Dargo said:
I know it may come as a shock, but there are a lot of people who equate price with quality. If you drop your corporate drawers, so to speak, and make your price considerably less, that group of people would dismiss your product as being inferior without giving it a second glance. So, why not advertise and prove that you have a product that competes with Kubota, JD, and CNH rather than just lowering your price?
Some people may blindly associate price with quality but Mercedes and Cadillac have taken a dive because they tried just the snobby price and exclusivity marketing approach you seem to be advocating while Toyota, Honda and others were giving greater value for the buck. I think Kubota is potentially weak in that area (as is JD). You may not be an early adopter (though I know you love HF tools
) and may have chosen a GM over a Toyota back in the early 70's. However there are enough people who will be willing to risk a little to gain a little that the Korean and Indian companies will likely do quite well in the near future and eat into Big Orange and Big Green market share. At least until the Chinese improve their quality and wipe everyone out.
If you recall the situation in the late 60's and through the 70's, Toyota was not selling primarily on quality and they were certainly not selling the Lexus brand. They established their market by building better more reliable cars for less money. I don't think anyone is going to build a more reliable tractor than Kubota, they've pretty much nailed that factor down, but there are a lot of companies that know they can build a tractor for less....with similar if not identical quality. Kubota's main advantage right now, especially for the under 40hp tractors, is in it's dealership network and market coverage. If there were more Mahindra, TYM and Kioti dealerships of the professional type that characterize the Kubota dealerships, Kubota would be losing a lot of business.
And, by the way, the new Hyundai Sonata was rated at or above the Toyota Camry and the Accord as I recall by both CR or C+D. It doesn't really matter who is #1, or #2, because #3 and 4 are now close enough in quality that other factors come into play. That shows how far some of these Korean companies have come in the past few years. Their resale value will increase with time just as Toyota's resale increased over several decades. One marketing tool that Hyundai, Kioti and TYM are using is extending the warranty. Ten years/100,000 mile powertrain coverage on a Hyundai will look real good in the used market six years from now. Similarly Kioti's 4 year warranty is a bonus that comes into play both for current purchasers and the used market (with presumed impact on the resale value).
My original point was not to knock Kubota at all just to point out that other companies have been catching up essentially by building tractors that compete head to head with Kubotas. I was looking for a small Kubota when I started learning about the "other" orange brand. A little investigation showed for the same money I could get more tractor so I did. If I wanted to resell it today I might only come out equal (with buying and selling the Kubota) but so long as I own it I've got more tractor for my money.
