Where Do You Look First or Most For Tractors and Attachments?

[EddieWalker]

I like that you have prices on your website. I spent a year looking for my tractor. First I started online, then I looked in the local free classifieds and then I went to different dealers. I really wanted a Kubota, but the salesman at the dealer really turned me off. I asked a few questions based on what I'd learned here at TBN and caught him lying to me. He lies about one thing, then he can't be trusted on anything else.

I like NH from what I read about them and thought the Boomer would be my next choice. Than a diesel mechanic that I know told me they are owned by Fiat. I've dealt with Fiat cars in my youth and don't think too highly of them. I made the mistake of assuming the tractors would be like the cars and never even test drove one. My next tractor may very well be a New Holland as I've been very impressed with them.

I chose my tractor because of the dealer and his advertisement in the free Classifieds Paper. American Classifieds. He was straight forward, left me alone to drive it and spend some time on it, and then he sold me any impliments I wanted at his cost. I wrote all this down and told him I'd get back to him.

I then tried to beat his deal and couldn't come close. I started threads here on TBN to see what everyone thought and found that it was a VERY good price.

Having the tractor in the paper with the price really got me exited and it's what made me go to his dealership.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[Larry The Tractor Guy]

Larry, I looked at your website and I sure do have an opinion. I don't like it! Now before you think this is going to be a rant, forget it. I just believe in stating my position right up front and I will offer what I consider to be constructive criticism. So here goes...

Jinman...thank you so much for being objective and honest! That is exactly what I am looking for! The site has been active since December and I am watching the page views go up steadily to just over 10,000 already. I work with a local web design frim in specifying the website layout ans so forth. We have already made many changes based on viewer input but some of the basic problems keep popping up and I cant seem to get it through their head that we need more changes!

I never liked the nav bar on the right but let me tell you wahy he did it that way. Search engines have gotten away from meta tag use because it was getting abused amd misused. Now the majority of the good sites search for the most prominant text in font size starting from the top left corner on the website. Notice that our site has the "Construction Equipment, Agricultural Equipment, Industrial Equipment, Farm Equipment. Weekly Rentals and Sales. Niagara Frontier Equipment Sales Inc" across the top. That text in the underlying html is actually a huge font size list 130 points or something! This makes the site stand out from the rest. If the nav bar were on the left, then the search engine would see that first and may not pickup the key words needed to place correctly when someone searches for our stuff. Hope that makes sense?

I have requested several times now that it is too hard to tell "where to go" once you are on the site. The nav bar is in the wrong spot and the links are not inutative. There is no site map feature either to pick from. I requested a tabbed layout as you had mentioned where the user only needed to select from choices from left to right across the page what he wanted to see.

I can control the center image that has the multi-colored text about welcome to our site etc because that is a jpg that I produce and then upload for specials etc. Everything else I have to request a change and wait for it to get done.

Its feedback like yours that I will use to prove my point that it is not just me that thinks the site should look, feel, and operate a little different than it does right now. I am not one to take anything personal. I applaud positive constructive input from readers like you because after all, the site is for YOU, not ME and I want my customers to be happy and comfortable and stay and visit a while!

Thanks again so much!

 

[Larry The Tractor Guy]

Hi Larry,

Now it’s my turn. You were and ARE a great help to me already on the buying a NH thread here, so now perhaps I can pay you back a little....Granted ad’s from the manufacturer in major farm magazines helps, but you sorta only care that people come to YOUR site and buy from YOU....Now for the web....Personally I think ALL manufactures sites are rubbish....
Manufacturers and dealers will show you product (x), and explain the tech stuff, weight, size, height etc. but they do not explain in laymans or moronic terms what the heck the thing does how and why....Lastly, by supporting people here and being as active as you have been will make people like me, buy from people like you, wherever you are in the Country...

Kendall69.....

All I can say is WOW and HOLY CRAP....you hit it smack on the head! I am so grateful that someone out there actually took the time to express their frustration with the buying experience! Everything you stated is valid and true! The majors need to pay attention to this sort of stuff but I'll bet that there is not one person at corporate level at Kubota or NH or Case or any of the other majors that has a tractorbynet ID and is active on this site! (correct me if I am wrong on that).

They have such deep pockets yet they fail to appeal even on the simplest level the actual real world benefits of buying from them. I find that the majority of the floor traffic into our dealership are customers that have NO CLUE which direction a tractor even goes. Thats over the top a little I know but it is very true. Most think they run on gas, not diesel, they dont know what a mid-PTO is or if they even need one. They look to us, the dealer, to teach them the ways of equipment and by God that's what we try to do. Its our responsibilty as the "experts" to teach and inform the buyer so he makes an intelligent buying decision! Who wants to spent $25,000 only to figure out that what they bought wasn't even what they needed! I have lost sales to the competition buy informing the buyer too much, but you know what, they still come back for implements or service or just to get more information and I am good with that. Its better than no sale at all!

These companies get way too big for their own good and all that comes out of that is a group of corporate suit stuffers deciding what is best for us, the buying public and what looks best on paper! What ever happened to focus groups and listening to the customer? Those days are gone I'm afraid and that is a shame.

All I can do is be honest, respectful, and a good listener and treat every customer like they are my only customer. That's all we have left now is service. Everyone makes a good tractor, some better than others, and if I dont seperate myself in some meaningful way from the competition, I would not expect your business anyway.

Thats why I started this thread. I wanted to give the buying public an opportunity to air your opinions about how you feel you are treated when it comes to the major manufacturers and how well you were informed down to the dealer level. You have all come through for me in flying colors and I greatly appreciate it!!

You guys are the best!!

 

[Kubotasrking]

When you were narrowing down your choices, what methods did you use to evaluate what was out there? Did you simply drive to your local dealers and get in the seat and drive it around? did you ask friends, relatives, or others that already owned something simalar to what you had what they liked or disliked? Was it the tractor itself, the price, or the financing that swayed you to buy Blue?

Again, thanks for the feedback and your thoughts!

Well, I would say I started here @ TBN. I started reading through all the big 3 threads related to buying and pricing. I understood Kubota's lineup the best, and probably spent the least amount of time there as a result... In my area, green paint is 4-6K more per tractor...plus you have to pay extra for things like QA bucket etc..so JD was ruled out early on. So it came down to NH/Case and Kubota. After reading and asking questions in numerous threads, I listened to the opinions of the owners on this site. I discovered that NH features better suited what I wanted than the average Kubota tractor, such as swivel seat, loader control position, overall location of controls, and I especially liked the cup holder .

I then went to two NH dealers in our area and talked to the folks. I decided to buy used when the tractor came available that I purchased because of the massive price difference. So, I would say the bottom line for me was the design of the machine first, price second, dealer third. All 3 companies were offering similar new financing so that didn't play into the decision at all.

 

[hunterridgefarm]

Larry,

Even though I have 2 Kubotas my first choice was a New Holland TC and the only reason I did not buy was because of the salesman. I will be trading up hopefully by the end of the year and will be looking hard at the TN 65 and 75.

Now on advertising one of the two dealers I use I found because he advertised using Billboards. He uses billboards in his county and two or three counties away. They will get your attention with a nice picture of a tractor or two and your location. You could even put your web address on there. I know it works for him because on several visits I have talked to people who came from two counties over when they have a strong dealership in their county. And you most likely do 90+% of your sales in a 100 mile radius.

And I think any man whether he lives on 200 acers or a townhouse apartment has got to get a little excited when he sees a shiny big tractor on a giant billboard .

I have used the phonebook and internet to locate dealers and some local publications but the billboard really got my attention.

 

[Larry The Tractor Guy]

Larry,

Even though I have 2 Kubotas my first choice was a New Holland TC and the only reason I did not buy was because of the salesman. I will be trading up hopefully by the end of the year and will be looking hard at the TN 65 and 75.
...He uses billboards in his county and two or three counties away. They will get your attention with a nice picture of a tractor or two and your location.

hunterridgefarm...
Thanks for the input...what happened with salesman that you did not like? Was he not respectful or too pushy or what?

We have tried billboards in the past and they are very expensive up this way. We used 5 different billboards in key traffice areas inside and outside our market area spread across 3 months. The cost was over $5,000! The return we got did not out weigh the investment but as with any advertising, you need repeatability and exposure. Once you find something that works, you need to do it over and over again so your name becomes well known as the place to go for a tractor.

When you are ready for your next tractor, NH TN or maybe the new TD, let me know and I will help however I can with information, specs, and pricing.

Thanks Again!

 

[shovelhead]

Larry,
First of all, I think it is neat to see a sales manager that cares enought to solicit advice! Most of my experiences dealt with guys that could care less. I bought a NH because it was the best fit for what I needed. I looked at every tractor dealer in S.E. Texas, every advertisement, numerous internet searches, addictive reading of this forum, etc. Most dealers did not have what I wanted on the lot and didn't want to try to get close to what I wanted. The NH dealer had what I wanted, but would not get right on price until I threatened to drive to North Carolina to buy the same tractor.
I left almost no stone unturned in my tractor search. I saw very little printed ads that grabbed my attention. The best I saw was the weekly free papers like the Thrifty Nickel and American Classifieds, however the local NH dealership rarely submits ads to these circulars. I monitor a local web-based classified for tractor implements. I still believe that word of mouth and a good dealer reputation are the best form of advertisement. I like the website, except for the red print as jinman noted.
Anyway, thanks for asking. I wish my local dealers would show as much interest.

Shovel

 

[ronjhall]

Nice new site.
The one thing that bothers me about your site are all the items listed in RED are not linked. The page tells me about all these features. But finding how to access them is a pain. Link them to what they are telling me.

 

[Larry The Tractor Guy]

Larry,
First of all, I think it is neat to see a sales manager that cares enought to solicit advice! Most of my experiences dealt with guys that could care less. I bought a NH because it was the best fit for what I needed....I left almost no stone unturned in my tractor search....I still believe that word of mouth and a good dealer reputation are the best form of advertisement...Anyway, thanks for asking. I wish my local dealers would show as much interest.
Shovel

Shovel...again thanks for the input.
I am starting to see an overwhelming trend in that most of you felt you were left on you own to determine the best tractor to fit your needs and it appears that only ads that listed monthly investment or price caught your attention. Word of mouth is certainly the best referral anyone can give and is why we strive to please every customer regardless of his needs, budget, or knowledge of the market. If I can inform everyone I get the oppotunity to, then I have done my job and only have to let the tractor sell itself. I have found that people will pay more if they feel the value is there and that the dealer has really made them feel comfortable and secure in the buying process.

As far as the website, I will be in touch with the design firm first thing Monday to put in some change requests. I am definitely using this forum thread as evidence that the "buying market has spoken!" What better group to ask!

Thanks again and please let me know if I can help you in any way.
Larry

 

[Larry The Tractor Guy]

Nice new site.
The one thing that bothers me about your site are all the items listed in RED are not linked. The page tells me about all these features. But finding how to access them is a pain. Link them to what they are telling me.

Ron,
Thanks for the feedback. As you can see, the trend here is that my site is lacking in navigation friendlyness and the red needs to go! I agree and will be working with the design firm too make some changes starting Monday!
Thanks for being honest and taking the time to offer your input!
Larry