Too far away?

[mikepow]

How far would you drive to buy a tractor? We are going to expand our current dealership to include the Kioti brand in the near future. We have 2 options for a location-->

1- Use our existing land (2,000+ acres) which is about 15 minutes out of city limits (pop- 120,000). This has worked great in the past because the overhead is very low and we already own the land. We have, however, been mainly wholesale and have had very few local customers (we havent advertised locally though either).

2- Buy land closer to town to the tune of $10- $15k/acre
and have slightly higher prices but better exposure.

My question- if you knew we were out there (newspaper, tv, billboards, etc) would you make the drive to check us out?

How far did some of you owners drive to find your new toys?

How did you find out about your dealer? Newspaper, TV, internet, etc, or just knew they were there because they had a great location?

Thanks in advance for your help,
Mike

 

[Noland]

I will drive a long way just to look and I would drive back again to buy, if like the place.

I have only been looking for less than a month and I have probably driven 200 miles to look at various dealers.

I am opened minded and have no brand preference/loyalty, so in the end the dealership will probably be the deciding factor.

 

[To20Chris]

15min is nothing! Folks that have a problem driving 15min probably don't live in a rural area, and probably won't need a tractor!

 

[DK35vince]

I for one would definately drive a bit farther for a better price and/or dealer.
I found my best deal (by a considerable margin) 85 miles away, and I liked the dealer.
That is where I purchased.
A closer dealer would be more conveniant, but the distance hasn't really been a problem. If I need something I just call the dealer and it is mailed to the house.

 

[Inspector507]

You've already got the land......save the money from that and use it towards advertising. 15 mins out of town is nothing. Might even pick up the local guys that don't go into town much.

 

[bigtractor]

So often our ads in equipment publications get lost in a sea of confusion or there is always someone with a lost leader special that grabs the glory. Small local sales papers do a good job.
Be visible highway traffic is the best and cheapest. Buying land on a busy Hwy. may be cheaper then a bunch of advertising. I am on a hwy that the last DOT count was 28,000 daily. Most of our sales comes from just being here. The other is having web site references from the manufacturer. People target what they want and search for the dealer.
Just my 2 cents worth,
Dave

 

[mikepow]

If we were on a little larger highway It would be different. We are on a mostly dead end highway that goes to an ugly lake. Our road sees, maybe, 30 cars per day and most of those are people that live at the lake. We are only about 100' from a bigger highway that sees about 200 per day but that is still not great.

Mike

 

[California]

Location is not that important for this market. The important thing is to stay in the public eye, continually. You need a visible presence but it doesn't have to be real estate, it can be a virtual presence.

Think about CocaCola - nobody knows where the local bottling plant is, but every public activity in the community has big Coke banners everywhere. As a consequence Coke has the largest market share.

Here in yuppie California, sponsoring several suburban youth soccer teams would be an inexpensive way to get visibility to people who recently moved to 5 - 20 acre 'estates' and discover a CUT makes an impressive lawnmower. Involvement in high school football might be a link to customers in many areas via outstanding player awards etc. Advertise continually on talk radio if that's where your customers are. Sponsor a huge country music concert, or revival, jazz festival, fishing contest, whatever, at that lake and everyone will know who you are! Probably everyone in america has heard of Woodstock, a promotion that grew a little beyond the promoters expectation.

As the others have noted it's no big deal to drive a few miles to a dealer. But the dealer must be well-known, ie have a continual 'virtual presence' in everyone's mind, to inspire that drive.

 

[SteveH_CT]

With tht much land you could easily set up a "test drive" area. Let folks try moving dirt, or other types of things that we buy these for. I would have found that real helpful when I was looking. And yes, I think you're well within what most folks would find a reasonable distance.

Good Luck! It's great to see Kioti getting around. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[NIXON]

Mike , a short drive is no inconvenience at all . I drove all over looking at tractors . In fact I went past at least 3 to buy mine . It wasn't on price alone that I bought either . It came down to the dealer in the long run .
You also asked where I found out about dealers and makes .
Right here on this site .
I kind of wonder why most dealers just don't hang a TBN banner in their shop . I'd bet they'd gain more sales than they lose to competitors . Questions answered by users of a product speak volumes to a potential buyer .
As you're dealing with Kioti it might even be a sales point .
If they have reservation about your machines , point them to TBN . Then the reliability of the machine will speak for itself .
JMHO John

 

[megha_jones]

i just bought but have not recieved a lk3054xs and drove ovr an hour to check out other kioti dealers one one trip. on another i drove an hour and a half to check out other brands.
i however live in country so i dive 45 min to go to work.

i did however pay a little more from the closes dealer because he was close. if i had it to do over i think i would buy from other dealer because of help i am geting from the dealer who is farther away and didnt get the sale. he will get the back hoe sale when i buy.

dont know if this helps you because even i see possitives to both.

 

[GerardC]

My dealer is about 45 miles (an hours drive) away from me and I found them by an internet search.

Personally, I would stay where you're at. It's worked this long, so why change a good thing?
Our distance to the grocery store is farther than your distance from the city limits and we pass right by a dealership. Hope this helps. G

 

[pilonidal]

I drove 100 miles to my Kioti dealer and tractor when there was one 10 miles down the road, and past 3 other brand dealers. Distance is not a problem for most people I think as long as the price is right and the service is good.

 

[KiotiJohn]

I bought my tractor from Dave at Bigtractorsupply.com who responded here. He's 35 miles away from me. I was actually going to see another dealer further past Dave (there are 4 tractor dealers within 5 miles of me) when I saw his tractors on the side of the road at his dealership. I had earlier been shown a used Kioti and wanted to stop and see what was offered in new tractors. I bought a few hours later. I suggest you keep and use the land you have, put up an internet site, which done right, will allow people to find you. You will be able to list your site on Kiotitractor.com and on most of the sites for other brands and implements you carry. PM if you want any advice on a website. Not having a mortgage will go a long way to helping your success. People will find a tractor dealership when they're seriously looking. As Dave said, some local publications advertising will help also. John

 

[Golfgar4]

Hi Mike! And welcome! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I've been researching my purchase for quite awhile now, and I have no problem with driving for an hour (one way) to find a good dealer. I'm fortunate that I do have a lot of dealers within my area. Unfortunately, none of them are Kioti. But I have decided that, at least for me, the quality of the dealer is going to be the most important factor, followed by price. And as much as I like Kioti's, if there is no dealer within my area, then I'll have to go with some other color.

So count me as one who would suggest that you stay where you are and expand there. I would also second what SteveH CT suggested about the test drive area. Too many of the dealers that I've visited do not have something like this, and all you can do is putt putt around the parking lot. I don't believe this is going to tell you much of anything. An area where a customer can really put a machine through it's paces would be a real plus! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Good luck on your decision. Hope you're in MY area so that I can get a Kioti dealer within striking distance! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Lloyd_E]

Mike,

Signs, signs, signs.

Use of signs as one component of your communications plan. If your building is near the highway consider a sign on the roof or back of building.

Find out if your market is local. Out of the 120 000 residents...is there enough % to justify setting up in that location. What percentage of customers will come from 1 hour radius drive away? Becasue you own the land...lower overhead...can your offer free shipping and pickup/delivery for servicing to long distant customers.

Others have noted: play as you go. What a great opportunity... You actually get to try out a product, whether it is the tractor/loader or mower.
Just think...this will save you the time of doing the landscaping yourelf.

Also consider hours of operation. If I know I can get servicing or product outside of my schedule...that usaully wins the deal.

For people who are tight for time...and we all are...hours of operation is key.

If you can, do a market survey. This information tells you alot. Also try some observing yourself or hirer college of reliable high school kids.

Post them outside of other dealers and have them take notes.
- out of state plates
- number of units (people) through the door
- busiest hours
- number of new units leaving
- number of repair units leaving


Hope this helps...

regards,

lloyd /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[Dewave]

GolfGar,

In your bio u have everything except handicap??? What are ya? A 3, 2, 1.... -1, -2, -3? Just wondering.. I'm a 12 and just broke 80 the other day, felt great! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Golfgar4]

Don,

We should play together! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I float between a 9 and a 12 most of the season. I just can't seem to crack that 9. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif I haven't gotten below that in 3 years! /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

Congrats on breaking 80! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif It is a great feeling the first time, isn't it? Almost as good as...........nah, I'm not going there! /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Dewave]

<font color="blue">Congrats on breaking 80! It is a great feeling the first time, isn't it? Almost as good as...........nah, I'm not going there! </font>

Man you know it! Especially when ya do a flop shot that goes higher then it does distance for a tap in on the 18th hole. Yee haw!

Tractor related? You bet! There was a guy on a Kubota waiting to cut the grass. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Steve_Miller]

I'd be curious to know how many city folk have a tractor compared to the country folk that own one. It would probably surprise you if expressed as a percentage.

Steve