We’ve been asking for your ideas and thoughts on how we can ensure that our Service Dealer Conference in November really gets to the nub of the Big Question. What’s does the future hold for the independent specialist dealer?

Are we in danger of going the way of fishmongers, book stores and record shops?

First, a huge thank you for a tremendous amount of feedback to a survey, all of which has been most helpful and enlightening.  Training, recruitment, internet trading, succession planning, emissions, and manufacturer relationships have figured strongly as you can imagine.

But perhaps the most striking is the view that much more needs to be done to link dealers in a more cohesive and effective way than at present.

We are a disparate group of stand-alone local businesses, selling different products, in different ways to a largely mature customer base. But there is no cohesion, no linking of OUR brand, no central message being put out to consumers about what we offer and what we stand for.

But without wishing to nick George Osborne’s oft-quoted phrase, “We are all in this together”.

Individual competitors yes, but also competing as a group for consumer awareness at a time of massive change in retail patterns.

Manufacturers and suppliers have a major part to play of course, but what is also clear is that any move towards ‘togetherness’ must come from the dealers themselves.

We’ve been here before of course. When the ‘sheds’ became a powerful force in the 1980s and 1990s, we saw the emergence of dealer marketing groups like Mower City, Mowerland, Green Sword and others.  But they didn’t last, perhaps because they couldn’t decide whether to be a buying group or a marketing group – or more likely that they ran out of steam.

There is a great deal of talent, creative and original thinking amongst the dealer community. From those with experience, but importantly also from those who want to build their future in this small but satisfying industry.

We are on the cusp of another season, so for the moment it will be all hands to the pump – but the views you have given us provide an excellent lead on the content for the Conference in November when we will have more time for reflection, analysis - and action.

Our conference survey is open until Sunday night, please complete if you haven’t already done so.