CASE STUDY: BALLANCE AGRI-NUTRIENTS   Background Ballance Agri-Nutrients (Ballance) is the largest manufacturer of fertiliser in New Zealand. The company supplies fertiliser to farmers across the country and achieved a revenue of $471 million in 2005.   Ballance has defined its core business as providing high quality plant nutrients and the provision of expert advice on nutrient use and assisting farmers to manage their ‘nutrient related environmental pressures’.   Problem The fertiliser manufacturer was seeking to grow its market share and develop a sustainable competitive position in the market through offering products and services that farmers find highly attractive and through offering other services that support the core business.   In order to develop the company’s competitive position for the future, Ballance needed to understand and quantify the impact that potential actions and changes would have on this position.   Solution Ballance chose Key Research as their market research company, because of our ability to provide expert advice and to work closely with our clients on a consultative basis.   The aim of our research for Ballance was to define the types of products and services the company should offer and to identify the performance levels of key attributes such as service, price and quality. The overall project was split into two stages, the first being qualitative and the second quantitative. Stage one consisted of discussion groups throughout New Zealand, while stage two was designed as a nationwide quantitative survey to confirm and test initial results on a broad scale.   We tested the target audience’s perceptions regarding expected changes in buying behaviour that may result from identified ‘change drivers’, such as increased environmental pressures, and assessed which product and service elements farmers believe will be attractive in the future.   The insight derived from the analysis enabled Key Research to make firm recommendations to Ballance regarding the design and structure of core business areas to best meet the needs of its current and potential customers. These recommendations on improvements of service offerings, pricing structure and the website design aim to significantly increase sales and cost savings for Ballance.   Success “Key Research’s strategic insights enable us to bring our growth plans forward”, says Graeme Smith, general manager sales and marketing at Ballance.   The insights drawn from the research results are assisting Ballance in developing their key strategies for sustainable growth. As a solid basis for decision making, we provided strategic recommendations to further increase customer acquisition and retention. We were able to identify key areas that the company needs to address in order to meet the future needs and demands of New Zealand farmers and be their primary choice for nutrient purchase and advice.   “The analysts at Key Research understand our business and industry, and are able to provide an expertise that we as a company do not have access to internally”, explains Smith. “They deliver real value to us, not just statistics.”