Poopdeck Pappy
Elite Member
- Joined
- May 13, 2013
- Messages
- 2,627
- Location
- Dallas, Texas
- Tractor
- Kioti DK50SE Cab, Kubota BX23, Kubota BX2660, Grasshopper 729BT
Gary: I understand what you're saying and I agree to some extent. I'm 60 years old so I understand that the world got along just fine before the internet. However, no company is going to make it long term by marketing to my age demographic. They need younger buyers. And those buyers depend on the internet for a lot of their information.
More importantly, perception is reality. It doesn't matter how strong a company is today. If the buying public perceives them as too lazy or uncommitted to update their website, it can create the perception among potential buyers that buying an LS tractor is more risky than buying a John Deere or Kubota. And this is especially important for a company trying to stake their share of turf in the marketplace.
Buying a tractor involves a certain degree of risk. In my mind (and most other buyers, I suspect), I can minimize certain risks by buying a tractor made by a company (and sold by a dealer) that I believe is committed to being here long term and is focused on their business. Not keeping their website current can be perceived, rightly or wrongly, as an indication that the company is not focused or committed.
Now, clearly any incompetent and/or under-capitalized company can have a slick website, and a buyer would make a mistake in placing too much emphasis on a slick website. So I'm not assigning too much importance to the status of the LS website, and there are a lot of other factors that will play a much bigger role in my ultimate decision on which tractor to buy. But it is at least a small indicator in my opinion.
More importantly, perception is reality. It doesn't matter how strong a company is today. If the buying public perceives them as too lazy or uncommitted to update their website, it can create the perception among potential buyers that buying an LS tractor is more risky than buying a John Deere or Kubota. And this is especially important for a company trying to stake their share of turf in the marketplace.
Buying a tractor involves a certain degree of risk. In my mind (and most other buyers, I suspect), I can minimize certain risks by buying a tractor made by a company (and sold by a dealer) that I believe is committed to being here long term and is focused on their business. Not keeping their website current can be perceived, rightly or wrongly, as an indication that the company is not focused or committed.
Now, clearly any incompetent and/or under-capitalized company can have a slick website, and a buyer would make a mistake in placing too much emphasis on a slick website. So I'm not assigning too much importance to the status of the LS website, and there are a lot of other factors that will play a much bigger role in my ultimate decision on which tractor to buy. But it is at least a small indicator in my opinion.