Thanks to everyone who contributed to our EU Referendum survey a couple of weeks back.
We received a record response to it, I guess at least proving that people are starting to become engaged with the debate.
We also received a massive amount of interest in the results we published. We truly believe that our community is always interested to hear the thoughts and opinions of their contemporaries - and if we at Service Dealer can act as the conduit to that, then we are delighted to do so.
That last survey had such an impact in fact, the good people at
Garden Trade News, the magazine for the garden centre trade, got in contact with us, asking if they could repeat our exact same survey and intro in their newsletter - the aim being to compare the results between our two sectors. I believe they are finishing up their survey today so hopefully we should be able to bring you those results next week.
Today though, we'd like your input once again please, to let us know how things are going for your business so far this year - in our annual
Mid-Year Survey.
We've published the results of these in the July/Aug issue of Service Dealer for the past couple of years now, so it's great to be able to have a point of comparison to get an impression of how the UK independent dealer trade are feeling the season is progressing.
In 2015 for example, we reported that 78% of dealers who responded said that their overall business had increased on the previous year. Has this trend continued?
Within this growth it was sales of whole goods which we were told had seen the biggest increase (74% said they were 'up', with 22% saying 'well up'). Parts and service saw a lesser, but still significant increase, with 58% and 51%. We'd love to know if you are seeing similar results during 2016.
Business confidence seemed pretty buoyant last year too. Bear in mind this survey came after the general election, we saw 81% say they were confident or very confident for the rest of the year - this compared to 78% saying the same thing in 2014.
What with the upcoming EU Referendum how are you feeling now? Is the prospect of that affecting your confidence either way?
Also we'd like to know if your staffing levels are different this year and if you are finding new ways to communicate with customers. Last year your own websites were the most popular means of getting your message across to customers - it'll be interesting to find out if this has changed much, what with all the chatter surrounding social media.
And finally, always a fascinating element of these surveys for us and for the readers, is hearing your thoughts on what issues you feel are currently having the biggest effect on your business. Let us know what's really concerning you or making you increasingly frustrated at the moment. Equally if something has cropped up this past year which has really made your business take off in an positive way, tell us about it.
Again I thank everyone in advance for taking a few moments to contribute. We'll publish the results and a selection of your comments in the July/Aug edition of Service Dealer.
