The Equipment Dealers Assn. has released the results of its annual Dealer-Manufacturer Relations survey. The association gives out Dealer’s Choice awards in 4 categories: Full-line manufacturer, tractor manufacturer, shortline manufacturer and outdoor power equipment manufacturer. The Dealer-Manufacturer Relations Survey was distributed to dealership contacts on Feb. 12, 2020 and remained active until March 18, 2020. Dealer responses were collected anonymously by a third party research firm. There were 2,659 individual dealer contacts who participated in the survey, up 5.6% from 2,516 last year. Dealer responses were received from all 50 U.S. states, 10 Canadian provinces plus Puerto Rico. Manufacturers received 9,671 individual dealer ratings, up 6.4% from 9,087 last year. Each respondent rated an average of four manufacturers.
Dealers rated manufacturers on 12 categories including: overall satisfaction, product quality, parts availability, parts quality, product technical support, manufacturer response to dealer needs/concerns, product availability, warranty payments, warranty procedures, communication with management, marketing & advertising support and return privileges. It’s important to note that the overall satisfaction score is a stand-alone rating, and is not compiled from the remaining 11. In terms of what areas were most important to them, 90% of dealers said product quality was “very important.” Parts availability was ranked second highest in terms of importance. Parts quality, product technical support and manufacturer response to dealer needs/concerns rounded out the top 5. For the full-line category, John Deere was once again on top earning the Dealer’s Choice Award, after 2 years of coming in behind Claas, who was added to the full-line category in 2018. Claas received a Gold Level Award this year. Deere’s average mean score (based on all 12 categories) was a 5.5 on a scale of 1-7, with 7 being extremely satisfied. That’s up from an average mean score 5.36 in 2019. Claas had the next highest average mean score at 5.23, down from a score of 5.55 last year. Of the 6 manufacturers included in the full-line category, New Holland had the lowest average mean score at 4.00, down from 4.16 last year. Kubota saw the largest drop in average mean score at down 7.10% to 4.57 vs. 4.92 is 2019. Behind Deere, AGCO saw the most improvement in average mean score, up 2.03% to 5.10 from 5.00 in 2019. Three of the 6 full-line manufacturers had scores over 5.Deere’s highest ranking came in Parts Quality, with a score of 6.13 (up from 5.98 in 2019). It’s lowest ranking — a 4.85 — was manufacturer’s response to dealer needs or concerns. Deere’s overall satisfaction score was 5.58, the highest of all the full-line manufacturers. The lowest overall satisfaction score — 3.97— went to New Holland.
An 80-plus-page comprehensive report — including historical charts and data — is available to all EDA dealer members as a benefit of membership, and to the manufacturers participating in the study. Manufacturers also have the opportunity to obtain survey data that includes company breakouts by region, detailed statistical data and additional information. For more information on obtaining the survey data or membership, contact Joe Dykes at JDykes@Equipment Dealer.org.
Source: Ag Equipment Intelligence
