving rural lifestylers. The location offered opportunities to serve the outlying areas of Janesville and the larger cities of Madison and Milwaukee.
Dedicated Rural Lifestyle Store
The Janesville location originally included an ag equipment store on the edge of Janesville and a small lawn and garden store in the city. Several factors influenced Mid-State’s decision
Rental equipment and mobile service offer new ways to serve existing and potential customers. Mid-State Equipment tracks rental statistics and customer requests to make sure its lineup includes what’s in demand. Mobile service occurs mainly in spring and fall. The staff qualifies requests for mobile service to ensure they are for routine service and equipment preparation and not major equipment repair.
to close the lawn and garden store, which was in a leased facility, and spend $1 million to build a new facility near their ag location.
“We listened to customers and asked what they thought. This impor- tant group was telling us the store wasn’t convenient,” says Frodel. Rural lifestylers were unhappy about having to drive into town. The facility didn’t have the space to allow easy access for commercial customers with trailers.
Taking Care of Customers
Eric Halfman has served Mid-State Equipment as its John Deere territory manager for the last eight years and has watched the growing success of the dealership’s stand-alone rural lifestyler store in Janesville, Wis. He credits two main factors for its success: the rural lifestyle store itself and the team that makes it work. “It’s often intimidating for a smaller equipment customer to walk up to a large ag dealership and see combines and large tractors. That customer wants to feel just as important as a production farmer. When they walk into Mid-State, they already know they are going to be treated with their needs in mind,” Halfman says. “They also have people dedicated to that business. They are trained in
rural lifestyle equipment and can respond to the customers’ needs quickly and more accurately.” Mid-State’s retail expertise also draws in the rural lifestyle customer. “When you walk into some dealers, you see the same things every time. At Mid-State, the repeat customer can drive by or come into the store and see dif- ferent product displays. They do an exceptional job merchandising their equip- ment and products.”
Halfman hears first-hand from Mid-State customers when he visits the dealership or attends its special events.
“I’ve always been confident with their ability to take care of customers.” Finally, Halfman credits the leadership of second-generation owners Bryan Hanson and Chris Frodel. “The team approach they take is very refreshing. They do a really good job communicating with managers and the sales team. They make a concerted effort to continuously look at their business and find better ways to increase cus- tomer satisfaction.”
And, the ag facility on the edge of town needed remodeling.
“Even if we remodeled and did an addition, there wasn’t enough space,” says Hanson. But, they did have space in a parcel just east of the ag store. “It was natural to split off and there was enough business to justify it,” he says.
The decision falls in line with Hanson’s “top three” for a successful dealership.
“First of all, you must have a good location; you have got to be accessible. You must have a nice facility. It has to be inviting and comfortable with clean, well-lit displays. And you must have inventory. People want to get in the seat,” Hanson says.
Hanson and Frodel moved quickly. They acquired the Janesville dealer- ship in March 2000 and by December, they opened the new 11,500 square-foot rural lifestyle store.
Designing the
Customer Experience Mid-State knew they needed to cre- ate a retail experience that was unique for the rural lifestyle customer. “We knew we needed a nice, wel- coming showroom that could accom- modate rental and the offering of lawn and garden. We needed room up front with the ability to expand the shop if need be,” she says.
DEALERSHIP OF THE YEAR SPECIAL REPORT JUNE 2013 RURAL LIFESTYLE DEALER 5
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