Insight is at the heart of everything we do at TAP. We have made it our business to understand the world of agriculture and to stand out as an agency with compelling content at its heart. Our latest fact finding mission has seen us commission some research amongst UK machinery dealers (agriculture and ground care) regarding their opinions and perceptions about the market and brands.

Part Four - What’s important to dealers of different ages?

The tractor market has seen ups and downs over the last few years with new players entering and it is fair to say disrupting the market.

Dealers are that crucial connection with the customer and we will be sharing this unique research with you over the coming month or so and findings will be posted below. The data was collected via a survey through Service Dealer Magazine earlier this year which sampled feedback from 48 dealership organisations across the UK.

A summary document of the findings will be available from TAP.
Register Below to recieve the FREE summary document in July.

Ag dealers aged 30-40 & 50+ rate Fendt as their top tractor brand.

When choosing different brands to stock, dealers of all ages are faced by a number of determining factors. This week’s research focuses on the age split of our Ag dealer survey, and the age related tractor brand perceptions for quality, innovation, after-sales support, and value for money. 

The survey was open to all & was not aimed at any age group specifically, so the number of respondents from different age groups may not reflect the overall industry age split. However, it was interesting to learn that 50% of all respondents were over the age of 50, whilst only 6% were in the lowest age bracket of 20-30 years old. 

In terms of brand perception, Fendt was rated highly by dealers above the age of 30, compared with Kubota, which was rated highest in all categories for Ag dealers between the ages of 20-30.

In our previous instalments to this research, we also looked at certain aspects of the dealer-manufacturer relationship, and what Ag dealers rate as the highest. Interestingly, when looking at the responses across different ages we found that for younger dealers (between ages of 20-40) a manufacturer's approach wasn’t rated highly. Instead these age groups were more heavily driven by price and the overall range of products a manufacturer has to offer.

This could suggest that more senior Ag dealers see greater value in the overall relationship with a manufacturer (which could stem from a long standing brand loyalty), as opposed to focusing on the economic benefits. The lowest rated score for after-sales support between 20-30 year olds was only 1 out 5, compared with the lowest average in all other age groups of 2.2. 

When asking younger dealers what they view as their greatest driver for bringing customers through their doors, their local name and reputation was rated highest. Interestingly, 30-40 year olds value the type of tractor brand they stock as more important than their name & reputation. This could be attributed to 30-40 year olds own personal stocking considerations, where brand perception was rated highly.

Additionally, it was interesting to learn that Dealers over the age of 50, didn’t view traditional advertising (local & press) as a significant driver in bringing customers through their doors, suggesting that there is a shift in how dealers are approaching their customers - if we had undertaken this research 10 years ago, the importance of digital marketing channels might not be as prominent.

We have now reached the final installment in our Ag dealer research so don't forget to Register Below to recieve the full summary report soon, or if you've missed anything then please take a look at our other 3 tractor blog posts from the past month.