This week The Ad Plain (TAP), part of the same group as Service Dealer, held the first of two webinars presenting the results of their 2020 Tractor Insight Survey.

The survey first ran in 2019 and provided a benchmark for this year’s findings. Promoted through Service Dealer, dealers examined the performance of tractor brands stocked, and graded them based on six performance areas including value for money, quality and innovation. Dealers were also asked to rate what the manufacturers offered in terms of aftersales care, marketing and training support.

TAP say they were pleased with the sample size who responded, saying that 63 dealerships took part - which out of an estimated 750 agricultural dealerships in the UK is a decent number (almost 10%) in terms of research engagement. Shaun Cooper, head of insight at TAP said, “We appreciate the time and support provided by dealers, especially during Covid."

The quantitative data was subsequently supported with qualitative phone interviews with dealers, helping the researcher to probe areas in more depth and shared real examples on why their feelings should be incorporated in the results.

Shaun Cooper said, “The report has been created to help brands understand areas servicing dealers would like to see improvement and how these areas compare from one brand to another.”

Shaun continued, “The results proved very interesting, especially in regard to the changing nature of the relationship between dealers and manufacturer resulting from market consolidation, technology and digital marketing. Not surprisingly, the manufacturer’s approach to dealer continues to be number one consideration for dealers on which brand is stocked in their stores.

“We drilled down with further investigation to better understand why, revealing there are some real concerns from the dealer perspective, more so than last year. In essence, many expressed the partnership has shifted over the years from what once existed at a personal level based on mutual business values servicing the local market, to what is now a far more corporate engagement. The emphasis is evolving, especially how technology is affecting operations, the product and marketing.”

To discover all the results which the insight highlighted, you can sign up to receive the report in full for free here. TAP say it’s due to be published within the next few weeks.

If you missed yesterday’s webinar, and you want to delve into the results further, you can sign up here for the next one which will be held on Thursday 6th September.

In the meantime, any questions regarding the results can be directed to Shaun Cooper or Oliver Belt at TAP.