Raising the profile of specialist garden machinery dealers has been a perennial issue for the industry.

I've worked on Service Dealer for 16 years now and it's been a subject which has been discussed throughout my tenure - as of course it was way before my time.

When I first began, it was always 'The Sheds' who were talked about in hushed tones as if they were the bogeyman. The major chains like B&Q and Homebase were the threats who were stealing potential customers with their aggressive pricing policies and massive marketing budgets.

This has changed somewhat now I'd say. Those stores are still there of course, it's just more the online retailers who dealers see as direct opposition with an unfair advantage. Their lack of bricks and mortar premises gives them the potential to discount wildly. Discounts which regular dealerships just can't compete with.

Therefore, in order to remain competitive, dealers more than ever now need to be promoting their expertise and the unique extras they can offer consumers. Letting the public know that independent specialists exist, who can help with purchasing decisions, and most importantly be there with aftersales care, is vital.

It seems most timely then, that the Garden Trader website has been recently launched just in time for the season. Run by the team behind Service Dealer, but with no personal involvement by myself, the site has seen dealers uploading their details during the past couple of weeks, in readiness for the site to be promoted to the public. This will be acheived nationally through Google and Facebook ads and a consumer PR campaign.

I have heard some dealers questioning the amount of products which the site currently has stored in its database. Some were concerned that it wasn't utterly all-inclusive. I spoke to Duncan Murray-Clarke, owner of Garden Trader and Service Dealer, and asked him about this. He said, "We are really grateful for dealers taking the time to contact us and we are collating all feedback on product selection. We are in the process of contacting the manufacturers for the remaining product information. Between us we will have a thoroughly comprehensive website and we will let all listed dealers know as soon as the site product database is updated."

The other query which I've heard raised a couple of times is how much is the site going to cost dealers after this year's initial free period? If dealers have come to rely on the site during the course of 2017 is it going to hit them hard to carry on using it in 2018? Again I asked Duncan and he moved to allay fears. He said, "By the end of the year dealers will be able to see how the site has performed for them as they have their own private stats for their listing as well as a feel during the season if customers have been sent to them via Garden Trader. Regarding the listing fee for 2018, we haven’t set that yet but it will be the case of not breaking the bank. It has got to be viable for our dealers."

However other than these couple of questions I've heard nothing but positive feedback for the site - both from dealers and manufacturers. I think the fact that three major industry companies - Briggs & Stratton, STIHL and Henton & Chattell - were prepared to put their money in and sponsor the site, before it even went live, speaks volumes. With marketing budgets being squeezed across the board, these major players could see the importance of the site and it's potential to attract customers to the specialist dealer trade straight away. I've been told that all the sponsorship revenue generated will be used in promoting the site during this important launch period.

Duncan finished by saying, "Garden Trader has primarily been set up to push our skilled dealer network to the forefront of customer’s minds. With pressures of change being added to the dealer year on year, it is important that the trade has an effective way of being promoted nationally.

"If you have a dedicated garden machinery offering at your dealership and would like to apply to be a selected dealer during this free launch period please visit the site"