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 Three -  From an Ag dealer's perspective, what's important to their customers? 

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.

Dealers see their local name and reputation as the greatest driver in bringing customers through their door.

Our research so far has focused on the dealers’ perceptions of tractor brands and the important elements of a dealer-manufacturer relationship.  This week we asked dealers to rate from 1 to 5 the greatest influencer for bringing customers into their dealerships (1=least influential, 5=most influential). This is not only useful for dealerships, but also provides a valuable insight for manufacturers from a sales & marketing perspective, in order to assist their dealer networks. 

Out of the 48 dealers surveyed, it was surprising to learn that in a digital age, word-of-mouth or more specifically, a dealers’ local name & reputation, was viewed by 96% of individuals as the greatest sales influencer. As an agency that has close relationships with the end user of tractors (e.g. farmers), the feedback we have received supports this claim in that they will only buy from dealers who they have a good relationship with, and who also have a good reputation.  The brands that particular dealer’s stock is secondary in their purchasing decision, with 84% of individual dealers rating this as a significant sales driver.

Additionally, it was interesting to learn that digital advertising through directories such as Yell and the Dealership’s own website were given a score of 4 or more by only 20% of dealers. 45% of dealers still view their offers as one of the greatest drivers for sales, compared with local events (of which only 34% of individuals gave this a score of 4 or more). Manufacturers can assist dealers with local events (in terms of sales collateral), but they can also assist dealers by helping them to make their offers more attractive (through providing extras such as added warranty or included accessories) 

The biggest digital marketing influencer was social media, with 34% of individuals giving this a score of 4 or more - another area where manufacturers can assist with, providing digital assets for social media content.

This page will be updated with our next instalment over the next week.  If you would like reminders then follow us on Twitter or Facebook (just click icons at top of page to follow) and please tell your colleagues if you feel they might benefit from this insight.